I had always wanted to visit A Thousand Tales since I first chanced upon it in June. When a friend of mine asked to meet up last week, I finally had my chance.
Opened by a group of friends who shares the same passion for design and good living, the Scandinavian-inspired furniture shop on Haji Lane radiates an unspeakable homely charm.
Its walk-up gastrobar Café Fables occupies a significant portion of the three-storey pre-war shophouse.
Matcha Red Bean ($5.20)
The bitter green tea flavour of the sponge balanced out the layers of butter cream which would otherwise seem too heavy. The azuki layer on the other hand, lent a savoury sweet note to this pairing.
Banana Surprise ($6.50)
Both of us were taken aback by this samsui-hat-looking object when it first showed up on our table. For a moment, I thought someone had left a plasticine sculpture on my plate. This banana really surprised us by being a crêpe of some sort, but it was not something I would expect a banana-sounding item to be.
Made from white chocolate and other unknown sweet ingredients, the spongy outer layer of the cake itself resembled a yoga mat that had rolled gracefully out of the oven. Filled to plumpness was banana in heavy cream. Finally, the banana had made its appearance. A pleasant surprise.
As the name of the shop implies, everything here tells a story, whether be it the vintage handmade furniture or the one-of-a-kind art piece by Japanese sculptor Sumio Suzuki. Nothing short of stylish.
(The noble steed many of us once dreamed of owning.)
During our visit, both of us couldn't help but admire this giant pencil-drawn octupus on the wall. When asked if this was sketched to honour PAUL THE OCTOPUS from FIFA 2010, the owner revealed that their 8-legged friend had been up even way before the World Cup was kicked started.
With its bar serving cakes and tailored cocktails with character, it's clearly café-type goodness for the sweet-toothed with not a single savoury item on the menu. I figure that they may need to include some light bites soon.
The next time you are at Haji Lane to check out your favourtie shop-stops, why not pop by level two of A Thousand Tales to see what it has to offer.
(This resident of Haji Lane just can't agree more.)
A Thousand Tales
55 Haji Lane
Daily, 3pm – 1am
6298 0838