Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii @ Tropicana City Mall

Prior to my trip to Singapore, me and my aunts went Tropicana City Mall to exchange RM(s) for SGD(s). After a little grocery shopping, the urge for coffee came up as the 3 of us are avid coffee drinkers. The choice was either Starbucks or this new place that caught out eye - Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii.



Supposedly, this place serves coffee made from Hawaiian coffee beans, especially those from the island of Kona. Now this place seemed to have its fair share of customers when we arrived. So, it ought to be good right?


Evidently, Bad Ass is trying to edge its way into the markets currently dominated by Starbucks and Coffee Bean. It offers its customers WiFi services and even has a decent section for merchandise. Some of their T-shirt designs were quite cool and the Hawaiian print was tastefully designed too. I also met my secondary school mate, Johann Sze who was working as a barista there.



Time to order. My aunts shared 1 cup of the house specialty, which was the 10% Kona blend. I had the same thing, only it was iced. In addition, my aunts also ordered the Oxtail Soup. Lately, I found that I CAN enjoy coffee in its black, bitter state. (I think my body and my aunts secretly rejoiced that I'm lowering my sugar intake).


Now, everyone would agree that coffee is naturally bitter. Iced coffee would also naturally taste a little watered-down (due to the ice). However, my aunts' HOT cup of 10% Kona Blend coffee tasted like coffee-flavored water. Not a good first impression as Starbucks was only a few feet away. However, Johann was gracious enough to replace the 'coffee-water' with a new cup. This time, my aunt said it tasted better (more 'kick') but that it was still a little 'watery' for her liking.


The Oxtail Soup turned out OK. However, its consistency was too 'watery' and should have been 'thicker'. Notice the 'ring' above the surface of the soup? This made us suspect that the soup had been left on the counter for some time before it was brought to our table. True enough, the soup was lukewarm to the touch, producing only faint steam clouds.


At the time, there was a promotion going on where you get a certain number of stamps in order to redeem discounts and free F&B. Johann was so gracious (again) to give me a fully-stamped discount card. However, we didn't use it in the end. Even though the service was great (Thanks, Johann!), the quality of its F&B definitely put us off any future excursions onto any of its Hawaiian-themed outlets.