Welcome to the first of my eatery reviews, the aptly named Chillax Massage Cafe. Coffee, the staple of many a diet, when paired with good food and a comfortable environment, is everything one could ask for on a slow afternoon. One of those afternoons when you just want to catch up on the news alone. In my quest to see what works and what does not, I will definitely be visiting quite a few Cafes.
Chillax definitely fulfils 3 out of 3 of those requirements. It is a Cafe paired with a Massage service (no, not the type you are thinking of) located at Serangoon Garden Way, which conveniently, is within walking distance from where I live. I've yet to try the massage but in the F&B department, they serve up your usual range of coffees and teas, a surprisingly decent range of food, desserts and quite a large selection of beers.
As I'm not a beer drinker, I went for the standard Latte and tried out the Flat Pizza, which uses a tortilla base topped with seafood and onions. Whilst both are not something that I would put on a list of 100 things to eat before you die, the pizza was solid. Perfect for a late lunch, being a proper meal but still light with relatively fresh seafood and a thin base. The latte wasn't out of this world, a little light for my tastes and a little too much froth, but I enjoyed it. It isn't the cheapest place around, coming in at $28 total, but in terms of bang for buck I felt it was alright.
Like I stated above though, it's not only all about what I put into my mouth that determines if I like a place or not. The third factor is environment and this is where I feel Chillax excels. True to it's name it's a comfortable place to relax. Soft indie music, barren walls and lots of wood (albeit cheap by the looks of it), is usually a safe bet when it comes to cafes and it works here as well. Not to mention the availability of free wi-fi.
All in all, I'll definitely be paying Chillax more visits in the future. It's just a nice place to chill, and the service is pretty good with friendly attentive staff. Can't ask for much for when looking for a nice neighbourhood cafe. That's where it is a paradox for me though. I love going to cafes where you don't have to fight for your place and you can take your time without a queue forming giving you dirty looks for not vacating your table quick enough. But, inevitably when a good place becomes known, people will start to frequent it. Just take a look at any of the trendier cafes at Orchard or any Starbucks for a rough idea. Which is what makes discovering these places out of the city hotspots vital to me. Not sure if "quiet" will be such a good description to the owner though. That all said, the Serangoon area is quite a sleepy little neighbourhood so all should be well.
Rycommendation: If you're in the area drop by the place, it's a cool little place worth checking out. I'll hopefully try out their massages soon and see if that adds to the experience.
Chillax Cafe
28 Maju Ave, Singapore 556698
Phone: +65 6244 5529https://www.facebook.com/chillaxsg
