“Let’s check out 3 Years In A Balloon”, texted my girlfriend. But after a few clicks on the internet, I realised the cafe only opens on weekdays.

And with that, I managed to pop by when (yet) another friend was able to drive over for a quick lunch.

Parking is definitely tricky. Carpark lots are only available in front of some shophouses. Not the entire stretch. And where carpark lots are not provided, most shophouses’ owners either parked their cars or put rubbish bins to prevent others from parking illegally and thus blocking their shop fronts.

We ended up parking at the private estate which is behind the stretch of shophouses.

The cafe impressed with its exterior. Three Years In a Balloon occupied a corner shophouse, and had its external walls painted black (Not too sure if it was painted by the previous occupier or by them). The cafe is easily identifiable with their large logo painted in white against the black walls. Entrance is a sliding door operated on a pulley system, instead of the conventional swing door.

Menu for savory was limited to quiche, pie and crepes (3 flavours). My friend went ahead with the lunch set menu which allowed him to choose either meringue or cookie for side, on top of his main. while I decided to go a-la carte.

And from the menu, we ordered:-

1) Lunch set menu, $8.80 comprised of:-

(A) Main (above) – For main, we chose savoury crepe over pie and quiche. And we went with chicken ham & cheese as our flavour for the crepe. However, this was a shocker. I definitely did not expect the presentation to be what-you-order-is-exactly-what-you-will-get. No salads at the side. It was as though we were at a prata place where we ordered paper prata with fillings. Item was disappointing too. It was just sliced chicken ham (that’s easily available from supermarkets) and cheddar cheese thrown together.

(B) Side (above) – We opted for meringue which would otherwise cost $2 if ordered without the set.

(C) Drink – With option of soft drink, bottled water, cranberry juice or iced lemon tea, we topped up $2.50 to get a cup of latte instead.

2) Waffle with maple syrup & butter, $3.50 (above) – With only two quarters served, portion was still reasonable for it’s attached price tag. Waffle was crispy on the exterior, fluffy and light on the inside. Not too bad.

3) Lemon curd gateau, $6 (above) – The light sponge was countered balanced with a heavier cream that was more sweet than tangy.

4) Gianduja mousse & feuilletine, $6 (above) – With chocolate sponge in a milk chocolate glaze. This was really rich. However, the sponge was slightly… Hard. Am not too sure if it was because the cake was ;very) chilled or it had been on the display shelf longer than it should be.

5) Classic hot chocolate, $5.50 (above)

All in all, Three Years In A Balloon is not a place for getting the stomach properly filled with food. The portion of the mains were barely enough to fill up our stomachs. Which some may argue it’s a good thing cause that would give us much space for their desserts which were more generous in portion.

Three Years In A Balloon is definitely a desserts place. Which really is their intention as it’s stated in their Facebook that they specialise in decorative cakes. And that can also be seen where half of the unit is set aside for the kitchen, with glass windows for customers to witness baking process of cakes.

I say, skip the savoury and go straight for their cakes.

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