group therapy coffee, duxton.

to be honest, we never planned to go to group therapy for brunch- we'd initially headed over to botanist, but it was way too crowded and we had no patience for waiting. was then intending to go to perhaps grain traders, but i realised that group therapy was just around the corner. we made our way over, but had a little difficulty finding its actual location- no obvious signboard, and we didn't realise initially that it wasn't on the ground floor. i was initially afraid that they'd closed down, but thankfully we found the staircase leading to the shopfront.

the place was not crowded, and we got seats easily. i zeroed in on the pumpkin pancake ($19) immediately. i have a soft spot for savoury pancakes, because i love pancakes but they're usually accompanied by sweet stuff and that's not really my thing. so the savoury one which came with poached eggs, smoked salmon and tobiko roe was right up my alley. L, who'd eaten something else before meeting me, opted to just get the maple butter waffle ($9).



i was expecting a wait for our food (as with most cafés) but our food came really quickly, probably within fifteen minutes or so. my first bite was of the pumpkin pancake. it surprised me with how pumpkin-y it tasted, in a really good way. plus, it was light and fluffy. i'd requested for the accompanying hollandaise sauce to be served separately. it turned out to be a good move, as it allowed the pumpkin taste to shine through. combined with the perfectly poached eggs and smoked salmon, it made for a delicious eat. portions were generous as well- i stayed full all the way till dinnertime.



i tried a bit of L's buttermilk waffle, and quite liked it as well. though L was saying she was expecting something more exciting than just a buttermilk waffle with maple syrup and butter served separately- she'd expected the maple and butter to be integrated into the waffle, what with it being named maple butter waffle.

situated at duxton, where there are too many cafés to name, i guess there's a reason why group therapy lasted this long. the food was simple, but i enjoyed it, and would actually return for the pumpkin pancake. of course, the fact that there's no gst and service charge is a bonus as well.


49 duxton road
#02-01
http://www.gtcoffee.com