Update: This business has ceased its operations.
An interesting café called Playground just opened its doors recently. It is located on Siam Road (Jalan Siam) near the junction with Jalan Dato Keramat. If you are driving along Siam Road from this junction, Playground is one of the first shops on the left.
As one can infer from the name, Playground’s concept is toy-themed. Colorful and intricate toy ornaments give a sense of childhood memories amid the cozy-looking dining tables and chairs.
A Christmas tree, inverted showering rocking horse and wooden doors hanging overhead are just some of the many interesting doodads that just deserve some photoshoots and drift of imagination.
Even the menu cannot be made “normal”. Printed on transparencies, each page can only be written by placing an opaque cardboard behind. The first page says “Men”. I wonder whether the menu are gender-specific…
A set meal is also available if you are looking for something more substantial to eat. In this case, I picked Set A which includes a bowl of soup of the day, a Ham & Bacon Sandwich and a drink.
The soup of the day is the Potato Soup. The taste is quite creamy and has a hint of pumpkin-like sweetness. This soup is definitely different from most soup I have tasted. Even Buzz Lightyear wants to try a sip…
The Ham & Bacon Sandwich is served alongside some wheat biscuits and a small bowl of diced apple salad.
The sandwich is made using brown bread (how health conscious is that!) and filled with slices of bacon, ham, lettuce leaves, tomato slices and mayonnaise. The size is very small; I wonder why the serving is not something more reasonable. Nevertheless, it is a nice sandwich and Buzz seems to agree…
The diced apple salad is also quite nice, except that the serving is extremely small. In retrospect, perhaps even the food is meant to be “toy-sized”?
For drinks, I went for the Iced Lemon Tea. Served in a bottle, the drink is cool and refreshing. Surprisingly in this case, the serving is now adult-sized.
I wanted to try some desserts, but the add-on choice is not available. Instead, I opted for the French Vanilla Mille Crêpe (RM12.50).
The cake is made of numerous layers of vanilla-flavored pastry. As for the icing, a puff of whipped cream, chocolate chips and caramel candy crown the top of the cake.
The multiple layers of mille crêpe make the cake quite fine and delicate. It is surprisingly filling to the stomach due to the heavy dosage of vanilla cream.
Beside the cake and on the serving plate is a piece of syrup art depicting the treble clef. How intuitive is that?
The bill is delivered in a (once again) toy-themed fashion: on a piece of toy block. The pricing is quite hefty considering the food portion. Yes, the store decor adds to the cozy atmosphere and commands something. But at some point, one needs to be realistic on the affordability of an average customer.
Besides being a café, Playground also doubles as a spot for movie-screening and theatrical performances. Event details are posted on its Facebook page.
The place is open from 3:00pm till midnight (till 2:00am on Friday and Saturday nights). Movie showtimes are usually on Tuesdays 8:00pm. Playground is closed on Mondays.
