The Place theRantingPanda loves reading the Monocle magazine. When we last visited Tokyo and New York City, we made darn sure we stopped by the Monocle shops/cafes – not knowing that our favourite will make its way onto Singapore shores (despite its usual cynical comments about our little sunny island!).

We have to give Monocle a thumbs-up for its choice of the shop location. Not the most hype, not the most convenient, nor the most pretentious – it suffices to bring the brand across, understated yet sophisticated. Chip Bee Gardens (The Monocle Shop is located along Jalan Kelabu Asap) has been quickly gaining recognition as the next hipster enclave in Singapore, with the earlier opening of Sunday Folks bringing along the crowd into the previously quaint shop-house quarters.

Monocle makes use of the almost-colonial look-alike terrace housing by converting the space into a small retail shop, coupled with a coffee bar. There are no plans to bring in their chefs to offer food selections yet, especially without their food license in place at the moment.

As coffee addicts, how could we not put their coffee to the test! Feeling sleepy from our heavy lunch, we decided to go for the typical Latte ($6.00). We must say we ain’t disappointed.

There are ample seats around the Monocle shop, both at the front yard and the back garden. Just grab a coffee, head out and chill if the weather is kind.

To interested parties, Monocle will be looking to set up their bureau on the second level of the terrace house. So if you are really keen on contributing to this independent charting its way in the world of “serious, yet chic” magazines, do check out their website for opportunities!

Rants The retail space could have been bigger. It’s not true that “less is always more”.

The Monocle Shop & The Monocle Cafe
74 Jalan Kelabu Asap
Singapore 278267

Opening hours:
We will update you soon on this again! =P