‘Having coffee’ has taken a whole new meaning for us of late. It no longer revolves around flat whites, lattes and instagram-worthy-looking Key Lime Tarts. Nor does it have fancy decorative filament light bulbs and quirky, eclectic furniture as part of its decor.
After being greeted with one too many “tsk” stares by other patrons who have been on the receiving ends of our boys’ unwillingness to sit through obediently at the latest and most hyped-about coffee joints, we’ve taken our coffee drinking lifestyle to the kopitiams (aka. coffeeshops). The husband now enjoys his hot local brew of kopi-c-kosong in the heartlands – we usually go to one with a decent outdoor playground just beside – and we love that we can let our kids be their boisterous selves without feeling like we’ve ruined someone’s first date.
But of course with me being quite the instagrammer and constantly being exposed to an excessive amount of visual envy, there are times I can’t help but feel like I’m missing out.
So when the husband randomly asked me one Sunday morning where we could do some helmet shopping for our little man and check out some bikes for me at the same time, I couldn’t resist mouthing these two words: Wheeler’s Yard.
Wheeler’s Yard turned out to be everything people instagram and captioned about. I knew exactly where the entrance leading to the warehouse was despite being there for the first time, and I knew we couldn’t walk past ’em signature blue doors without taking a pose or two for the camera.
What I didn’t anticipate however how impressive the range of bikes and helmets available were. The Bo, Liam and myself couldn’t stop gushing to each other about everything we laid our eyes on, including a few pieces of quirky, vintage furniture which Liam refused to get off from until I managed to distract him with another very cool-looking bike.
The cafe that’s housed within was relatively empty when we decided to check it out. I fell in love with the very manhattan meets industrial chic interior that I had to have a coffee there. Thankfully the boys were happy to oblige me – Liam was too occupied checking out the bikes on display while the littlest was happy to cruise the length of the couch we were on. The Bo & I managed to enjoy our flat whites without much restless whines from our boys and it was really nice to enjoy a moment of our pre-kids coffee lifestyle again that afternoon.
Cafes with impressive toilets are a rarity in my cafe hopping list so far, so kudos to Wheeler’s Yard for not only cleverly designing your cubicles to maximise space but also maintaining its cleanliness.The staff were also friendly and forth-coming, taking the initiative to help me with drinks to the table after noticing that I was alone with the boys for a bit while the husband had to go back to the car to get something and prompt with attending to our queries.
If you’re looking for a super-cool hangout to chill with friends, enjoy some me-time or even to get inspired, this place is definitely worth the trip. More of these cafe concepts please, with perhaps a different atelier of sorts?
Do you really get stares from other patrons?? I haven’t received any stares in a long time. Or maybe everyone can see how I rule the children with my iron fist, if anyone dares to give me a stare I WILL RULE THEM TOO. (In reality, maybe it’s because I don’t care what others think? :D) HEE!
I do! Maybe it’s because I’m more sensitive to people’s reactions. I’ve tried the iron fist parenting style, but that invited even more stares and whispers! Maybe I should really stop caring what others think! Heh