📍 Work Spot Review #1: Joe & Dough at Kallang Wave Mall

Quick Summary:

• 💻 Wi-Fi: Connect to SportsFreeWiFi. Quick to connect, fast, stable, good connection wherever you sit in the cafe.

• 🔌 Power outlets: Available at high tables & back tables.

• ☕ Coffee: Good coffee elevated by on-point latte art; $6.80 for a large cappuccino. Yellow cups make me smile.

• 🥞 Food: Pastries, sandwiches, and all-day breakfast. Mains are a little pricey but there are options under $10 (Mushroom Melt on Toast, Avocado Zucchini Salad).

• 🛋️ Comfort: Most comfortable tables are the ones right at the back. Brown stools and tables are surprisingly comfortable (they might not look it, but try!). High tables have too little room for me to sit cross-legged.

• 🌡️ Temperature: Air-conditioned. Don't need a cardigan/jacket -- it doesn't get too cold.

• 🕰️ Ambience: Comfortable lighting, casual vibes, non-cluttered and minimalistic. No maddening mall/cafe music. You're free to listen to the voice in your head.

• 🚽 Washroom: Multiple options nearby within Kallang Wave Mall. Clean. No bidets. Avoid leaning on the hand washing basins when reaching for the soap -- I've walked out of there with a water mark near-enough my crotch too many times.

• 🧘🏽‍♀️ Stay Duration: Easy to stay for 4 hours or more, if it doesn't fill up.

• 📍 Address: 1 Stadium Pl, #01-44, Singapore 397628

• ⛔ Avoid: Generally avoid this area when concerts/big sporting events at the Kallang Stadium/Sports Hub are scheduled. School holidays can get a little testy/noisier than usual - but still tolerable.

🪑 The Vibe

Nestled in Kallang Wave Mall, this Joe & Dough feels more spacious than their busier branches. Natural light pours in from the mall skylight, and I've never found myself elbow-to-elbow with strangers here. There’s a casual hum of conversations and the usual cafe sounds, but nothing distracting.

Crowd is a mix of people having casual meetings and solo remote workers — perfect for working without feeling rushed.

🔌 Working Conditions

The Wi-Fi is reliable (no lag on Zoom). If you're planning a longer stay, grab a seat at the back tables/high tables. Tables are just enough for your laptop, handphone, drink, water bottle and a notebook (except for brown circular tables -- those will only hold your laptop and drink).

☕ Food & Drink

I'm a creature of habit, so my go-to here is a large cappuccino presented in a yellow coffee cup. At $6.80 a swipe, I do wish the coffee volume was larger (I'm clearly more a mug-girl than cup-girl), but the smile on my face when I see a yellow cup + gorgeous latte art every single time makes up for it.

Tried a scone once -- was dope. Mains are pricey for a daily breakfast/lunch, so I normally only caffeinate here and maybe munch on a granola bar/bun from home. Good variety of other food options in the mall.

📝 Final Thoughts

Joe & Dough at Kallang Wave is ideal for a work session any time of the day. Friendly staff. My favourite thing to before/after a work session is to walk around the Kallang Basin just outside. Children of the Sun and Water (i.e. crazies like me who need to be within arms reach of sunlight, open space, a water body and fresh air) will appreciate this location.

💡 Tips

• Best seating: Back tables, for privacy and less foot traffic.

• People-watching: It's a sporty space where people go to workout, so lots of fitness buffs around.

• Grocery Run: Shopping at the mall's NTUC is an event in itself (say: massive).

• If you're out on your pre or post walk along the boardwalk, you might bump into otter families!

• If you're there with friends who want to grab grub from another cafe/restaurant, you can still enjoy your Joe & Dough orders and sit together at the public benches right at the cafe entrance.

Hit me up if you'd like my honest review of any specific cafe/restaurant/library/whatever you've been meaning to work from! Happy to venture on your behalf :)

Tiny thoughts

Something's shifting but I can't fully put my finger on it -- and not entirely understanding it actually makes me feel oddly comfortable. How about that.

Duality in kindness

There's a saying that goes to the tune of "Never meet your heroes, you'll be disappointed". You may have seen or heard it as a line in a superhero movie, a quote in a book or maybe even an online post.

The quote probably holds different meanings to each of us (thank you, subjectivity). For me, I struggled with the word 'hero' at first because I found it hard to distinguish between a hero, mentor or idol. Some may define their hero as a famous people, like their favourite singer, adventurer, artist, explorer or actor. Others say their parents or best friends are their heroes.

After some deliberation, heroes in my eyes have to be people that I know personally. So that narrows it down to family and friends. There surely are some extraordinary ones and they have one thing in common -- they are genuinely kind people. I've had the chance to spend significant amounts of time with them and unfortunately, they saying at the start of this post does hold water.

The more time you spend with people, the higher the chance of finding out that they're not all about the rainbows and butterflies you had in your mind. The same way the outwardly happiest people are usually some of the saddest people you'll ever meet, the kindest people will unfortunately also be the most cruel ones you'll ever experience.

Of course there's the juxtaposition that will make each trait seem exceptionally extreme. I guess it's hard to reconcile how someone you hold to be so kind in your heart can act in any cruel way. So when it does happen, you don't see it coming. It's unexpected, it's shocking, you're in complete disbelief that the pedestal you'd built was actually made of cheese -- it melted with just a bit of heat. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when you wish you'd never met your hero.

At the end of it all, I still hope you meet your heroes. In the grander scheme of things, you'll be better for it. Just remember to ground yourself in the fact that they too are human and possess duality, as do you. TLDR, nobody's perfect. We learn something from every interaction. It'll either be a lesson on how you want to be, or how you never want to be.