The vibe: Yet another new opening along the shophouses of Keong Saik Street, this tiny one-table café (with six seats at the table and stools lining the room) is attached to the Park 22 Hotel and named after the German word for ‘happiness’. The glass-fronted space looks stylish and bright, but given the size, there’s not much room to lounge around.
The food: There’s a small menu of food options, from paninis ($8.90-$9.50) to savoury pies ($6.50, beef or chicken) and baked pastas ($8.50, beef, chicken or veggie lasagne), suitable for a snack if you’re peckish (but not recommended for a proper meal).
There’s an impressive range of sweets, from cakes (outsourced to a third party bakery who uses their exclusive recipes) in various cheesecake flavours, an apple crumble, black forest and carrot cake ($6.20/slice) to Beligum waffles ($5.50) and crepes ($5.90). Don’t be tempted by either of their somewhat overpriced Combis – in the case of the Chocolate Volcano ($13.90), it’s just their lava cake served with a scoop of vanilla on the side, plus two pieces of a Kit Kat bar.
The drinks: Glück offers their own ‘Supremo’ coffee blend, with beans from Costa Rica which are roasted for them by Highlander Coffee and breweed on a fancy Mirage machine. Prices start at $3.90 for a double espresso to $7.20 for an iced flavoured latte.
At $7.50, their in-house specialty drinks are exorbitant: the Grey Latte is basically brewed Gryphon tea and steamed milk, while the Choco Tea, perhaps a bit more unique, mixing Gryphon Earl Grey with hot chocolate (add a dollar to make it iced for a whopping total of $8.50). Likewise, skip their smoothies ($6.90) and Glück Zesty drinks ($5), which are made with flavoured yoghurts, syrups and canned drinks, rather than fresh fruits.
The verdict: One of the more forgettable new venues on the ever hip and growing Keong Saik stretch, Glück might get a few curious walkins from tourists looking for a cosy pit stop in the area, but compared to nearby coffee stalwarts The Plain and Oriole Coffee, there’s not much reason to spend your money here (particularly for their overpriced specialty drinks). Berwin Song