By Kim-Tien Huynh (cityweekend.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-05-30 14:48

With a bright orange and brown decor, Espressamente recreates a modern, generic, somewhat artificial setting for an Italian coffee shop.

Expect great coffee from the signature Illy brand-Cour Espresso All Americana (24 yuan) gave justice to this high quality Italian coffee. The cappuccino (30 yuan) was strong and ended with a natural sweet taste, giving us the most intense of coffee pleasures. The chicken salad (25 yuan) with balsamic dressing surprised our palate agreeably but the watery chicken took away a bit of the enjoyment.

Our hot and spicy ciabatta (32 yuan) had a pleasant sweet and sour sauce, but unfortunately the processed cheese prevented it from being a truly great panini and the cheese and bacon version (30 yuan) was overrun by sweet mayonnaise.

All combined, our taste buds got a bit of an overdose, killing any desire for dessert. Still, we will definitely be back to enjoy another cappuccino outdoors in the sunshine.

Espressamente Illy Cafe
Add: Shop 156, Grand Gateway Mall, 1 Hongqiao Lu
Tel: 6447-9697