Going Om

Tucked in the corner of the eclectic Haji Lane, there lies a café in a simply refurbished shophouse that you may seek harmony, peacefulness and bliss within the confines.

Set up by Mr Barry Tan and Mr Oliver Pang, Going Om is a café with a western subculture concept of New Age, where besides food, fun and activities (Flow toys performers e.g. movement artists, spinners, twirlers, circus freaks, martial artists, jugglers, object manipulators gather every Thursday nights) patrons can also get to indulge in intuitive card readings, crystal healing and meditation classes, the latter to be held every Sunday evening at 7pm where one can learn to focus on visualisation and manifestation techniques amongst other skills. The place offers a two-storey option.

One gets to sit on an out of the ordinary wooden platform with small tables on the ground level, and as you make your way up a very steep flight of stairs, you will be greeted by a huge Buddha rug hung on the wall and a very spacious room, where customers can have a choice of sitting on the wooden sofa set at the corner or the many mattresses strewn all over – as for me, I definitely prefer the latter.

One of the many interesting feature you will find at Going Om is a trap door on the 2nd floor that opens up to a wooden staircase, that leads you back to the outside of the café on the ground level, the other is the pet parakeets that Barry and Oliver will bring around on their shoulder as they make their rounds to chat up with you.

Besides the usual finger food, Going Om dishes out interesting homemade desserts at $4.50 each that leave you craving for more. The Strawberry Surprise, a creation from Barry, is a warm savoury dessert of cheese and cream, where the delightful surprise is the chilled refreshing strawberries found in the middle of it. This pleasurable mix of sweet and savoury, hot versus cold leaves one wonder for more.

The Apple and Pear Crumble is another excellent homemade creation, this time by Oliver, who picked up this recipe while he was living in UK. What I like about this dessert was the fruits are sliced thickly, still retaining the crunch, unlike the usual cubes you get from outside. The sweet and sour combination of the fruits was enjoyable, plus the generous topping of cereal gives the dessert a fulfilling ending.

We also enjoyed the interesting Chakra drinks ($11.00), an alcoholic beverage that is made of Advocaat, a rich and creamy liqueur from Holland that is made from eggs, sugar and brandy – it is smooth to the throat and leaves an almond aftertaste when one drinks it.

There are 7 colours or choices to choose from and each a different flavour and symbolises a different meaning, which Barry and Oliver will be delighted to share them with you (it was just too complex for me to remember actually). I truly enjoyed my time spent there and before I knew it, 5 hours past quickly.

So Have You Gone Om Lately?!

You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.