Balance Cafe Shop x Coffee Artisanal Roastery — Restaurant in Zhongshan District

I'm so glad I came across this place on Google Maps--the coffee is great, and you see the pride the owner has in "hunting"(finding) and roasting the best coffee beans. I loved that they sell filter bags for beans you like (best to plan for pre-ordering). It's unpretentious, the quality speaks for itself.

Service was all round friendly. Special note on the food-- they really live up to their promise of serving the freshest ingredients. It was a simple salad, but it was fresh and good, and a homey-ness to the cooking. They were kind enough to add mushrooms when I didn't want any meat. The accompanying croissant and buttery brioche was delicious too.

You really feel the sincerety of the staff to provide the best and comfortable...

Not sure what's going on with this place. Came in alone on a weekday afternoon, just wanted some pastry or a snack and a few minutes to relax. I was the only customer in the place and the boss was alone. The dessert case had absolutely nothing in it and the boss said they were "all sold out" of desserts. I ordered the cheapest, quickest thing on the menu, which was a cheese/egg toast set for $200 (bit steep, I thought) and it still took well over 15 minutes to prepare. It was adequate, but certainly not a great meal. The place gave the impression of being on the verge of closing down, but maybe it was...

Ordered brown sugar latte both times. Yum! Although I still don't know much about coffee, you can really tell that the people here are passionate about it. They roast the beans in the store, and make note of each customer's orders. My only issue is that voices seem to amplify in the space, so I'm forced to eavesdrop on the next table's conversation despite having my airpods on...