What's in the name of a cake?

What do you think of when you read the name of a cake in the display unit? What kind of drool worthy image comes into your mind? i am really curious.

for me, the name of the cake, because it is short - gives me the idea/summary as to how the cake will taste like and if i'd be promised a yummy treat when i read their names. i will not be able to imagine how sweet, or how soft or how tasty it will be, but i gather i should be happy after eating it. Afterall, i'd only buy stuff which i have previously experienced a certain level of good feel after trying out the ingredients etc..

i posed the above question coz of my recent trip back to Pan Pac Atrium deli. Apparently, they have new cakes. it was a surprise and the names of the cakes i bought looked rather promising and pretty unique.

two names made me confirm my purchase. Caramel Pear and Pumpkin Cheese cake.

i like caramel and am interested how well caramel goes with pear. Pumpkin i love, and i have yet to taste how pumpkin with cheese taste like. Pretty simple names, pretty basic thoughts came into my mind when i got these two cakes. for the former, i expected only caramel and pear. the the latter, pumpkin and cheese.. well, i was wrong. the two turned out to be more complicated than i have imagined. good or bad, i guess one have to taste it for oneself to come up with the conclusion. for me, they didnt make it although i must say that effort have been put in to conjure up these flavours hoping that they match.

First the caramel pear. i don't know if you noticed but 2/3 of the cake is surrounded by kuey lapis (i didnt until i started eating the cake). i think the idea is cool, but if only this was a simple cake. the top layer is caramel mousse i think (erm if there's something like that) mousse i am not sure, but definitely caramel. dusted with icing sugar and topped with a goosenberry without the dried leaves. a wavy white chocolate deco makes up the whole design of the cake.

Let's then look deeper into this cake. it's more than just meeting its name.

inbetween the top layer of caramel mousse and bottom layer of sponge cake and sandwiched by lapis, there is this custardy layer where you find the cubes/slices of pear. it's a lot for a cake. complicated flavours, i have no sense of what i was eating. it definitely wasn't just as simple as tasting only caramel and pear.

anyone who has eaten kuey lapis will know that it has a strong flavour by itself. i'm not sure of the ingredients in kuey lapis (KLP), i gather there's erm cinnamon? (upon googling, seems like it's this rempah mix is what gives the KLP it's flavour) anyway, the KLP overwhelmed everything this cake had to offer. it's another one of eating the cake by its layers to derived the different tastes of the cake experience. i also think it's a tad too sweet for my liking. using goosenberry was appropriate, but i would think a few more would be better. At the same time, the KLP wasn't a single piece used to surround the cake, it was cut into different pieces to surround the cake, so sometimes, i end up getting a whole of KLP on my fork, leaving a portion of this cake erm somehow, naked?

so this caramel pear was quite a disappointment.

the next day, i had the pumpkin cheesecake. looked simple enough and i guess it should meet my expectations of its name. when i first took a bite, the taste awkwardly seemed very familiar. it tasted like something i have had recently. in fact, somehow the flavour tasted like what i ate yesterday. gosh, it actually had the smell and taste of the KLP again. that's the reason why i thought cinnamon was in play here. though the cheesecake was smooth, firm with good texture, i tasted no pumpkin. i'm only being reminded of KLP, cheese and cinnamon.

sadly, i wasnt awed by it. i think it will be sometime before i visit Pan Pac Atrium Deli again.

Fruits Crepe Cake from PG

I returned to PG today with Elise. A new place, a new counter. Yet the cakes still familiar.

This time, i tried the new items and forgo the old favorites. My purchase and calorie damage for the day included Charlotte Ami, Chocolat De Noeh and Fruits Crepe.

I liked the fresh strawberry mousse taste of Charlotte Ami and even more the layers of sponge cake which surrounded the mousse and cream.. feels like i am back to those days of the strawberry shortcake cartoons and definitely how every girl always love the pink and sweetness of everything that is strawberries! hehe. the mousse, light and slightly sour and very very fragrant. the surrounding layer of spongy cake, so soft, so fluffy, so very melt in your mouth. what's wonderful, the outer part/crust of the spongy cake is slightly crispy!! gosh, i soooo melted when i ate the whole thing. Lurve, lurve, lurve it!!

and then i couldn't resist and had to have the remaining two cakes after the day's events. bought CDN because there were nuts inside. almond and walnuts. interestingly, it tasted like something very familiar. it's not exactly soft. somehow, keeping it in the fridge kinda partially harden a certain layer of the cake (i think it's the ganache). Rich, yes but definitely not the richest i have had for a choc cake. nothing beats the one from pan pac bakery. that one is super duper awesome, and i must stress i am not exactly a chocolate fan. out of the 3, it's not my favourite though i think it'd be a bit too light for choc lovers.. hmm.. it's definitely bitter sweet. so i guess it depends.

last but not least, my favorite for the day. i have finally found something which can rival Arinco's swissroll. this fruits crepe cake is creamy creamy, light light creamy to the max. on the surface of the signature soft spongy cake, it was covered with super thin layer of crepe skin. Within the bravarian cream, super uber fresh fruits. there's grapes and i wonder if it's THAT kind of korean grape (you know the super huge ones where the skin separates easily from the flesh) and peach and pear cubes. the best best best surprise of this cake is that bit of burnt caramel towards the middle part of the cake nestled in the baravian cream. it was awesome!!!! i prefer this more than Arinco's swiss roll. unforgettable and i am sooo going to go back to get it. wasted as i didn't take pics of this yummy cake!!

PG has relocated to Icon Village and it looks like a pretty exciting place with so many restaurants opening up, i can't wait to see what IV has to offer. People working in the CBD area sure are spoilt for choices and the occasional indulgence.

*green with envy*!!

Obolo's Le Cassis

i finally got to visit Obolo after a very very long time. I guess it's coz it's so near to my house i always find it not that necessary to visit.

so today, instead of visiting Cold Storage at Parkway, i decided to head to the CS @ Katong Mall. Primarily also because i wanted to buy 4D and toto from the outlet where i won some bucks from. anyway, that aside, the outlet is damn near to Obolo. i was looking in but could not see the cakes, so i walked away and then thought i needed some nice desserts after dinner, so i headed in.

there were quite a few varieties, but something purple and brown caught my eye. it must be the elegant purple mousse which teased my eyes to return to view it. it has more shade of red than blue and it was dark. i'd like my room to be that colour next time. then i caught the description of 'almond' and further saw an almond, pistachio and two blueberries, i decided that i got to have that for dessert.

Le Cassis is the name and it consists of 4 layers. the top being the black currant mousse, followed by moist dark chocolate almond biscuit layers, rich dark chocolate ganache mousse and crunchy praline feulletine base.

overall, the taste is complicated if eaten in one mouthful. the tartness of the blackcurrant mousse, the sweetness and bitterness of the chocolate ganache mousse, the chocolate almond biscuit layers and the base, there's so many flavours and textures coming together. it's very very cheem! so i decided to eat each layer individually and from there, i realised there's a lot of effort put into making each layer. despite the fact that it may not taste that awesome when eaten together, it's really made of quality. so for $7.20 it's quite worth it.

i like the overall presentation very slick and super magical feel to it. i like and did not regret having eaten the chocolate sheet together with the almond, blueberries and pistachio. it's damn good and i'd love my chocolates to taste like that!!

will definitely check out Obolo again and see what it has to offer, though my next target would probably be GOBI when the suntec cafe opens hopefully soon!!

D & D @ 1 Caramel

today's the return visit to 1 Caramel in less than a week. went with Cece for a major catch up sesh which was partially overdue. we stayed there for 5 hours. from 7 ish to 12 ish.

customised cupcakes selling @ $6 per cupcake and min order is 12. very pretty!

thought i saw a family having pizza the other time i was there and told Cece that yes, they served mains. however, after studying the menu for like countless times, we didn't see any pizzas! in the end, we resorted to asking the waitress if they served other savories. surprisingly, they did. 3 kinds of pizzas: Margarita, hawaiian and parma ham. so we opted for the parma and mushroom soup. we didn't order cakes at the point in time coz we were going to revisit the display fridge after the mains.

the mushroom soup arrived first and had two slices of crispy toasts. i like the just nice richness of the soup. it's thick with generous bits mushrooms blended to just the correct size adding a good texture to the soup. unfortunately, the were bits of leaves (i think dried basil leaves? Dunno) in the soup and it sort of marred the last few moments of drinking the soup. overall, i'd order it again coz it's savoury enough and not overly creamy!

the pizza arrived thereafter and it's quite big. divided to 8 slices, it can feed at least 3 people or even 4. it's definitely not as good as the one i had in Skinny P coz the toppings weren't that generous and the dough was not exactly fantastic. it could also be because we had too much. we didn't finish the pizza. 2 slices were left behind though we finished the rocket leaves and the parma ham.

if you don't want to visit the fridge, which is something you should do, they also have a menu. i counted, there were a total of 27 different kinds of cakes!

we ordered tea too. mine's the fruit mountain. not too strong, it's quite light but not as light as Cece's Geisha something. the butter cookie is yummy too!

by then we were pretty full, took a walk to the gigantic see through fridge to finalise the cake of our choice for the night. initially we were pretty optimistic, that we will be able to eat 4 cakes in total, but we ordered 2 different cakes first, just in case.

cece ordered the Chocolate Praline Cake. As described in the cakes' menu, quote: '1 Caramel's Cocoa signature with varying layers of chocolate mousse and hazelnut praline feuilletine.' when i ate the cake, i thought it was sweet. cece didnt think it was. i guess we have different levels of sugar tolerance. to me the cake tasted like kit kat again. i very much prefer the CBL coz of the balance of tart and sweet.

i ordered the Nid d'abeilles. Don't ask me how to pronounce it, but quote again: 'Layers of honey chiboust cream and strawberry jelly sandwiched with crispy almond dacquoise.' hmm yet another cheem description. i thought the cake was quite sweet as well. Though the strawberry jelly is sour, it's still sweet. overall, sweet. i didnt taste much honey but the cake was really soft and the chiboust cream was light a fluffy. almond dacquoise is also sweet. hmm.. everything sweet.


i think we had a bit too much sugar that we went on a sugar high and was hyper for a short 30 mins and started to seh for the next 30 mins. we got back to our original state by drinking lots of water that coupled with lots of laughter as we chit chatted. it was so therapeutic and i missed her company. it's always nice to chat with her when there are things i find it hard to understand and needed someone who bothers to analyse and unafraid to tell me her thoughts in a evaluative manner. she didn't need to provide solutions, it's just great to hear what she has to say.


food though not as amazing as the first experience, company was great and the place was so nice to nuah!! i didnt feel like moving from the long bench with that huge fluffy brown pillow. felt damn shiok! it was a wonderful friday night and i look forward to meeting up with my dear friend soon :)!

Swiss roll in a different light!

this entry is very delayed. visited Ion two weeks back and just had to get it. was told that the dry ice can last 4 hours and was skeptical but the roll did made it home together with the whipped cream intact. i still managed to see the liquefied caramel in its deep darkish brown oozing out. that was soooo exciting and i couldn't wait to eat it.

one thing though, i should have asked them to slice it up for me. coz cutting the ultra softy roll was a feat!! even warming the knife with warm water doesn't help as well. it seems so super fragile and when you start cutting it, even more fragile!

let me go straight to the roll. it's soft for sure, the whipped cream is light and very fluff. the taste of the caramel is everywhere, but the saltiness was not that obvious, just tinges here and there. the thing to rave about is that burnt, slightly bitter and sometimes sweet liquefied caramel. the surprise is there were solid bits in it too, so it's woah for me!! i love it!


for $18 a roll it's still expensive. definitely something of an indulgence..

back on my own feet

today marked the first day after about a month where i went to work without my mum sending me to and fro. a bit apprehensive at first, but heck, i already took a trip to tampines over the weekend for my haircut and took the bus as well as the mrt. basically, the left foot still hurts but just grit my teeth and walked. i guess i need that bit of exercise somehow.


anyway, i missed my cakes from Pan Pac and had a craving. contemplated half the day whether should pay a visit or not. anyways, even to the last minute, i nearly didn't go. so off i went and greedy me bought two items. a chocolate eclair and a chendol cake. see the pic and you'd know why i bought the former. the latter i got it coz it's unique.

in short, nothing to rave about. i'm not sure if it's coz after eating CBL that the chocolate filling in the eclair wasn't anything fantastic and it definitely have some sourish taste which i couldn't figure. didn't taste spoilt or anything, it was just 'blah'.. the saving grace surprisingly was their addition of the raspberries. kinda sad huh.

as for the chendol cake, i was also attracted by the jade green topping. i love the red bean coz it's not the mushy kind and also coz of the jelly which had the typical pandan smell which was so fragrant. sadly the atup chee cannot make it, as well as those greeny stuff. the filling inbetween tasted like agar agar with coconut just not as firm, but it's pretty ok. hmm.. in short, i probably won't buy it again.

oh no, what has 1 caramel done to my taste buds for cakes!?!? this is horrific! hee :p

Dessert @ 1 Caramel

i read of this place from a couple of blogs and got me curious. had the idea of going prior to catching 'UP' since it's at Handy Rd where The Cathay was. Almost could not make it coz of the activities which i arranged. In the end, we had early dinner and managed to find 1 caramel to have a nice, yummy dessert makan sesh.


when we reached 1 caramel, i was surprised that there weren't that many people. somehow, i was expecting full crowd at the place and finding a seat would be difficult. but i guess it's prolly because it's national day and most people would either be at the parade or catching it a home. if not, then most likely they went overseas. anyway, no complains. happy to be able to get a seat without waiting.


the place looks pretty small. there are two kinds of al fresco areas. one with round marble tables and chairs, each table sitting 4 and there were 4 tables. then there was another more cosy area where there were long comfy sofas to chill and relax.

i love the interior for the mustard yellow cushion seats, dark zenish brown tables and the chairs with the super long backing. it looks almost like antique children chairs but enlarged a few times bigger. felt like a kid when i sat on it. well, the chair was tall. there was also a huge see through fridge where the cakes, tarts, wines were being kept. it was a visual treat indeed!

love their lightings and the cutlery they use. Very modern and classy. in all, the place has a very homely feel. it's like stepping into someone's house of sorts.


the cakes menu is always on the table. it has i think probably close to 30 varieties? it is indeed a tough choice to make. if you make a visit to the see through fridge, it's even harder.


i was determined to eat Lychee Rose until i came upon a separate menu where this dessert caught my eye. 'Red miso souffle'. the souffle is made with miso and comes with yuzu ice cream. i was curious how this combination would be like. so i forgo the cakes and chose this instead.

we had the Chocolate Berry Lust which was recommended. it's actually a tart with chocolate ganache filling. looking at it, seems like very rich chocolate and i wonder how potent it would be. taking a bite, i knew it's ok. the valrhona chocolate ganache was very smooth, creamy and rich but not to the extend of being overwhelming. the tart base is made of 2 layers. one which tasted like kit kat and another hmm.. some very dark chocolate biscuit? i'm not sure and can't really taste what it is.


there was also generous topping of a variety of berries (gosenberry, strawberries, blueberries, raspberry and that very sour berry which i can't remember the name) and small chocolate coated biscuit balls made this tart looked even more tantalising! i must say that the sour berry and the chocolate ganache tasted best when eaten together. there was a balance of sweetness from the ganache and tartness from the berry. not so good combi when eaten with the blueberry though.

the Red Miso Souffle took quite sometime to arrive. we finished the CBL and had to wait quite awhile. when it arrived, i didnt see any reds, instead it's all in different shades of yellows and creams. the presentation was simple and pleasant. we then poked a hole in the middle of the souffle wondering what's inside. poking the souffle was like 'waw! soooo super soft and fluffy!!' we didnt see any filling, but the reward came in the form of the warm, sweet buttery, creamy and milky smell. definitely something nice and yummy. it's a very comforting smell actually. fresh, original and untainted.

eating the souffle with the yuzu ice cream is akin to eating warm brownie and vanilla ice cream. the hot and the cold was like mmmm.. but the difference is the souffle was salty though can't taste the miso-ness of it, but it was definitely salty and eating it with the yuzu ice cream which was partially sour and sweet, it was pretty happening! 3 tastes at one go, it was quite unusual coz each taste has it's presence and was not overwhelmed by the other.


i like this dessert coz it played with my sense of smell, 'touch', taste and sight. i like it and it would have been better if the yuzu ice cream was sherbet instead to play down on the cream i feel.


i was wrong to say that they didnt serve mains. primarily coz i didnt read of mains being served. i should have asked when i called the day before. but nevermind, this leaves more chances to explore what the place has to offer another time, another day.


the chef made this cityscape for national day. It's damn big, should see it for yourself. we were also in for a treat of fireworks display from the NDP after we finished our dessert and got a partial good view. what a way to end a yummy dessert sesh. i'm definitely going back to 1 caramel and hopefully soon :D!

Strawberry Rhubarb Tart

i had an interesting encounter when i bought the cakes and tarts that day. a Caucasian man was in the deli the same time as i was. he's prolly in his 40s and his name is Joe. we didn't formally introduce, but started chatting coz we were both having a hard time to decide what to get for that day.


the cakes were tempting. very very. though there werent exactly that many to choose from, but i had a hard time deciding. he asked what kind of cakes i like, i told him i wasn't a chocolate fan and prefer sourish stuff. he asked if i have had rhubarb before. i told him no but i have come across this word. he said that it's a root and has a very tart taste to it. he's also curious how it will taste with the strawberry and all.


so in the end, i got this and expected it to be sourish. hmm.. it wasn't. in fact the rhubarb was the filling for the tart and it tasted like hmm.. mashed tapioca? i like the strawberries and the blueberry though. so sweet!!!! first time i tasted sweet strawberries and blueberries on cakes/tarts. nice!


however, the tart was only so so. perhaps my expectations were too high. i expected it to be super sour but it was sweet. probably i had a sourish craving that day. nevertheless, i'd prolly get another cake the next time. it was a tough choice between this and the passion fruit cake i last had.. now it won't be so difficult. heh heh.

Caramel Opera

once again, my photo doesnt do justice to the cakes. chocolate person i am not, and even if i am, i love my chocs with nuts. almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia and what have yous other than walnut.


i bought the caramel opera out of curiosity. curious in that i wanted to know how rich that glossy layer was and how does caramel cake taste like.


kept it in the fridge for 1 day and little did i know, a surprise awaited me that day when i took it out to eat. what impressed me about the cake was the rich layer of chocolate fudge (if that's what you call it) was still smooth and melty when i staked it with the fork. it didn't harden even after 1 day in the fridge!! the cake is made up of these:


a thin layer of choc mousse
a thick layer of choc cream
a similar layer of sponge cake with loads of nutty bits
and the sequence repeated itself


it was in short, delish! the layer of sponge with nutty bits was in fact very moist and oozing some sort of liquid which i forgot what it was, i think it was coffee. cannot remember.


and i like that they had some gold dust on the chocolate coated coffee bean. nice! for the 25% discount, it was well worth it! :D

Finally, i bought Canele's BFC

so i headed to Canele this evening. Really really wanted to get the cake. I ended up buying 3 just so to charge to my credit card. not that they have any promos with the card i used. i thought it'd be more convenient.


anyway, my cakes suffered a 'drop' and thus BFC suffered 'injuries' by the time i got home. the rest were still in tact.


this is the first time i tabao the cakes back from Canele. Usually i'd have my fix there, but i wanted to go home early (but thanks to the lousy public transportation system i reached home quite late) and i found out something super about Canele's boxes which houses their cakes. this i will upload as another entry.


so, to my encounter with Canele's BFC. it's moussey and has lots of cherrys within the mousse and the cake. for that small cube, i ate about 5 cherries which i like but it's a bit bland for me. the texture of the mousse was good. thick and chocolatey a bit rich for me, but i'm not exactly a chocolate fan so, don't quote me.

Canele's Blackforest Cake

It's very nicely dusted with cocao powder. taking the cake and looking it from a far, it's very pretty how the powder coated the whole cube. in fact, it looks velvety! anyway, i was rather worried coz i usually get 'choked' by the powder. they somehow have a way of tickling my throat.


i like the crumbly bits on top of the cake. i can't figure out what it is. Almonds or hazelnut? It has some nutty flavour if i am not wrong. and i like that small cherry on top. with a little bit of gold foil decorating it and setting it apart from the rest of the browns. what's more, the cherry has got rum or was soaked in some liquor. when i ate it at first, it kinda reminded me of cough syrup, but the taste of the rum came on slightly later. pretty interesting!


hmm.. for a small 'cube' with such varied taste, i think it's not bad. am just wondering if they will come up with a citrus version?

Pan Pac Atrium Bakery Signature Passion Fruit Cake

we chanced upon the bakery at the Pan Pac atrium whilst walking to the parking lot this evening. attracted by the poster screaming 50% discount (only on bread, muffins and croissants/25% on cakes whole or sliced and sausages and ham) after 7pm, we headed in and found only very limited muffin (left only 1) some croissants, zero bread (though they had many different loaves which were like pretty humongous) and lots of yummy, attractive, to die for cakes.


though they were only on 25% discount, i found myself very much glued to them. then this 1 cake caught my eye, the Signature Passion Fruit Cake. it looked like that dome shaped cake from Centre P's which i REALLY wanted to try, but thus far, haven't gotten the chance. So without looking further and since it's passion fruit which i truly heart, i got it. unfortunately, i realised there was another passion fruit with mango cake i was like 'aiyah! i didnt take more time to look!!' thank goodness i wasn't greedy coz mum bought fried chicken back and i had two drumsticks before i attacked my cake.

partially staked by the fork as you can see

initially, i was dubious and kinda felt i had prolly chosen the wrong cake. staking the fork into the cake, it looked just like any other normal ones. there was a uber thin, opaque and gelatinous 'force fielding' the rest of the fluffy, light, cheesy and lemony interior. at the bottom is a layer of spongy cake. still, i didn't taste much passion fruit and thought that i had been cheated of sorts.


it was only until i 'staked' the centre of the dome did i find my surprise. OMG! guess what?! the passion fruit oozed out like how you break half boiled egg with your metal spoon, except there were seeds of course! it was such viewing pleasure which i immediately shot with my SLR. from then, the whole taste of the cake changed entirely. lemon, passion fruit, cheese, bits of pistachios and those sourish red berries. it was citrius acidity to the max and i love it! i felt less sinful with the drumsticks after having the cake.

see the passion fruit 'sauce' starting to ooze?!?

the whole blob just oozed out like that.. looks like a bao right??

love it and will prolly try the others another day. yums! :D

La France

La france

when i was at Glace yesterday, i didn't know what to buy. i went with the intention of getting the souffle and they were well stocked yesterday. braving the heat and ultimately crazy hot sun, my brains must have been fried to make a wise decision.


so visualisation took over and La France looked uber appealing! it's a tart with it's middle entirely filled by a quarter of pear. i love pear - cooked in the form of a dessert. i am ok with eating it fresh and crunchy. the thing about me is i like food with texture. Crunchy, chewy, Q, crispy.. anything that needs me to really chewy, it's top on my list. so what do i like about cooked pears when they already lost most of their crunchy texture and are softer by the time they are cooked?


i love the part when i bite into the cooked pear, the coarse texture becomes more prominent. every bite makes the pear more and more powdery. it becomes a joy to chew it. haha.. funny as it sounds.


anyway, back to la france. i found it too sweet to my liking. the top of the tart is covered with custard and a layer of jelly glaze was on top of the custard to make it glossily appealing. there was also some caramelized sugar on top of the custard. the pear in the middle was actually quite big. it's very neatly sliced into thin slices but it looked like it was a quarter slice of pear. Very generous.


i guess my tooth is just not that sweet to enjoy it.

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took this when i was on my way to Glace from another route. i love the white against the blacks and the browns. one part of the building house xi yan, and i dunno what's the other side. I think the CBD and tanjong pagar area is a very interesting place. i would love to go again for another photo trip erm, when the weather is not as hot though..

Strawberry Souffle - Patisserie Glace

at $5.50, i'd say it's a good cheap indulgence!

amongst the strawberry related cakes which Patisserie Glace has to offer, i have to say that the strawberry souffle is my favourite.


i like it coz the taste is clean. strawberry on top, in the middle and the light, creamy enough cheese cake that makes it whole. there's not too many things to complicate the overall taste, so i simply enjoy it! it's a good balance of all the ingredients. Go figure out the bits which covers the site. it's uber tasty! :D


my only complain? hmm coz i like to eat my cake with a bit of everything so i tend to eat my cake top down and i hate it when my cake topples. in this case, the strawberry souffle has some sliced strawberry beneath the strawberry topping so it's difficult to eat it top down.


anyway, i am missing my cakes. hopefully, i'd head there next week with the girls!

Canele - revisited on 'impluse'

So last Saturday was super hot!! after visiting baby Ethen, i needed a refreshing drink badly. the first drink that popped into my mind (nope, not beer you evil people!) was the iced honey lemongrass from Canele since baby Ethen was at Mt E and was near Paragon, i headed there. was partially worried that there would not be any seats available, but i was lucky.

i always liked their logo. so classy

through the bottom of the glass

the drink that brought me there. doesn't look happening, but the refreshing taste of lemongrass cooled my fried brains for as long as the drink lasted..

they have an easter 'bundled' menu which ends 12 April

sat down and was contemplating between eating crepes or cakes. i wasn't hungry that day, so i decided against crepe since it's going to be damn filling, i opted for on 'over the counter' cakes. there were so many and i didn't know which to choose. wasn't in the mood for chocolate, so in the end, i took the tiramisu (well, bearing in mind on the same week on Thurs i had the same thing @ Pasta Inc) seriously, i don't know. i think i just wanted to compare.

the blah tiramisu

the conclusion? i preferred the one from Pasta Inc simply because it oozed coffee. the one from canele? nothing strong, nothing interesting, nothing facinating. was it even tiramisu i ate??


oh well, maybe it's the heat.. even when i asked the waitress if i could take photos using my SLR, she didn't understand what i wanted. coz instead of asking her a simple question like 'Can i take photo?' i asked her 'what do you think about people taking photos in here?'.. so duh right??


now you know what the hot hot sun does to me. i become senseless coz my brains were fried! :p

Double Rare Cheese Mango - Pattiserie Glace

is your idea of cheesecake something completely cheesy? thick, heavy, creamy cheese which you can savour in your mouth and thereafter leaves a strong after taste even when the cake is swallowed?


that's what i thought a cheesecake to be.. normally.


eating this cake brought a whole new perspective to eating cheesecakes. more often than not, the cheesecakes i have eaten are a proportionate blend of thick cheesy taste with just enough if not too much sweetness to hide the cheese taste. that's the taste of the cheese itself. thereafter, the sponge cake is also sweet and the toppings are also sweet, or sour at times. so complex...


then came the DRCM. (yep, i am lazy so i like to give my own abbreviations to lengthy stuff)


what struck me about the cake is how fragile it is. removing the plastic cover surrounding the cake, it started to bend within minutes not sure if it's due to the weather or what.. in any case, i realise i must eat the cake soonest.


the top part of the cake is a layer of fluffy, soft, white cream drizzled with a generous amount of mango puree. the cheese filling is next and a layer of sponge cake. the combi is being repeated and it makes up the whole DRCM.


if you have tried PG's cakes, the cream taste is very much the same. light, melts in the mouth and goes well with anything sour. but of course, eating it by itself has no kicks. so the star for this cake is the cheese. the cheese taste is definitely there, the chef doesn't try to mask it with sugar or any further sweetness. you taste it as it is. cheese with tinges of saltiness in every bite. doesn't leave too strong an after taste.


thus it is unlike any cheesecakes i have eaten. thick cheese with proportionate blend of sweetness making some of them heavy and jelat after half a slice is being eaten. Worse, cannot run away from the sinfulness of eating those cakes.


DRCM doesn't give you the guilt and i think can eat at least 2 and maybe 1 more. Plus the sweet and sour mango puree goes so well with the cheese. at the same time, though the puree may seem a tad too little, i think it's a good portion to enjoy the whole slice of cake.


i'd definitely get it again. do try it even if you are not a cheesecake lover, it's easy to enjoy coz it's pretty light. :)

Passion Fruit Meringue from The Patissier

i was doing research for today's walkabout found out about the 'MUST TRY' passion fruit meringue from The Patissier.


i forgot about The Patissier for a long time. Over the years with places like Canele and other dessert places sprouting up, i had forgotten that my first taste of heavenly cakes actually came from this store. my bro was the one who introduced the cakes to me.

very decadent shop front. i love the doors and the chun lian outside!!

Check out the intricate tiles. the signage also blends in to its environment entirely!

even though today's intention was after photo shooting to go Glace for my cakes spree and i thought that The Patissier was going to be difficult to find, i ended up buying a piece of PF meringue. the ladies thought i was going to buy a whole cake, but i really wouldn't mind getting it for a special occasion.


when i saw the meringue first time, it was so not what i thought it would look like. i envisioned something which looked like the ones from Indulgence, so the one i saw paled in comparison. nevertheless, i bought it and the ladies were nice enough to allow me to pick up the cake later. They also asked for the time i was going to pick up the meringue, my name as well as my contact number. So thoughtful.

the message on the box was also very thoughtful too. makes me realised that the chef really wants the customers to enjoy the fruit of their labour to the fullest.

though it's only a small piece, they packed it in a box and put in an ice bag to keep it cool. at the same time, i was told to put it in the fridge within 45 mins. i think i overshot the 45 mins coz the sauce/custard was already starting to melt.


i came home and couldn't wait to attack it. after having a piece, i know i will be back to get more.

if you eat the whole thing together with the strawberry and gooseberry, it's awesome!!!

the innards of the meringue.. yummers!!

first bite, it didnt taste meringue-ish. the meringue was so soft, together with the custard, i thought i was eating some super light sponge cake. i had to take an individual cracked 'plates' to confirm the stuff i was eating was actually meringue. and i was impressed! it just melts in my mouth, no eggy smell (comparing the lemon meringue from Cedele, that one failed big time!!) and it was nicely sweeten with the icing sugar. eat it together with the fruits (mango and strawberry), the custard and the passion fruit sauce? I cant remember eating the fruit but the fragrance of the passion fruit and the taste is there. it's a mix of sweet and sour from the fruits blended in equal portions. i so regret not getting another piece.

this is where you can find them

i took my time to savour it and love every moment!!! For a price of $6.50 i think it's well worth it!

cakes from Patisserie Glace

and so, i finally made my way there. didn't expect it to be such a difficult place to find. like everyone else, i thought Chinatown Plaza was in the midst of Chinatown. Alas, it was way further than there. i was orchard and took bus 124 alighted opposite hong lim complex coz i wanted to try the bread from Barcook. after that, i headed to find Chinatown Plaza. it was a hot day, but i persisted coz i was there already, so i might as well. i asked around and was told that it was near cantonment road. i was like 'kaoz, cantonment road damn bloody far leh' but anyway, it's easier for me to get a bus home from there, so i might as well head over.

chinatown plaza is located at Craig Road

皇天不负苦心人.. i finally found it! tucked in an awfully quiet area on a weekend, CP is such an unlikely place to find such a gem. it is as everyone blogged. simple.

this is chinatown plaza, head to the entrance and Glace is on your left

it's a junction in front of chinatown plaza

when i reached, there was already a queue. two tables at the outside and the whole feel was quite dark. i think it's the only shop which opened today. the shop front displayed all the cakes and chef and wifey i supposed tended to the customers. behind the scenes was the kitchen where the staff baked the cakes. it's actually quite big.

Glace

the shop front

there were many cakes, many selections, i wanted to get everything. but i figured i couldnt eat so many so i bought back 5 instead. i managed to chat with chef's wifey and told her it was difficult to find the place and she apologised. she asked me where i came from and i told her i was at Barcook earlier. She said she also like the raisin cream bun and i told her that i was super lucky that i managed to get it fresh from the oven. she was very friendly and i have a wonderful time chatting with her!


she also told me that they are encouraging customers to order online as the shop supplies are unable to meet the overwhelming demand. she mentioned that they have been busy since morning and have yet taken any lunch!! she also said that they get a lot of calls asking for directions. so i told her i'd put up in my blog where exactly it is located. hopefully, it reduces the calls asking for location.


i packed back 5 cakes and so far tried 2 and are pretty pleased with what i bought :D i will definitely go back to buy their new creations and more!

Strawberry Hill

Strawberry Mille-feuille

Rin Rin Cheese Tart - Honey Dew

Mont Blanc

Marron Pie

p/s: if like me you don't have the luxury of a car or prefer to take public transport, what you can do is to take 197 coming from bedok interchange and alight before it turns down the slope after maxwell market. alternatively, you can take 196 or trans 75 ot 167 and stop at cantonment road. it's a bit of a walk from the bus stop though. the nearest mrt station would be Outram, but it's still quite a distance away. have fun finding! :D