354. Kki

Souffle, Mona, Antoinette

I am not at any suburbs of Japan. The new Kki (pronunced as cake in Japanese) at Ann Siang Hill has drawn much attention to their cakes. The little drom store which is sharing the same space as Kki made the whole place looked so retro with the vintage toys and so many kinds of polariod cameras. And probably because of the cemented floor, the clean and neat furnishing gave the gush of relaxation the moment I walked in.

The baker is a guy. The Husband who was previously from the manufacturing line turns to baking and the wife collects money from the bakes AND the other couple aka good friends working together under the same roof. What a nice environment!

The cakes didn't look like the die-die must try kind but you would not say so once you have tried it. There were only 3 choices left to choose from when I reached there. Antoinette was the best among the three I have tasted. Wife said it was named after their best friend, Antoinette. White chocolate with mango puree embalmed in the middle of the cake. The exterior white chocolate had a texture akin to mousse that melts in your mouth. Mona with the banana infusion, tasted bitter. Souffle, on the other hand, lost to her two counterparts with strong identities.

Kki Sweets

7 Ann Siang Hill

349. The Patissier

Passion Fruit Meringue @$6.95

Lauded as the best-seller at The Patissier. A walk to find the outlet at Ann Siang road led me to discover more places for lunch and architectural photography. The nostalgic shophouses make a good spot for classic black and white films.

The meringue was no doubt one of the best. Soft and fluffy and wrapped with passionfruit mousse and mango bits.

10% discount for members and it cost $6.20.

The Patissier

18 Ann Siang Road

#01-01 S069698

348. Patisserie Glace

Strawberry Hill @$44 (18cm)

Take a ruler and measure. Alright, it is indeed small. The Japanese bakery has indeed attracted many office working population to its outlet at the ICON village ever since the shift there. Btw, it is probably the only outlet at ICON which I always notice that has a queue at its door at lunch hours. The cakes were expensive but it was the quality and taste of the cakes that made customers return for more.

The generous amount of strawberries on the cake was the lure and there was more. The sponge was good, it was fine. A thin layer of mascarpone was spreaded between the layers, giving the soft sponge the sweet tinge. My only dislike of the cake was the charred almond crust. Some like it, some don't.

Recommended: Rin Rin Cheese Tart - Earl Grey, Mont Blanc, Banaan Chocolat, Green Tea Tofu Chiffon

Patisserie Glace

Icon Village 12 Gopeng Street

#01-33/34

Singapore 078877

338. Patisserie Glace

I finally got the right time to taste Chef Yamashita so well-raved cakes. Their previous location was rather out-of-my-way so I never managed to find a good timing to turn up at the outlet even though many foodies have tried and gave the thumbs up. And now, it has shifted to Icon Village, so much nearer to me. Still, I have not tried it till today. Reason being usually after lunch, there is no room for cakes and I give up the idea of getting them.

Double Rare Cheese Mango @$4.70

Cheese and Mango, together they presented a slight sourish taste. My colleague and I both felt this cake is not very much to our liking, probably because of the sourish taste.

Mont Blanc @$5.60

We liked this best. The chestnut cream was not too rich and there was a big chestnut laden in the middle. It reminded me of the an-pan I had at Tsukiji Market, Tokyo. Yummy~

Strawberry Shortcake @$4.80

Another favourite amongst the OLs.

But still, I think Mont Blanc is the best among the 3. The fluffy sponge played an important role and it wasn't too sweet.

Patisserie Glace
12 Gopeng Street
#01-33/34 Icon Village
Singapore 078877
Tel/Fax: 6400-0247

311. Toast II

Rose cupcake @$4.50

Toast. Go for their cupcakes. But hey, I'm not saying that only their cupcakes are nice, it's just that I'm always there for their cupcakes. Ya know, grab-and-go kind. Having had tasted their limonata, we fell completely, entirely in love. I happened to be at Raffles Place yesterday and I wanted to grab a cupcake or 2. Too late, they are left with just the rose cupcakes.

Rose cupcake contained glacing made of rose,raspberry and lychee if I didn't remember wrongly. It was a pleasing smell. Reminded me of rose isaphan. The cupcake was moist. And I was for a moment, shocked when I found something whitish in the middle of the cupcake. I thought....don't tell me that is some plastic or tissue. Gosh....embarrassed. How could that be? It's actually a lychee.

Some people may resist the taste of rose as rose has quite a strong floral smell. I was once so but I think for the rose cupcake here, the addition of lychee made it better.

See my previous entry.

Toast
OUB Centre
Unit 01-09
OUB Centre1
Raffles Place
Singapore 048616
Tel 6534 1755

View Larger Map

307. Bolu Gulung Meranti

Bolu Gulung (Keju) @Rp 40,000 (SGD 5.80)

Bolu Gulung, it means roll tart in Indonesian language or what we see here, a swiss roll. The bolu gulung from Meranti, Medan, is a famous food souvenir that tourists will buy back home. Once, I asked my Indonesian friend what is there to buy from Indonesia. And food was her reply. Narrow down from the word 'food', the usual buys will be Indonesian bakes; cakes or cookies.

In Singapore, we have our Bengawan solo, known for its 'green' cake (pandan chiffon cake); in Indonesia, they have Meranti, known for their bolu gunlung. Checked it out with my Indonesian friend and she said she heard Meranti has had no preservatives added to their cakes. "Tidak Ada Calang" was printed on their package box. I wondered if it meant no preservatives added.

The one that I had has had shredded cheese (keju) in it. The sponge was sweet and soft but it was very oily. Too much butter and oil? If you have noticed from the picture(above), the package box was already oily having had absorbed the oil from the roll. Overall, the taste was nice but it didn't make me attempt another slice. It is cheap and makes a great souvenir but if you have health-consious friends then you may want to select another souvenir for them. I have also heard that advance orders have to be made for their cakes.

Bolu Gulung Meranti
Jalan Kruing No. 2-K, Medan
Tel (061) 453-8217

306. Familie Oven

Familie Oven. The name suggested bake. Yes, cake(s). The online media has grown so much to our convenience that we do not have to go to the supermarkets to get our groceries, shopping malls for our clothes and even to bakeries for our cakes. Familie Oven operates via its online website (www.familieoven.com) with the home bakers, Lim and his wife. With the belief that a cake bonds everyone together and Lim's fondness for chocolate fudge cake, the couple started out Familie Oven.

Familie Chocolade

Familie Chocolade- a two layer dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate fudge. I have not tried any of the very much raved about chocolate fudge cakes from Lana cake shop, Jane's cake station and etc so there will not be any comparison made and I shouldn't for Familie Oven is just a starter in this industry.

A thin layer of velvety alike chocolate ganache covered the chocolate sponge cake. The sponge cake was spongy. I felt the two most important things I looked for in a good chocolate fudge cake are the moisture in the fudge cake and the taste of the chocolate ganache. Familie Oven's had the moisture but I felt it will taste even better if it could be made a tad more moist.

The chocolate ganache was bittersweet and Lim told me that they have made the cake not-so-sweet. I liked the cake not-so-sweet. In fact, I felt the level of sweetness was just right. I have tried some chocolate fudge cakes which were made slightly too sweet and I did not like it as much as Familie Oven's. I was looking for one where the ganache amalgamates smoothly to the sponge but somehow Familie Oven's still a little far from that. I realised that the chocolate ganache had a texture akin to gelatin, not very much, just a little. The chocolate ganache was dense but don't expect the very moussey kind.

I personally feel that Familie Oven's chocolate fudge cake is good and decent enough to warrant a try. In fact, my family and I liked the cake as it is presented and of course, welcome the better.

Lastly, thanks to Lim for the wonderful cake.

Familie Oven

E-mail: sales@familieoven.com

Phone : 9 029 2191

280. Steamed Durian Cakes - West meets East

The hotels are coming out with durian degustation desserts buffets (at an appealing price), offering durian lovers with durian strudels, crepes, rolls, tarts and da da da......those that belonged to the Western land. Let me introduce this which belonged to the Eastern. Jang! Steamed durian cakes.

It's actually traditional steamed cake with a generous amount of fresh durian pulp added to the mixture. People used to make these steamed cakes during the festive seasons in the past but seldom now as cakes are so easily available.

It's very easy to make. Soft and fluffy. And they huat-ed (surface of the cakes split). And what's the difference from those from the Western land? We eat them whilst they are hot. Not when they are piping hot but when they have cooled to a lower temperature. The taste will be a tad stronger then. The durian fragrance that floats in the air when you slowly tear it apart is going to make the older generation reminisce the days they had in the kampong.

245. Sydney - Baker's Oven Cafe

* Pictures adapted from other source

If you are going to The Rocks Market, you will pass by Baker's Oven Cafe. In fact, I was attracted by the pastries they had displayed at the window. Very Aussie style.

Lamington @AUD3.50

When I looked through the travel guide books, it was mentioned that one should taste lamington while in Australia. So when I entered Baker's Oven Cafe, I saw the lamington and I bought one. I have no idea what a lamington is. From the books, I had thought it was like those soft fluffy snacks, akin to marshmallows.

No, it wasn't. Lamington is actually a sponge cake. Coated with chocolate and coconut shreds on the exterior. The sponge cake was exceptionally light, soft and fluffy. Bakeries in the supermarkets have lamingtons too but they don't look as appetizing as those sold freshly baked in bakeries. However, the price came a tad higher for the better quality. In fact, I realised the price can differ quite a bit. Or maybe those sold at Baker's Oven Cafe were slightly higher priced. I saw the al fresco bakery at the paragon-alike shopping centre at Bondi Junction selling lamingtons at AUD2.80.

Baker's Oven Cafe
121 George St

The Rocks 2000 NSW

243. Sydney - Pancakes on the Rocks

This is another place for breakfast in Sydney. A must-visit on my itinerary. I was joyed that I could have pancakes for breakfast because I love pancakes. The only place we could have easy access to pancakes for breakfast in Singapore is Mcdonalds. It is open for business as early as 7am (SGD time: 5am).

Eggs Benedict and Pancakes @AUD12.95

A piece of pancake, a hashbrown, 2 eggs benedict and a piece of ham. I felt it was too pricey. Price included GST. I didn't like the hashbrown be made into rosti. It tasted weird and had that greasy feel, unlike the hashbrown we usually had. I would applaud for their pancakes. It's fluffy and yet I could taste a tinge of crispiness on the exterior. It's very popular in Sydney, expect long queues on the weekends.

Pancakes with Sausage AUD11.95

Comments reserved.

Pancakes on the Rocks

229/230 Harbourside Shopping Centre

Darling Harbour

http://www.pancakesontherocks.com.au/

242. Sydney - The Cupcake Bakery

On my way to The Rocks, I passed by this cupcake bakery a few times and each time I was attracted to the dainty cupcakes on display. And you see, they claimed they have the best cupcakes in Sydney. No bluff har? Gotta try out myself. Actually, for the two weeks I was in Sydney, there were many cafes around but I have not seen a bakery that just sells cupcakes.

Lemon & Poppyseed @AUD3.50

I got this over the many other choices which were very enticing. However, given the thought that dinner was to be served soon, there was no room for more cupcakes. I have always thought lemon cupcake was a fairer choice over chocolate ones. The chocolate ones always taste good. The lemon ingredient balanced out the grease in the butter cake. The icing was smooth. Cupcake was of the appropriate moisture and not greasy. It makes a great afternoon snack, just that I felt it was a tad 'atas' (pricey) for a small cupcake to cost AUD3.50. The cupcake bakery serves coffee and a cupcake for AUD5.

Shop2-4, QVB, Sydney

320b George Street, Sydney

438 Oxford Street, Paddington

http://www.thecupcakebakery.com.au/

224. Secret Recipe

Tea-time special. A cuppa tea and a piece of cake for $5.90. It was a great deal. Sad to say, you are only entitled to this deal only if you are available for tea, 3-5pm. This is quite impossible for the working class, unless you have the authority to leave your working grounds. I chose the chocolate banana cake, the recommended cake on the menu. Secret Recipe is known for this cake. Apparently, the ones which are recommended may not turn out to be the best. I felt the chocolate sponge was a tad dry, the bananas were slit into halves and I thought it was of the right size. The texture was there. Any smaller would have give a different texture and I felt, not for the better. My friend thought otherwise. She felt it should have been cut smaller. The distribution of cream was of the right amount. I got a cuppa of hot peppermint tea to cleanse my palate.

Secret Recipe
Holland Grove 42
Holland Grove Road
Singapore 278810
Tel: 68751233

205. Rich & Good Cake Shop

I was smitten with the kaya swiss roll from Rich & Good Cake Shop when my neighbour gave it to me some time ago. First, I thought the box looked so ordinary and likewise goes for the cake. But....I was wrong. Again, looks are deceiving.

Kaya swiss roll @$6.50

Their durian swiss roll is the best-seller, so is the kaya swiss roll. I tried the durian swiss roll but I didn't really like it. I felt the durian taste was rather mild. I preferred the kaya swiss roll. It was moist and yet spongy. The kaya was quite different. It had an eggy taste and it wasn't too sweet. The spread was quite thin, unlike our usual thick cream rolls, the kaya swiss roll was a better choice.

I think it is cheap for about an inch long of swiss roll at $6.50. Not sure if it is sold the same price at retail because I bought mine at an outdoor sale.

Rich & Good Cake Shop

24 Kandahar Street

Tel: (65) 6294-3324

192. Toast

While waiting for my matters to proceed, I decided to grab a bite. I actually thought of getting a chocolate souffle over at The Chocolate Factory but I decided against it. It was a tad too expensive. I headed to Toast. I had thought it serves bread and kopi like Ya-kun or killiney and etc but it isn't. It is more of a cafe. A cafe which didn't have cosy lounges. It is a bit like those cafeteria we had in depots. I wonder what's wrong with the restaurants or eateries at Raffles Place...their names didn't seem to tally with their restaurants. Haha.

Toast is part of the Marmalade group or I should say of the more well-known, The Marmalade Pantry is also part of the Marmalade group. I like the row of table which is next to the glass. Sometimes, you just want to have a quiet lunch, the seat at that table will be most ideal. However, it is not facing the streets. If it is, it will be such a London feel. Instead, it faces the retail shops. Most probably the retail staffs will be gawking at you when you have your meal. >.<

Limonata @$3.70

It was a cupcake with lemon and cheese icing on the top. It was yummy! It was a secret family recipe from the New York cupcake queen, Joanna Corsaro. The cupcake wasn't too dry nor moist. It was just nice. Though, I felt it would have been better if the cupcake was more fluffy.

I'll definitely be back to try the other flavours of cupcakes!!!

Hot Chocolate @$4.20

I just want something hot. No coffee or tea. So, it's down to hot chocolate. Especially on a rainy day; it was pouring outside, the hot chocolate warmed my stomach. The hot chocolate was very frothy. The froth occupied a quarter of my cup. Hmm...I thought it's a bit different. Seldom do I see froth in a cuppa hot chocolate.

Toast

OUB Centre

Raffles Place

#01-09

Singapore 048616

Tel: 6534 1755

Opens:
Monday to Friday - 8am to 6pm

Saturday - 8am to 3pm

Closed on sunday

http://www.toast.com.sg/

182. BreadTalk Matcha Roll

After reading Fen's entry on BreadTalk's matcha roll, I decided to get one after work. I saw a mixture of chocolate and matcha rolls in a pack. 5 for $5 which I thought was quite a good deal, so I bought 5 instead.

Indeed, the matcha swiss roll was quite good. Matcha wasn't too overpowering. Cream was not too thick. If it was, I wouldn't have like it. Something's different with the cream. I think they added something to the cream. The texture of the swiss roll wasn't too dense.

The chocolate swiss roll lost out a fair bit to the matcha. It was slight bitter. For a moment, I thought it was coffee but it wasn't. Ok, the matcha won.

Compared to Evan's matcha swiss roll, I think Evan's looked more appetizing with the mini flowers on top of the roll and Fen gave the thumbs up for it.

180. LIC Event @Obolo

A few of us, mostly food bloggers attended LIC's dessert tasting event at Obolo last night. This was the dessert degustation menu for the night. 9 cheesecakes & entremets, 2 tartlets, 1 shooter and 2 macarons.

Christmas is round the corner and also as a welcome gift, Obolo gave us each a complimentary pack of cranberry and chocolate chip cookies. Also, a 15% off for purchase of their products but I think none bought the cakes after having had so many cakes at a go.

The cookies were nice not because they were complimentary. It was crispy. Though with chocolate chips included, it was not too sweet. In fact, I tasted a hint of saltiness. Great to go with tea.

(L-> R): Mango-Passion Cheesecake, Caraibe, Chocolate Noir tartlet, Le Cassis, New York Cheesecake, Tiramisu Au Chocolat, Chocolat-Passion tartlet, Nikita and Pinada Cheesecake.

Mango-Passion Cheesecake - I could taste of the mango puree mixed with the cheese, not so much on the passion fruit. The mango fruit made into puree is of gluey form, mixed with the cheese and the baked cheesecake was moist. I find the taste a bit weird. It gave me a feeling like I'm drinking a version of the sweet and salty mango puree.

Caraibe - I would say this is wholly chocolate!

Chocolate Noir - Supposedly to use a semisweet chocolate, which they did, filled the tarlet with dark chocolate ganache, the ganache was a tad too sweet. 1 thing I realised about Obolo, most of the chocolate items were a tad too sweet.

Le Cassis - The purple top mousse layered cake. It was too sourish for me. The only thing I liked about it was the crunchy praline feulletine but it wasn't thick enough. Lacked the crunch.

New York Cheesecake - It was light. Though it was mentioned in the menu the cheesecake had a hint of lemon, I didn't taste it. It was smooth and moist. I felt the texture was more of like tofu cheesecake.

Tiramisu Au Chocolat - It was not like those moist tiramisu we had in cups. It was a tiramisu cake, harder in texture. The coffee, cognac and dark rum were not so significant. Overall, the tiramisu appeared modest.

Chocolat Passion - If you want to perk up, this will do the job. This tartlet was of ultimate sourness. Like eating lime.

Nikita - The green top mousse layered cake. I had thought it was a light matcha flavour but it wasn't. It was pistachio. The middle layer of cherry-raspberry gelee balanced the nutty taste of the pistachio.

Pinada Cheesecake - It was a new taste to me. I felt it was a great combination. I preferred it more to the mango-passion cheesecake. Rum-soaked raisins weren't too heavy with the rum content and they gave the moist cheesecake the texture.

My pick(s) : Nikita & Pinada Cheesecake

Dessert shooter - Summer Berries

I do agree with Char that the mascarpone mousse wasn't rich enough. I felt they could have added vanilla pods to make the mascarpone mousse more flavoured. The mixed berry compote mixed with kirsch were a tad too sour. I felt they could have make the fruit stew more gluey and lessen the amount to make the overall taste appropriate.

We had the hazelnut-chocolate macaron and matcha macaron. The mango-passion macaron was changed to matcha macaron after many were taken aback by the sourness of the chocolat-passion tartlet. The passion fruit was too sour.

See my previous entry on hazelnut-chocolate macaron.

Thank goodness the matcha flavour wasn't too overpowering. But....it turned out that the macaron was too sweet. It will be good if the filling layer is made thinner.

The taste of the desserts we had were at the two ends, it was either too sweet or too sour. Even so, I thought I could get some consolation from the fruits on the cakes but they were also too sour. >.<

It was a great night at the LIC dessert tasting event, having had tasted almost all of Obolo's cakes and at the same time, got to meet the food bloggers face-to-face. Thanks to LIC aka Brad for organising this event. Thanks to Obolo for the warm welcome.

Obolo

452 Joo Chiat Road

Singapore 427665

Tel: 6348 9791

Opening Hours:

Tue-Thur: 12.30pm - 9.30pm

Fri: 12.30pm - 10pm

Sat: 11.30am - 10pm

Sun: 11.30am - 9.30pm

Closed on Mon & PH

http://www.obolo.com.sg/

145. Obolo

Cakes...it's no longer just the taste, we are talking about more than this. Bakery/confectionery sounds so obiang (outdated), nowadays we want it to be classier. So, we have brand names like Bakerzin, Canele and here, Obolo, associating themselves with patisserie, boutiques and not bakery/confectionery. And in these boutiques, no butter/pandan cakes but cakes which are made the French way. Cakes with French names. French pastries.

Over at Obolo, it occupies a space no bigger than a 4-flat HDB living room but the loud red counter and the flowery wallpaper made it a cosy place. The slim pickings of cakes in the display didn't make me reject the idea of buying one to eat. They looked so delicious.

And so, I got one of their best-sellers - Noisette @$6.70/slice (w/o GST).

Noisette meant flavoured or made with hazelnuts. At Obolo, their Noisette is a piece of dark chocolate mousse, added caramelized toasted hazelnuts and a layer of crunchy praline feullitine at the bottom. The Noisette was rich in taste. The hazelnuts were very crunchy but I felt the amount of hazelnuts could be increased. Else, why the name, Noisette?

The dark chocolate was bittersweet. I like the layer of praline feullitine. Added the crunch to the chocolate mousse. Again, I felt the layer of praline feullitine was not thick enough. The taste was a bit like eating the Loacker's chocolate wafers but lacked the oomph. Frankly speaking, I felt it wasn't so much of a genoise. I find the sponge layer slightly dry and a little too thick. My preference of Noisette is quite a bit of minus and add the thickness of the layers here and there.

After reading Evan's blog and how her wonderful macaron pictures looked, I wished for a macaron. I asked the guy at the counter which is the best selling macaron and he said this. The dark chocolate macaron @$1.80 each.

I felt the dark chocolate layer was slightly too thick. The bittersweet taste of the dark chocolate overpowered the taste of the macaron.

Obolo
452 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427665
Tel: 6348 9791

Opening Hours:
Tue-Thur: 12.30pm - 9.30pm
Fri: 12.30pm - 10pm
Sat: 11.30am - 10pm
Sun: 11.30am - 9.30pm
Closed on Mon & PH

http://www.obolo.com.sg/