The Atas pastry of Tiong Bahru...

Although they have been around for quite some time (like a few years), but I have not given them a try until recently. Therefore, after walking past the same place over and over again, I think that it's time for me to give them a good try. Hence...

For a start, this is a 'No-No'. First 'No', is for the way they are presenting this. I was expecting a tea pot set rather than this. This is a great disappointment. On top of that, the way they are packaging the tea leaves is another big 'No'. It would be better if they have provided a filter to separate out the tea leaves, otherwise if you are a slow drinker, the first few cups will ended up to be far too thick or yucky and the subsequent cups will ended up to be far too thin or tasteless. Either ways, I personally find the free flow of water over here to be a far more better choice than the tea.

'Almond Croissant' Though it has the shape of a 'Croissant', but this is pretty ugly for a 'Croissant'. Covered with a layer of icing sugar and a few slices of almonds, the interior is unbelievably good. Despite of the ugly exterior, the interior is both moist and delicious. And it comes with a nice almond filling, which tends to explodes in my mouth when I took a bite off the 'Croissant'. The texture of the 'Croissant' is pretty good, but I think that the amount of icing sugar that has been added is slightly a bit too much, which makes it a bit too sweet.

'Kouign Amann' This reminds me or a whirlpool, especially when there doesn't seems to be a end to the curvy lines on top of the 'Kouign Amann'. I wonder if it can really create a whirlpool inside my mouth. In fact, I almost mistake this for a 'Cinnamon Pastry Roll'. :D After spending a bit of time examing this I finally found the best way to savour this. By cutting along the curvy lines would be the best way to take it apart. Coated with 'Caramel' and contains an acceptable portion of 'Butter' and 'Sugar', makes the overall taste of this crispy cake to be pretty delicious and at the same time not too sweet. :D That's probably one of the reasons why everyone is ordering this that day.

So where can you give the nice pastries a good try?

Tucked in a small corner would be the...

'Tiong Bahru Bakery'. Anyway they have a few outlets island wide, as for the one shown in the above, would be their first outlet in Singapore, which is located along 'Eng Hoon Street'. That outlet is also located near 'Tiong Bahru Market'. :)

Opening Hours:

• Sunday - Thursdays: 08:00 - 20:00
  Fridays - Saturdays: 08:00 - 22:00

* Click here for the Facebook Page of 'Tiong Bahru Bakery'.
^ Click here to find out more about 'Tiong Bahru Bakery'.
~ Click here for the location of 'Tiong Bahru Bakery' on 'Google Maps'.

Beyond a Tiramisu..

How to go beyond a 'Tiramisu'? A good chef will challenge himself by asking the same question over and over again. I'm not really sure how it can be done, but this would be an interesting way to go beyond the usual 'Tiramisu'.

'Pandan Tiramisu' I wouldn't consider this as a 'Tiramisu', in fact the appearance reminds me of the 'Thai dessert','Ta Ko', and the local specialty,'Chendol'. The overall taste would be a bit too sweet for me, since it's mainly made out of 'Coconut', 'Pandan' and 'Chocolate'. The top and the bottom layers are pretty spongy, but as you dig deeper into the 'Tiramisu', you will be getting these crunchy bits in the middle, which tries to add a bitter taste to neutralise the overall sweet taste. However, the overpowering sweet taste of the dessert isn't something that can be covered so easily. :P

'Dark Cherry Tiramisu' This reminds me of a typical 'Tiramisu' as compared to the 'Pandan Tiramisu'. The rectangular shape and the use of colours/ingredients made it pretty much the same as the typical 'Tiramisu'. Taste wise, besides for the indulging taste of a typical 'Tiramisu', they have also added the fruity sweet taste of cherries. :) However, it has the similar problem as the 'Pandan Tiramisu'. Though the overall dining experience is pretty good, but the 'Tiramisu' are a bit too sweet for me. :P By the way, they are coming up with a new formula for a new 'Tiramisu', which is full of 'Caramel'... :P

So where can you give the 'Tiramisu' a good try?

The name of this cafe would be "L'Atelier Tiramisu". It's located on Basement 1 of 'The Central', which is also located above 'Clarke Quay' MRT Station.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  Mondays - Fridays: 12:00 - 21:30
  Saturdays: 13:00 - 20:00
  Sundays: 13:00 - 19:00

* Click here to find out more about "L'Atelier Tiramisu".
^ Click here for the 'Facebook' page of "L'Atelier Tiramisu".

A Squarish Block of Rainbow

Ever since we were a kid, we were taught that a Rainbow will appear in the shape of a Arc. But a squarish Rainbow(?) that will be something that we will be exploring today.

'Rainbow Cake' This is my second encounter with a 'Rainbow Cake'. Rather than serving a slice out of a round cake, they are serving a block of cake instead. Though it's a smaller slice of cake, but a block of cake simple makes it much more easier to savour as compared to a slice that was taken from a round cake. (At least you don't have the trouble of the slice of cake tumbling over.) For a start, the layers looks pretty attractive. On top of that, the chef has also topped it with all these circular sparkling bits, which makes it pretty beautiful. :) Taste wise, the layers are not too spongy and there's a nice proportions of cake crumbs. Besides that, the overall taste of the cake isn't too sweet, which is a big (+) to me. :D Though this cafe is kinda small, but by taking a look at their menu, they seems to have a wide variety of items. Besides for the different types of cakes, they also have cupcakes, macarons, waffles, etc...

So where can you give the 'Rainbow cake' a try?

The name of this cafe would be 'The Bakery Chef'. It's located along 'Bukit Merah Central', which is located near the 'Bukit Merah Community Library'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  Monday, Friday - Sunday: 10:00 - 21:00
  Tuesdays - Thursdays: 10:00 - 19:00
• The cafe is kinda small, therefore you might want to call in and secure some seats in advance (to avoid the queue?). :)

* Click here to find out more about 'The Bakery Chef' in Singapore.
^ Click here for the location of 'The Bakery Chef' on Google Maps.

Eating a Rainbow....

Although I don't think anyone could follow the trail of a rainbow that might be leading you to a pot of gold, but one could definitely eat a rainbow.

In fact, I saw my friend uploading a photo of the 'Rainbow Cake" the other day and it seems that the cake has imprint itself deeply upon my mind. Therefore since I have the time the other day, I decided to give it a try.

I think that the texture of the 'Rainbow Cake' was pretty soft, the 'Chocolate' was pretty rich and the overall taste of this cake isn't too sweet, which is pretty good. But, I guess the biggest gimmick here would be the colours of this cake. Initially, I was hoping that each individual layer would be of a completely different taste, but it ended up to be more of a game of food colouring. I personally think that it would be great if they can link the individual layer of the cake to a completely different flavour and that would definitely attract much much more customers. But as for now, this acts as a good incentive to start your day with a smile.

So where can you give the 'Rainbow Cake' a try?

The name of this place would be 'Le Chocolat Cafe'. It's located on level 1 of 'The Club Hotel'.

Notes:

• Opening Hours:
  07:30 - 22:30 Daily

* Click here to find out more about 'Le Chocolat Cafe'.
^ Click here for the 'Facebook Page' of 'Le Chocolat Cafe'.
~ Click here for the location of 'Le Chocolat Cafe' on 'Google Maps'.

Japanese Sweets

Have you tried a Japanese Sweet or Cake before? And are you madly in love with a particular type of Japanese sweets? And do you wish to get it in Singapore?

You can get hold of the various types of Japanese 'Kit Kat' chocolates over here. Similarly, they are also selling some other infamous sweets such as 'Tokyo Banana', 'Shiroi Koibito', etc... On top of that, this shop is also providing pre-order services too. So if you suddenly have a urge to buy 10 boxes of 'Tokyo Banana', you know where to get them now. :P (However the price of the Japanese sweets that they are selling over here is slightly a bit too costly, but for the sake of the delicious Japanese sweets...)

The name of this shop would be 'ShiokJapan!'. It's located on level 1 of 'Burlington Square' Shopping Centre.

Opening Hours:

• 12:00 - 19:00

* Click here for the Facebook page of 'ShiokJapan!'.
^ Click here to find out more about 'ShiokJapan!'.

Oily cake

An oily cake seems to be a complete joke. However, such things do exist. Introducing...

an 'Oyster Cake'(福州蠔餅). Although the size of the oyster that was used in this side dish isn't as big as a 'Hiroshima Oyster', but by adding a bit of spring onions, a bit of minced meat and deep fry all the ingredients together, you are actually creating something that was pretty unique. Though this 'cake' was pretty oily, but the taste was pretty interesting. Especially, when you can blend the taste of the 3 main ingredients(Spring onions, minced meat, oyster) together nicely. However, the drawback would be the fact that you have to eat it while it's hot and crispy. Trust me, you seriously wouldn't want to eat it when it's pretty cold and the texture of it is pretty soft. >.<""" (Which reminds me, this is suppose to a pretty common dish back then, however it seems to be pretty rare nowadays... sigh... I kinda miss the 'Oyster Cake' stall located at Maxwell Market already.)

So where can you give this oily 'cake' a try?

The name of this stall is 'I-Chai Food Speciality'(藝佳小食). It's located inside 'Chomp Chomp Food Centre'.

Notes:

• Operating Hours:
  Sunday - Thursday: 4:30pm - 12:00am
  Friday - Saturday: 4:30pm - 1:00am

* Click here for the location of 'Chomp Chomp Food Centre' on Google Maps.
^ Click here for the list of delicacies that can be found in 'Chomp Chomp Food Centre'.

Traditional Chinese Pastry

Speaking of Chinese Pastry, all the sticky rice cakes will come popping out of my mind. Pastry like 'Soon Kueh', 'Ang Ku Kueh', etc... So here comes the main topic of this post.

Here comes...

The above shows 2 different variety of 'Soon Kueh'. One of them would be the normal 'Soon Kueh' and one of them would be a 'Soon Kueh' that is using bamboo shoots as the main ingredient. If I'm not mistaken, they have more than 3 different kinds of 'Soon Kueh'. And on top of that, they also have more than 5 different kinds of 'Ang Ku Kueh'. Besides for the common ones that's filled with peanuts and red bean, there's favours like coconut, green tea, durian, etc... Although the taste are pretty normal but I guess that their selling points are the interesting traditional Chinese Pastry that they are selling at a pretty affordable price. :D (I would like to try the 'Green Tea Ang Ku Kueh'...)

I was this poster outside their shop and think this should
give you a better idea of what you can get there. :D

This should give you a better idea of the types of
'Ang Ku Kueh' that they are making and selling.
(Being adventurous, I decided to try the Coconut 'Ang Ku Kueh'
and the Green Tea 'Ang Ku Kueh'. The skin of the 'Ang Ku Kueh'
isn't too sticky which makes it match more easier to chew.
On top of that, the strong fragrance that the ingredients have
simply makes it even more irresistible. Luckily I wasn't that
hungry at that moment, otherwise I might have purchased and eaten
all the different types of 'Ang Ku Kueh' at one go.:P

So where can you get all these Traditional Chinese Pastry?

The name of the stall would be 'Poh Cheu'.
It is located near the village of 'A'. :P

Note:

• Operating Hours: 8am - 6pm daily
• Closed on Sunday & Public Holidays.

* Click here for the map of 'Poh Cheu'.
^ Click here for some other delicacies that can be found in 'A' village.

A Kueh or two...

The word 'Kueh' or 'Kue' isn't a word that can be found in a normal English Dictionary because it was't a English word in the first place. The meaning of the word 'Kue' in Bahasa Indonesia means cake. But what is so special about these cakes? Though I don't have a sweet tooth, these 'Kueh' were simply irresistible. :P

Us usual let us start with the photos of the good stuff first.

These are some of the stuff that the shop is selling and let us take a closer look.

They were pretty generous with the ingredients used in these coconut and egg tarts.
I took a bite on a coconut tart and it was so good and sweet. Yummy Yummy.

Tapioca 'Kueh' something that you cannot find in normal pastry store. :D

If you have Google the names shown in the photo itself, you probably would have
realise that most of these 'Kueh' had coconut in it. That was used to
add a sweet taste to the 'Kueh' and at the same time made them irresistible.

Left: Binka Ubi - Baked Tapioca cake
Right: Lemper Udang - Sambal Prawn Wrap with Rice and Banana leaves

This is one of my favourites. It's known as 'Kueh Dar Dar'. But I had to
control myself and limit myself with 1 piece per day due to the amount of
coconut that was stuffed inside it.

This shop also sell pastries like Cream Puffs and Donuts.

They also sell 'Kueh' that comes in a box for a group of people to share.

Just look at the color of the Kaya, doesn't it look appealing to you?

They also sell cookies like, Pineapple tart, Almond Green Tea Cookies,
Cherry Cookies, Chocolate Almond Cookies, Cornflake Raisins Cookies, etc...
Some of the combinations looks interesing, don't you think so?

They had set-up a corner for some other pastries. But do not expect too much
from this corner as I personally feel that most of their hard work goes into
the 'Kueh' than the pastries.

Although they sell cakes also, but these cakes were uniquely different from the
common Pasty store in Singapore

Some other 'Kuehs' that they are selling in the store. But mark my words,
some of the items were already sold out by Lunch hour.

The name of the store would be 'Galicier'. It was located near the main
branch of Tiong Bahru Bao and Tiong Bahru Market.
Click on the links below to find the exact location of the store. :D

Even though in Singapore we had shops like Bengawan Solo that specializing in selling various kinds of 'Kueh', cookies, etc. But, in comparison, I personally still prefer the 'Kuehs' at Galicier as it is much cheaper, much tastier and much bigger in size. Probably this is due to the fact that I used to work around that area and I will pop by the shop whenever I have the time during Lunch hours or on my way walking back home. :P

* Click here for the exact location of 'Galicier'.
^ Click here to find out more about Bengawan Solo.