Sliced cakes at $4.50 nett

So far, hotels' cakes have not disappointed us and thus we have decided to drop by Ah Teng's bakery. Located in Raffles Hotel, this hotel was declared a National Monument in 1987 and reopens after restoration in 1991 (Raffles Hotel opened in 1887 in a rather sombre-looking old bungalow).

Located side-by-side with the Empire Cafe, the bakery adopted a typical 1920s Singapore coffee house style. Anyway, it was a little confusing as entering the bakery leads us to the warm welcome of the Empire cafe. Yes, ended having a pricey local fare...

Here are some of the sliced cakes available off the shelf. Starting from the left, Banana slice, Tiramisu, Manjari Chocolate, Chocolate Fudge...

Briefly, some description...
Tiramisu - Mascapone cheese cream, gelatine, egg yolk, coffee syrup (Nescafe powder), Vanilla sponge, honey...

Manjari chocolate - Strawberry cosume (jelly), Vanilla cream, Raspberry jam, Chocolate sponge, Manjari chocolate mousse, Hazelnut sable (biscuit)

Chocolate Fudge - Chocolate sponge, chocolate ganache

Chocolate cheesecake, Ambroiser, Willams...

Ambroiser - Chocolate mousse with no cake content (similar mousse used as chocolate fudge)

Willams - Pear-flavoured mousse with chocolate sponge

Fruit tart and Croquant...
Croquant - Peanut butter infused chocolate cake, chocolate and vanilla mousse

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Presenting Fen's choice from the array of cakes... Manjari chocolate

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Fen's comments

Regret not sticking to Yuan's choices, he actually picked Willams and Croquant but he preferred me to have a cake of my choice. Damn, this wasn't up to my expectation at all. Although it is a unique combination of Vanilla cream, Raspberry jam, Chocolate sponge, Manjari chocolate mousse, Hazelnut sable (biscuit). The overall texture was pretty yucky.

Actually, the way I savour my pastries will indicate how much I like it. If I take it by mouthful and allow every single bite to melt in my mouth, that is fantastic. But in this case, I was seperating the different layers and dumping it into my mouth in huge chunks in a pretty fast mode...

The vanilla cream is pretty rich and has a custard-like or rather a thickened texture. It is very smooth and there is no sign of any grainy after-taste. Manjari chocolate mousse was ok on its own, chocolate content was just right but the chocolate sponge and hazelnut biscuit spoils the entire thing. The sponge wasn't soft and springy enough while the hazelnut biscuit was not crunchy at all. Give me the impression that this has been exposed to air and moisture, and that its has started to lose its potency.
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Yuan's comments

I think this cake is your typical neighbourhood confectionery cake. A layer of jam over the top, vanilla cream and chocolate mousse. Well, maybe slightly better then your neighbourhood cakes as it is vanilla cream and not fresh cream. Nonetheless the strength of this cake is that it is not sweet hence a healthier choice. But it will not curb your cake craving. I think this would not be a cake that i will try again.

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Ah Teng's Bakery
Raffles Hotel Singapore
1 Beach Road
Singapore 189673
Tel: 6412 1816

Operating hours - 7:30 am to 10.45 pm (Daily)
Website