Tampopo (Takashimaya)

Tampopo (Takashimaya)

Most of us remembers chiffon cakes as the old school pandan available in neighbourhood confectioneries. Perhaps the more expensive ones would be those offered by Bengawan Solo. Lately, Yummi Chiffon made its appearance by introducing over 12 flavours. But, do we actually realize that Tampopo (Deli) upmarket their chiffon with chantilly cream and flavours such as coffee, chocolate, matcha and cheese?


When I started the blog not long ago, we tried Tampopo's Cheese Chiffon, Matcha Chiffon and the Scoop Cake all in a go and my impression for the Cheese Chiffon has not changed. In fact, we notice the browning at the sides and bottom and also a gradual increase in cake density as you reach to the bottom.

If I were to write about the Cheese Chiffon last year, I would flame it since a slice costs $5.80++ but after my sister attempt to bake a chiffon cake, I realize the browning at the sides and bottom is important for a good chiffon. Apparently, chiffon cakes collapse easily and has difficultly holding its structure during baking. Thus, it relies on 'clinging' onto the pan to achieve its height. In addition, the cooling of the cake needs to be done inverted and this can be done with the use of a tube pan hanging upside down onto a bottle immediately after removing it from the oven.

Anyway, setting aside the browning and the incomplete triangular shape, I thought the cake is dry to my liking so anytime a slice of pandan chiffon cake will satisfy both my taste buds and pocket. However Yuan likes the combination of the shredded cheese with the chantilly cream. A good contrast of sweet and salty.


I have mentioned that Tampopo's matcha chiffon ($5.80++) is worth a try in both "our preference" and an old entry. The strength of matcha is reasonable but the chiffon is not as moist as Tampopo Deli's Scoop cake. If you look at the picture closely for both the Scoop cake and the Matcha Chiffon (see above), there is alot more cream in the Scoop cake so it is no surprise why the Scoop cake is alot more moist than Matcha Chiffon.

With Tampopo having a branch at Takashimaya, enjoying Tampopo's chiffons and Scoop cake becomes alot more convenient. However, to enter a restaurant for just 2 slices of cakes, we thought it might be alittle awkward. Hence we ordered the follow ramen.


Tonkatsu Ramen


Miso Ramen
Prior to starting the blog, tampopo's ramen used to wow us with their pork katsu. However today's katsu was somewhat salty. Hence this lead us to walk alittle further to enjoy a sandcake at Arinco King (ION Orchard).

Tampopo (Takashimaya)
391 Orchard Road
#B2-33 Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Singapore 238872
Tel: 6235 2218
Website

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Chocolate Chiffon

Chocolate Chiffon

Personally, I thought Arinco King's vanilla sponge goes better with salted caramel or chantilly cream due to a distinct fragrance. Since chocolate has a stronger taste, the chocolate fudge and chocolate cream incorporated over whelms the taste of the vanilla sponge.

All in all, the chewiness and springiness of Arinco King's sponge is their niche.

Perhaps fellow foodies or bakers can give me some insights. Based on daddy's experience with baking a sponge cake, it seems that the chewiness and springiness of a Japanese sponge is often due to the addition of cornstarch. Despite layering with fluffy whipped cream, Arinco King's sponge isn't as soggy as other strawberry shortcakes we have come across. Not sure if this is an effect of cornstarch in cake chemisty.

Arinco King (Closed)
2 Orchard Turn
Ion Orchard Food Hall
#B4-60
Singapore 238801
Tel: 6509 8640

4th April 2010: Arinco King and the adjacent food stalls seems to be closed for good. The stall looks cleared out without much kitchen utensils nor boxes.
12th April 2010: Dropped a call to Arinco King and apparently there is no one on the line
Initial hypothesis: Is Arinco King closed for good?
13th April 2010: They are not listed in ION store directory anymore.

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Pleasant surprise for Arinco King fans

Pleasant surprise for Arinco King fans

More known for their salted caramel roll, Arinco King, has some pleasant surprises.

First, there is 50% discount for all items till 28th Feb 10, so Salted Caramel Roll is now priced at $9, Maccha Roll at $7.50. Do note that Vanilla Roll ($7.50) and sandcakes ($1.50) were sold out by I reached there at 8pm. Note that my sister visited Arinco King today and was told that 25th Feb 10 is the last day of promotion. Also all the items except the Salted Caramel Roll are sold out already.

Arinco King also launched a couple of new products such as the Strawberry Shortcake, which comes in 2 sizes, $20 for a large-sized cake as shown below; and 2 more flavours namely, the Chocolate Cake and Berry Lite Shortcake in smaller sizes (priced at $5).


Judging from my previous experiences with their sandcakes and salted caramel roll, Arinco King's vanilla sponge is uniquely springy and soft. Unlike the conventional chiffon which is porious, the vanilla sponge has a slight chewy texture. Its fluffy whipped cream with no use of egg yolks is pretty close to Tampopo's Scoop Cake.

Although the same vanilla sponge and whipped cream is used for their sandcakes, rolls and whole cakes, the main difference lies in how long the cream has in contact with sponge. Somehow or rather, refrigeration with the cream, make the sponge more moist and dense slightly wetter but yet springier than other Japanese cakes (i.e. Tampopo Deli, Yamazaki, Patisserie Glace).


Arinco's Salted Caramel Sandcake
Arinco King (Closed)
2 Orchard Turn
Ion Orchard Food Hall
#B4-60
Singapore 238801
Tel: 6509 8640

4th April 2010: Arinco King and the adjacent food stalls seems to be closed for good. The stall looks cleared out without much kitchen utensils nor boxes.
12th April 2010: Dropped a call to Arinco King and apparently there is no one on the line
Initial hypothesis: Is Arinco King closed for good?
13th April 2010: They are not listed in ION store directory anymore.

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Profiteroles by DeSté

Profiteroles by DeSté

Pistachio, chocolate and vanilla profiteroles with ground chocolate on a base of chocolate cake ($9)
The taste for this creation is predictable. Profiterole with vanilla custard, drenched with chocolate, sitting on a dense chocolate cake meringue.

What caught my attention is the golden cube of chocolate sitting on top of the profiteroles. From my understanding, Chef Deuiri has a technique of injecting air into pure chocolate to develop air pockets, thereby making it light like a styrofoam. My guess is that this golden cube is made in the same way.

Alright, these are the 3 cakes we had for that weekend and for those who are familar with DeSté's creations, one would have noticed that we have missed out their signature cake, the Candle cake that features different textures of chocolate, cream scented vanilla, caramel and crunchy praline with a base in rock chocolate. This was not available during our visit. Apparently, for that day, we were told that the store was expecting their delivery of cakes at 3pm. Although the selection is decent during our visit, it was alittle disappointing not being able to try their signature cakes and we notice that the whole cakes were also not available during our visit at 2pm.


Note that DeSté Confectionery at The Riverwalk doesn’t carry the individual cakes as that is an atelier (aka pastry laboratory) where all the creations are produced so only their chocolates and a few whole cakes are available at DeSté Confectionery at The Riverwalk. Also note that DeSté chocolate boutique at Mandarin Gallery is a take-away counter. For dine-in experience, drop by Chocolate DeSténation at 313@Orchard.

There is a 40% discount for their cakes after 8:30pm (for DeSté chocolate boutique at Mandarin Gallery) but please call to confirm this as I am not sure if I have recalled wrongly.

DeSté chocolate boutique at Mandarin Gallery
#02-26 Mandarin Gallery
333A Orchard Road
Singapore 238859
Tel : 6737 3247

Opening hours - 11am to 9.30pm daily
http://www.deste.com.sg/

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Blackforest by DeSté

Blackforest by DeSté

Chocolate cream, cherries in brandy, flourless chocolate sponge and lots of chocolate ($9.40)

This cake is really dense, the overall impression that I got after taking my first bite was "Did I just ate liquor chocolate?" Those that love the chocolate liquor combination will love this. My only complaint is the blend cream used in this black forest.

DeSté chocolate boutique at Mandarin Gallery
#02-26 Mandarin Gallery
333A Orchard Road
Singapore 238859
Tel : 6737 3247

Opening hours - 11am to 9.30pm daily
http://www.deste.com.sg/

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Han`ei by DeSté

Han`ei by DeSté

Silky white chocolate & wasabi, black sesame sponge & rich yolk custard scented with yuzu ($8.80)
DeSté, a pastry lab that specializes in handcrafted chocolates as well as bespoke confections, surprise us with this creation. Imagine having wasabi in a white chocolate cake.

Award winning pastry chef, Stefano Deuiri combines the art of traditional pastry making with new molecular techniques and brings in the concept of physic-chemistry of various ingredients into his creations. For instance, in one of the Business Times articles "Creating cakes as light as styrofoam", it was mentioned that Chef Deuiri adopts the use of modern cooking techniques to lyophilize ingredients such as fruits to give certain characteristics for his cakes.

In the case of Han`ei, Chef Deuiri uses a siphon to puff up the cake, which is then baked in a microwave. In addition, he is also able to reduce sugar levels but yet retaining its light texture by dehydrating it first. In this way, the natural colour and flavour are retained unlike the old-fashioned way of baking that modifies the taste and colour.

This cube-shaped creation is amazing if one pays attention to the different textures and flavours within a single cake. Within the smooth white chocolate cake shell, one can expect smooth yuzu-scented custard in its core and a thin layer of black sesame cake on top of the cake. When eaten together, the overall taste is refreshing but accquired in my opinion.

For those who are concerned about the wasabi, that is almost undetectable.

My overall opinion towards Han`ei is both love and hate. Not sure if this is due to the sophiscated molecular techniques are adopted while cooking baking or the unorthodox combination of ingredients. In any case, if it stirs your curiousity, trying this may give you the best answer.

In case, it is not the cake that interests you but rather the post-processing done to this picture. The instructions can be found on sitting.wishing.eating.

DeSté chocolate boutique at Mandarin Gallery
#02-26 Mandarin Gallery
333A Orchard Road
Singapore 238859
Tel : 6737 3247

Opening hours - 11am to 9.30pm daily
http://www.deste.com.sg/

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BLIC Blogger Outing

BLIC Blogger Outing

Ice-cream parlours are making appearance at every part of Singapore. Thus, in order to outshine the rest, it must be something very outstanding. For instance, Häagen-Dazs has been known for its rich and creamy texture while Ben and Jerry for its chunky filling. For homemade ice-cream, there are a few well-known ones such as Island Creamery, U.d.d.e.r.s, Tom's Palette, Ice-cream gallery, etc; each with distinctive flavours and texture.


Making its debut appearance in the heart of Tampines, Ben and Larry decide to share their creations to all the foodies out there. Since the name resembles a particular ice-cream company, they called themselves BLIC aka Ben and Larry Ice Cream. According to Ben (co owner of the store), they chose the location due to rental as well as the lack of good ice cream palours in the east.


Invited by Ben, Harris brought the whole gang down to check out this newly opened ice cream parlour in Tampines.


Here we see the bloggers totally indulged and totally focused on the ice cream. So what did we eventually settled on?


Fen has always been a fan of lychee-flavoured desserts and she made no exception with her choice. So far, her favourite has been the Lychee Martini from Seventh Heaven while the version U.d.d.e.r.s offers was too icy to her liking. Rose and Lychee from Tom's Palette didn't leave much impression as their other flavours are awesome. For Blic's version, Fen actually likes it since the lychee is strong enough and the texture is acceptable. However, I am one that hates mint, thus associate it with the mint sauce that is served in Indian stalls.


I have a liking for rum and raisin and unlike other rum and raisin ice-cream, this one has additional rum-soaked raisins mixed in before serving to provide the additional punch. Overall, the ice cream is slightly on the sweet side with slight tint of rum taste.


The bloggers weren't contented until they tried all the flavours, despite the amount of bowls, we went on.


Larry prepared tiramisu which is presently still at the R&D stage. This isn't really a tiramisu as it replaces the mascarpone layer with their in-house Tiramisu ice-cream. The liquor and ice-cream made it similar to the taste of their rum and raisin except with the addition of cocoa powder. To Fen, since these tiramisu weren't kept overnight, the sponge fingers were pretty dry and rough. Moreover, the goodness of a tiramisu weren't felt due to the absence of the mascarpone layer, closer to a mudpie (IOHO).

Overall, the texture of the ice-cream varies depending on the flavour and special mention to the Baileys, Double Chocolate and Green Tea since the texture were not compromised and its flavour is strong enough to appeal. However, there are some flavours such as the Vanilla Bean and Bird Nest with Almond are icy and coarse. Well, Blic is trying to improve their ice-cream and are experimenting different waffle recipes. Give them some time, enthusiasm and passion often bring a cafe to a different level.


Before signing off, we would like to thank Ben and Larry for their invite to this ice cream tasting season as well as our organiser, Harris.

Blic Ice-Cream Cafe
Blk 802 Tampines Ave 4
#01-23
Singapore 520802
Tel: 6786 0860
http://blic-sg.blogspot.com/

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Halia Blogger Outing

Halia Blogger Outing

Another successful bloggers outing organised by Harris after communicating among ourselves with more than 100 emails. Our "shooting ground" is none other located in the training ground of many (local) photographers and our focus wasn't the butterflies nor flowers but a restaurant, nestled among the trees, flowers and earthen beauty of Singapore Botanic Gardens. Judging from last week Sunday crowd, it seems that this place is patronised greatly by the caucasians on a Sunday morning.

Weekend a-la-carte brunch is available on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, from 9am to 3:30pm with a selection of lunch favourites from noon to 3:30pm.


Poached Egg on Brioche with Dill Hollandaise, Roasted Brown Mushroom,
Spinach Tomato with pan-roasted ocean trout. ($24++)
My liking for poached eggs started since my visit to Choupinette and based on my understanding, the key to having a good one lies in the amount of vinegar used and its accompanying hollandaise sauce.

Yuan felt that it was too sour (probably from the hollandaise sauce) and the bread was soggy and slightly burnt. For me, the overall taste was acceptable but to spend $24++ for a poached egg and that there is nothing special with the pan-roasted ocean trout, this is something I doubt I will come back for.

Frankly speaking, Canelé's Eggs Florentine and Choupinette's Eggs Benedict are cheaper than Halia's so I presume it is the ambience we are paying for.


Cinnamon French Toast with glazed strawberry and honeycomb butter. ($14++)
Since this is a chef recommendation, I thought it might be worth a try. Though it is said to be cinnamon french toast, cinnamon and egg coating were barely detectable. It is closer to a regular toast, served with cream, strawberry sauce and honeycomb butter.

Apart from having a lazy brunch in Singapore Botanic Gardens, the new extension to the Halia, Villa Halia (located opposite the restaurant) is a popular choice for solenmization. The Villa consists of three distinct areas - the Wine Bar, the Courtyard and the Gallery Room; and that the exclusive use of each venue requires a minimum expenditure (3 hours usage, between $3500++ to $9000++, depending on the choice of venue and whether it is for lunch or dinner).

Before signing off, here are some of the orders our fellow bloggers have ordered


Poached Egg on Brioche with Dill Hollandaise, Roasted Brown Mushroom,Spinach & Tomato with crisp back bacon ($16++)


Kurobuta Pork & Portobello Burger in special blend of spices, sake and mirin with apple aioli and mesclun salad. ($18++)
Of course, the highlight of the entire dining experience lies in the company and it was fantastic to share photography tips, recommendations and our joy in blogging. Introducing...

Kaelyn from My Food Sirens
Zaylene from This is Yummy
Daniel from Memoirs of Food
Glenn from Hungry Epicurean
Angeline from Simply Angeline
Reiz from Sitting Wishing Eating
Cheryl from The Baker Who Cooks
Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac
Hui Yuan from Yuan Yuan
Serene and Leanne from NTU Deli Aprecio Club
Phoebe and her sister Chloe from The Food Chapter


For a different perspective of this place, here are some of the other bloggers' after-thoughts of Halia Restaurant,
YuanYuan - Food Bloggers' Gathering ( Halia Restaurant)
*the simplest aphrodisiac - Bloggers Outing: Halia
Simply Angeline - Halia Restaurant - Brunch by the Garden
SittingWishingEating - Halia Restaurant – Botanic Gardens
For the love of ... calories and weighing scales - Halia at Botanical Gardens
Live to Eat! - Halia: Brunch in The Greens!
sitting.wishing.eating - Halia Restaurant – Botanic Gardens
My Food Sirens II - Halia Restaurant
Hungry Epicurean - Bloggers Outing: Halia Restaurant

Halia Restaurant
Singapore Botanic Gardens
1 Cluny Road, Ginger Garden (enter via Tyersall Avenue)
Singapore 259569
Tel: 6476 6711
http://www.halia.com.sg/

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Triple 3

Triple 3

Named after Mandarin Orchard's address, 333 Orchard Road, Triple 3 is another commonly mentioned buffets in Singapore. For those who has visited Triple 3 some time back, this restaurant has gotten a complete makeover and instead of a casual dining area, the ambience this place offers is classy and contemporary.

What makes this buffet distinctively memorable from the rest is the amount of live stations this buffet gets to offer.


Like most buffets, seafood on ice has always been a highlight and Triple 3 makes no exception with its wide and fresh selection.


The sashimi station offers freshly cut sashimi which includes a selection of Salmon, Meikijiki (Swordfish), Tako, Prawn, Hamachi, etc. In addition, there is also another chef stationed beside the sashimi station, providing a continuous fresh supply of sushi made with Unagi, Amaebi, Soft Shell Crab, Hokki Clam, etc.


Pasta live station with an option of cream, aglio olio or tomato style are cooked upon ordering and if the chef is tied up with several orders, this will be served to your table.


Apart from the regular salads and cold cuts found in most hotel buffets, Triple 3 includes a nice selection of Kushiage (Japanese deep-fried skewers). The crispy breaded exterior were not oily at all and all 3 types of meat (i.e. scallops, chicken or squid) served that day were juicy and tender. Apart from that, one can also expect juicy Chilean Sea Bass Pan-Roasted with Miso and juicy Scallops wrapped with Fried Vermicelli.


One of the highlights of the buffet is the luscious, slow-roasted Wagyu Beef and the accompanying truffle sauce. Roasted Lamb Leg and Split Roasted Marinated Spring Chicken with Cajun Spices and Fresh Herbs are other highlights in the carving station.


One of our favourites in the entire buffet is the tender, juicy Beef Fillet served in thick cubes. Apart from that, this station also offers Tiger Prawn, Salmon in Foil, Bean Sprout and Mushroom.


This is one station which we didn't try. Anyway, this station offers a choice of 3 types of noodles (e.g. Wan Tan Noodle, Mee Pok, Spinach Noodle), served with Fish Dumpling, Vegetable Fish Ball, Sze Chuan Vegetable, Snow Vegetable with Minced Chicken.


Not that the noodles aren't tempting but rather we were overwhelmed with so many choices and the dilemma of going for a second round. Wok-Fried Station serves Assorted Seafood with either Chili Crab Sauce or Honey Black Pepper Sauce; and Wok Fried Rice with Crabmeat, served with Crispy Soft Shell Crab.

Kudos to the Fried Rice for its strong Wok Hei flavour. I don't have to emphasize how good it is judging from the drama this picture got to say.


The steam section also serves fantastic Steamed Cod Fish, delicately seasoned with sake and shoyu. The Herbal Black Chicken Soup and Chawanmushi are other highlights of the buffet. The latter has a silky texture topped with prawn roe and a light sauce made from bonito flakes.


Of course, the Tempura live station features deep-fried Shitake Mushroom, Brinjal, Japanese Sweet Potato, Kisu Fish, Prawn and Lotus Root served with tentsuyu sauce and also a mixture of powdered green tea and salt.

Frankly speaking, if I were to put up photos for the entire spread, the list will go on and on and what is uploaded on this entry is only 60% of the entire buffet. Thus, one can imagine the amount of spread Triple 3 gets to offer.


The desserts offered by Triple 3 are generally light and refreshing, thus there is always room for desserts. Signature Mandarin Cheese Cake is something not to be missed for its smooth texture. Lemon meringue tart is worth a mention for its crisp tartlet shell topped with light fluffy meringue and tangy lemon curd. Apricot Pana Cotta with Peppermint is something unique as it bears resemblance to having a hint of salted caramel in its aftertaste.


Other desserts served in the buffet includes Wine Swiss Roll, Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch, Blueberry Yoghurt Mousse, Mango Mirror Mousse, Dark and White Chocolate Cake, Apricot Almond Tart, Pear with Almond Filo, Poached Pear in Red Wine, Cherry Jelly, etc.

Apart from desserts, the ice-cream served in the buffet, uses Triple 3 very own recipes, with interesting flavours such as Saffron Pistachio. The ice-cream is not sweet and is smooth to our liking.


Introducing Sous Chef William Tan & Japanese Executive Chef Shigeru Akashi of Triple 3. A big thank you to Assistant Marketing Communications Manager, Ms Low Shi Ping and Sous Chef William Tan for making our phototaking possible.

A memorable dinner, with good food, fantastic service and warm hospitality. No doubt, top of our buffet list.

Buffet Lunch
$45++ per person (Mon-Fri & PH)
$48++ per person (Sat & Eve of PH)

Sun Brunch
$68++ (No beverage)
$98++ (include free flow of sparkling wine)

Buffet Dinner
$68++ per person (Sun-Thur & PH)
$72++ per person (Fri, Sat & Eve of PH)

Credit Card discount as follows:
OCBC - 20%
Amex & Citibank - 15%
HSBC & UOB - 10%

Triple Three
Mandarin Orchard Singapore
333 Orchard Road
Singapore 238867
Tel: 6831 6288/71

Operating Hours -
6.30am – 10.30am (Breakfast)
Noon – 2.30pm (Lunch)
6.30pm – 10.00pm (Dinner)
Website

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K Ki Sweets

K Ki Sweets

Tucked in the corner of Ann Siang Hill near the junction of Club Street lays K Ki Sweets. Barely two week old, this Japanese styled concept store serves to inspire people. Owner Delphine who spoke to us said that she wanted people to gain inspiration as they step into the store, be it artists, photographers, etc. This is also the reason why they chose to be situated in the corner of Ann Siang Hill.


Their pastry chef is co owner Kenneth (Delphine's husband). A self taught baker who pursues his dreams to set up K Ki. I can see his passion as I observe him carefully align his creations.


K Ki offers limited selection of cakes and they gets replenished as the cakes get sold out to ensure freshness of the cakes. But even then, note that each creations are limited in quantity per day.


Apart from cakes, K Ki serves a short list of beverages (i.e coffee, tea and orange juice) with their coffee served with home baked chocolate hazelnut or coconut sables which are sold in packets of 12 - 14 for about $12.50.

Newly introduced this week, Delphine recommends their dine-in guests to try the Pumpkin Pudding ($7.00). Often you find pumpkin either in the form of soup, infused with yam cake or even fried like fritters but as a pudding, this is really a first for me.

Overall the pudding tasted very close to eating actual pumpkin with salted caramel drizzled over the top. Even non-pumpkin lovers like Fen finds it refreshing but associate with a similar after-taste as eating caramel popcorn.

The Mont Blanc ($8.50) contains bits of chestnut, mixed in light fluffy cream that is on the blend side. The puréed chestnuts drizzled over the cream has a nice texture and powering taste of chestnut, complimenting pretty well with almond cake base. Not too sweet and the essence of chestnut is presented sufficiently to Fen's liking.


K Ki shares the shop space with the Little Drom Store - a vintage store which brings back fond memories of my childhood. Film cameras, old telephones, five stones... can be found here.

The ambience this place offers is very laid back and as portrayed in the pictures, the place shows some resemblance to some shops shown in Japan Hour. We stepped into the shop, having the intention to blog and left the place with some fond memories of our childhood and a light-hearted feeling. Having to enjoy cakes in a quiet setting and the freedom to browse around Little Drom Store, we have to admit that the experience this place offers is unlike most patisseries.

Since Kenneth is seeking ideas to come up with new bakes, join their facebook group and check out their new inspiring bakes this cafe has to bring to their customers. Something to note, as there is limited seating areas, the store actually promotes take-aways.

K Ki Sweets
7 Ann Siang Hill
#01-00
Tel 6225 6650
Their website and facebook group

Operating hours:
12pm - 7pm (Sun to Fri)
12pm - 4pm (Sat)
Closed on Mondays

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Antoinette by K Ki

Antoinette by K Ki

This cake is named after co owner of the Little Drom Store (which shares the same shop space as K Ki) as it was baked for her birthday.


Encapsulated by velvetly smooth white chocolate mousse and a layer of soft white chocolate sponge, the surprise lays in the mango puree within. It has the same effect as a warm chocolate cake with molten chocolate in between. This is probably the "warm chocolate cake" for mango fans.

White chocolate cakes are often very sweet to most liking but fret not, the sweetness is just right and the beauty of this cake lies in the mango puree. White chocolate mousse is smooth and light and the addiction kicks in when this is eaten together with the tangy mango puree. Who would have expect a white chocolate mousse cake to be refreshing. Highly recommended.

As seen together with our previous introduction of K Ki, the creations offered by this patisserie are generally light and easily accepted by most. What is more important is that the desserts aren't cloying nor rich, making it easily finished and the urge to crave for more.

Apart from the cakes mentioned in both entries, we have also tried the cheese souffle, a Japanese light cheesecake that is so soft and moist. We didn't manage to capture it on our camera as it collapsed in Yuan's hands while he attempt to remove the foil that is beneath the cake.

K Ki Sweets
7 Ann Siang Hill
#01-00
Tel 6225 6650
Their website and facebook group

Operating hours:
12pm - 7pm (Sun to Fri)
12pm - 4pm (Sat)
Closed on Mondays

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“SUNRISE” Caribbean and Mango Mousse with Almond Sponge

“SUNRISE” Caribbean and Mango Mousse with Almond Sponge

Unlike the conventional chocolate log available in most bakeries and patisseries, hotel chefs tend to present their log cakes in unique flavours with the focus of using mousse.

The log cakes available at Ritz Carlton for this year were
- “C²” Vanilla Cheesecake with Gingerbread Sable topped with Berries ($58+)
- “MD 139” Chestnut Mousse with Brandy Pear ($58+)
- “SUNRISE” Caribbean and Mango Mousse with Almond Sponge ($58+)
- “SUNSET” Pistachio and Raspberry Mousse with Pistachio Pain de Gene ($78+)
- “Chocolate3” Chocolate Fudge Sponge layered with Chocolate Ganache ($88+)

Decided to stick to Ritz Carlton's Sunrise since the hotel's mango mousse cake has impressed the last time round.


With an outer ring of mango génoise cake, a layer of passionfruit-taste alike mousse, a mango "pudding" in its core, sitting on a layer of almond sponge, this cake provides a very contrasting texture when eaten all together. Unlike Gourmet Carousel's 2009 log cakes, this isn't that cloying and easily finished.

The only complain, since this cake has reached its minimum sugar content to produce a successful logcake, the hotel pastry chef was unable to further reduce the sugar content. To some, it is alittle tad sweet while others felt that it is alittle sour to their liking (FYI, a sample size of 12).

To sum up all the log cakes we had in 2009, the most memorable one would be the Durian Profiteroles X'mas Tree from Goodwood Park but among all the cakes I had within this week, I have to give it to The Patissier's Strawberry Cognac.

To all our readers, this is our last entry of the year. We take this opportunity to wish everybody a Happy New Year. We will be back next year for more desserts.

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore
7 Raffles Avenue
Singapore 039799
Tel: 6434 5288

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