Nine Thirty by Awfully Chocolate

Full house at 11pm on a Saturday night, Nine Thirty by Awfully Chocolate must be doing something right! It replaces Mooshi Bakes and besides a more comprehensive menu, nothing much has changed.

While the guys polished off their meals (the three mushrooms penne is VERY good), I waited impatiently to get started on the desserts. Flourless chocolate cake and mousse-like cold poached chocolate were nice, but what we will keep going back for is the hei ice cream, bliss.

Three Mushrooms Penne ($16++)
shimeji, portobello, white button, cream sauce

Nine Thirty B.E.M. ($15++)
bacon, poached eggs, grilled portobello, cheese, sweet bun

Flourless Chocolate Cake ($5.61++)
dark chocolate cake, icing sugar

Cold Poached Chocolate ($5.61++)
slow set soft chocolate, vanilla cream (which I did without)

Hei Ice Cream ($5.79++ for double scoop)

Nine Thirty by Awfully Chocolate
131 East Coast Road
6345 2190

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The Tsujiri Lady

I’m super impressed with Tsujiri!! Service first, cake second.

So what happened was we decided to get O-maccha ice blended (mine with green tea soft serve!) to go since the smaller-than-small café was full. But while picking up the drinks, we spotted this cake below.

Black sesame roll cake with kinako cream ($5.40).

Last piece left? Oh yes, definitely mine!

It was wrapped in a transparent plastic box and then me being fickle-minded as usual, I changed my mind and wanted to wait for a table instead. A Japanese couple was hogging the table beside them with their bags so we “ahem” them and had seats within 5 mins, haha. K took a proper plate from the staff so that I could photograph the cake and this lady came up to ask whether she can plate it for us cuz for in-house diners, whipped cream and red bean paste will be served together. Impressive! Very kind and observant of her; I can just imagine how many people will look the other way with that “why bother?” attitude. What’s even better is that she’s a Singaporean (not the Japanese staff at the counter)! I feel comforted that Singaporeans are still capable of winning service so kudos to you, the Tsujiri lady!

And the cake? Delicious, of course!

Tsujiri
#01-14B, 100AM
100 Tras Street
6543 6110

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Blackball

I quite like Blackball, especially since the fussy me can mix and match the toppings to my liking ($4.90 for 4 toppings, grass jelly included). Even the creamer is served on the side, excellent! Grass jelly is a must here, very good, obviously different from those sold in supermarkets and hawker stalls. I like beans so red beans and kidney beans are a safe bet. Black sugar ice jelly sounds interesting but too sweet, once is enough. I didn’t like 粉圆 when I tried the authentic ones in Taiwan but it seems like an incomplete Blackball experience without those specialty yam/potato balls. So I asked for a recommendation from the staff for the least chewy of them all, and ta-da, in went the golden sweet potato balls. No regrets, these are not too chewy or starchy. Next time I’ll ask for less sugar, and this will be an ideal (and relatively healthier) dessert for a hot sunny day!

Blackball
#02-27, 112 Katong Mall
112 East Coast Road
6538 3885

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The Patissier

My eat-clean-this-week plan failed yesterday when we celebrated the birthday of a lovely lady in our office with a (as always) delicious cake from The Patissier. So far I’ve tried Passion Fruit Meringue, Empress Dowager, Strawberry Cognac, and this Pianissimo is leading the pack. So light and soft, and not too sweet even though it’s white chocolate (which I don’t like)~

Pianissimo ($43.50, 500g, 6 servings)
the very lightest chocolate fudge sponge cake harmonized with the airiest of Valrhona white chocolate mousse makes every bite of this eggless cake a melt-in-your-mouth delight

The Patissier
#01-01, 4 Mohd Sultan Road
6737 3369

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Wimbly Lu

I don’t quite understand the raves over Wimbly Lu, a chocolate café that’s off the beaten road. Sure, it’s cute and quaint but the desserts didn’t cut it for me. We picked the most interesting (to us anyway) items off the menu: chocolate crème brulee and root beer cake.

No like.

I imagined the chocolate crème brulee to be chocolate crème brulee but it’s just normal eggy custard under a dismal hard layer of chocolate+sugar. Root beer cake was… Err, I can’t remember. We shared a blah waffle too but that’s a story for another day.

Chocolate Crème Brulee ($5++)

Root Beer Cake ($6++)

Wimbly Lu
15-2 Jalan Riang
6289 1489

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Baker and Cook

Ignoring ants ants and more ants at Baker and Cook (which the management subsequently explained that “whilst we have regular pest control at our premises, it seems that this new bout of ants was overlooked by our staff”), BFF and I self-congratulated ourselves that the three cakes we chose (after much deliberation) are good!

Orange almond cake is a natural favourite of mine, zesty and light despite the use of almond meal; lemon tart is one of their bestsellers, easy to concur since it’s refreshing and not mouth-puckeringly sour at all; we scrapped off the too-sweet sugary icing on the carrot cake and what’s left is a moist and soft body, a nice change from the rustic dense versions which I usually love.

Gluten Free Orange Almond Cake ($4.50)

Lemon Tart ($5)

Carrot Cake ($4.50)

Baker & Cook (Martin Road)
38A Martin Road
6636 5965

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Cedele Easter Buns

The best thing about Easter is that we get a 4 days week, hooray!

Second best thing is there’s another excuse to pig out, double yay!!

Making an appearance once a year, hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. I’ve never liked them but since I’m a loyal fan of Cedele by The Bakery Depot since my school days, I shall do a short feature on their Easter offerings this year.

Of course, it goes without saying that hot cross buns make a return to their menu, with new kid on the block, savoury creation Cheese Onion Mustard leading the bakery’s offerings. Other flavours include the plain Classic version, Almond, and Chocolate Walnut. If these buns are your kind of thing, get your hands on them before April 1st!

I’m definitely more interested in the newly launched Chocolate Spring Cake. This has an interesting texture, what with bits of blended raspberries evident in each bite. One thing for sure, cakes never disappoint at Cedele!

Special thanks to Leen from Touch PR & Events for giving me the heads up on this!

Cedele Bakery Cafe
#B1-01, Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road
6334 4828

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Alfero Artisan Gelato

To whoever thinks that fat free gelato exists:
hello, you are deluded (and I wish I live in your world).

As owner Marco Alfero puts it matter of factly, zero fat gelato is impossible. But minimal fat gelato is another matter. Compared to conventional ice cream (18-30% fat), the gelato at Alfero Artisan Gelato only has 2-9% fat.

Not too bad right?

Though imo, when it comes to desserts, we should just indulge freely and worry about calories later, haha.

Every self-respecting ice cream parlour will boost of fresh quality ingredients so that has somewhat become a given in Singapore. What’s different about Alfero’s is that all the gelato are stored in pozzetto cabinets, airtight and lightproof metal containers which I’ve seen many times in gelaterias while traveling around Italy.

Those pozzetto cabinets have resulted in some amusing stories, with people mistaking Alfero as a shop selling soups when it first opened, lol.

The rotation rule applies and at any one time, there’s about 15 flavours available. I find that flavours are generally on the “safe” side, and none too interesting out of the norm. That said, it was tough to pick just 3 flavours for the largest cup (Marco kindly allowed me to choose 4, yay!) since most of the flavours were so good.

My favourite is the pistachio gelato, made only with pistachios from Bronte (Sicily) so that’s the real deal! Mango and raspberry are lovingly bold and naturally sweet; avocado is kind of light and mild while durian is potent and strong; bacio and chocolate mint are close twins of ferrero rocher and After Eight respectively, both bound to please; chocolate is dark and intense; snow white is too milky for me, gula melaka too sweet; rum and raisin is not overwhelming like competitor Udder’s.

See what I mean about safe flavours?

Anyway, the next time you need a cold treat (which has to be soon in this unforgiving hot weather), give Alfero Artisan Gelato a try! I’m 99.999% sure you will love it!

My thanks to Christina for the kind invitation, and Marco and Meiling for hosting!

Prices:
$4.50 for 1 flavour, $6.50 for 2, $8.50 for 3.
Add $1 for cone instead of cup.
$18 (500g) and $35 (1kg) for take away tubs.

Alfero Artisan Gelato
#01-37, 81 Mac Pherson Lane
6848 4269

#01-01, 21 Lorong Kilat
6463 3835

#02-226A/B, Marina Square Shopping Centre
6 Raffles Boulevard
6338 5828

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Windowsill in the Woods

A meal in the woods can be pretty sinful.

For brunch, take your pick from the artery-clogging menu. Yes, almost everything is deep-fried! Such as the classic New Orleans po’ boy sandwich stuffed with battered shrimps. Or the crispy potato latkes (think of these as mini rosti). Or the fluffy bacon pancakes, paired with a small scoop of creamy egg salad.

Skip the chowder, we found it too thin and bland, kind of like an anorexic soup.

But at Windowsill in the Woods, the beautiful and pricey pies are really what you should go for. I wish we could try ALL the pies, but three were all we could manage without puking. These pies are very very good; my favourite is the strawberry lemon tart (for now), a tart tart that’s so refreshing! Morello cherry and The Sam Willows are two extremes of a spectrum; the former is your traditional pie covered with sugared shortcrust (safe and boring) and the latter has a curious combination of pear, rosemary, peanut butter and hazelnuts (weird and works). Sam Willows is actually something I’d never pick in a million years and I’m glad the girls did. Cuz it made me realize that sometimes, being adventurous pays off!

Clockwise from bottom right:

Bacon Pancakes and Egg Salad ($15);

Shrimp Po’Boy ($15);

Latkes and Dip ($11); and

Corn, Leek and Clam Chowder ($14).

Clockwise from bottom:

Morello Cherry Pie ($8);

The Sam Willlows Pie ($7.50); and

Strawberry Lemon Slice ($7)

Windowsill in the Woods
78 Horne Road
9004 7827

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Once a Year at Drips

One year later, I’m back at Drips Bakery Cafe with the same dear friend I was with my first time there.

One year later, their tarts are still easily one of the best you can find in Singapore.

Seasonal Mixed Berries Tart ($8)

Cinnamon Pear Tart ($7.50)

Drips Bakery Cafe
#01-05, 82 Tiong Poh Road
6222 0400

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