alexis blogs: August 2015

Best cakes in SG: Mad about Sucre at 27 Teo Hong Road, Singapore 088334

August 30, 2015

This is the story of how 4 friends ended up eating 5 cakes. We walked into Mad About Sucre after sharing 2 appetizers and 3 main courses at The Lokal on a Wednesday night, and two of our friends have pre-ordered 4 cakes because they have tried and loved it. We saw one more on display which looked delicious and figured that we'll try all of them.

The shophouse was decorated like a classic French cafe, with a little corner to sell knick knacks at the entrance. Very pleasant, not noisy and boisterous, perfect for tea and cakes after dinner.

Cakes are arranged by order of intensity, starting from the lightest to the heaviest (the chocolates), left to right. It's $10.80-$12.80 each, and you can pre-order them for special occasions by sizes - Small ($60), Medium ($90) and Large ($120). They also do custom cakes which you can check out their pricing here.

Also, the unique thing about Mad about Sucre is that every cake is paired with a cup of uniquely blended tea, meant to complement the cake. Now that's just heavenly matchmaking!

We started with the Coco Citron, made with coconut mousse, light lemon curd, shattered crystals and sablee tart. It was paired with a very delicate French pear with Japanese yuzu, white orchid and Tibetan chrysanthemum tea. I loved this cake very much because even though I normally dislike desiccated coconut, this was light, but blended so well with the lemon curd which did not overwhelm. I think that's what everyone likes about this! 4.5/5

Coco Citron from Mad About Sucré is a light medley of coconut, crystals and lemon curd. Absolutely divine! Each cake is also paired with expertly blended tea. #dessert #cake #madaboutsucre #coconut #citron #sweettooth

A photo posted by alexis cheong (@alexischeong) on Aug 26, 2015 at 6:37am PDT

Next, the Luna de Miele, also known as the Moon of the Honey. It consists of French spring honey mousse, blood orange caviar, grapefruit as a surprise, savore sponge and short pastry base. I like how this was inspired by the blood moon lunar eclipse. Very creative, and tasted pretty damn good! It was paired with a slightly lighter tea of French apple, Spanish blue ginger, Tibetan camomile and Cambodian honeycomb. 3.8/5

Then the best of the lot - the Passionne, made of light cheese with passionfruit, sponge soaked with dew of passionfruit, sweet short pastry and cocoa nip crunch. It was paired with tea of Spanish blood orange, California carrots, Cambodian mango, specifically to clash with the cake's strong flavours. The creamy but airy texture was enhanced when you have some of the husk of the cocoa nips that went with it. 4.8/5

Dreaming of this Passionfruit Cheesecake from @madaboutsucre, paired with a cup of Spanish blood orange, California carrots and Cambodian mango tea. Strong flavours meant to clash with the passionfruit, Nordic 3 (or 4?) cheese and cocoa bean husks. Best of the 5 we tried! #latergram #tgif #cake #dessert #cheesecake #passionfruit #tea #foodporn #yummy #delish #instafood #sweettooth

A photo posted by alexis cheong (@alexischeong) on Aug 28, 2015 at 4:59am PDT

Then we had the Almond and Vanilla (not actual name), which was paired with tea of African lychee and Moroccan roses. It was described by Eric, host of the cafe as, "Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston on the same stage. Because vanilla and almond are powerhouse flavours that they are bringing back."

Here's how it looks once you cut it open. Beautiful! We all enjoyed it, but truthfully when compared to all the other cakes, this would get voted off the stage, only because it's more appealing for almond lovers, and the center surprise was not as perceptible. 3.5/5

Lastly we had the piéce de resistance, the San Domingue ($12.80). There's a chocolate jewel box filled with rum that you break first so that it surrounds the sphere of 70% dark chocolate mousse that coats a caramelized plantain center. Bananas, chocolate and rum? Of course that is a sure win! It was paired with tea of Moroccan mint with Cambodian lemongrass and Japanese green tea with Vietnamese lotus flower to help cleanse your palate. If there's a third cake that I'd come back for, it will be this. 4/5

We might have had 5 of the best cakes in Singapore. It is really that good. If there is one cake shop that you have to try this year, go to Mad About Sucre, and be willing to spend because every penny is worth it.

Mad About Sucre

27 Teo Hong Road Singapore 088334

+65 6221 3969

Tue - Thu: 12:30 - 22:30, Fri - Sat: 12:30 - 23:00, Sun: 12:30 - 17:00

Last Orders 30 mins Before Closing

Closed Mondays

brunch

Brunch review: FYR Cycene Onc Drinc at 19 Boon Tat St, Singapore 069619

August 23, 2015

If you are in the Chinatown area hankering for some brunch that is not your usual eggs and sauce, I'd highly recommend that you check out FYR Cycene Onc Drinc at Boon Tat Street. Even though I have no idea how to pronounce the restaurant's name and always think of it as "fire cy-scene onk drink" (and found out later that it's FIRE Kitchen and Drink), that didn't stop me from enjoying what I'd think of as European styled cuisine with Asian, Mediterranean spices. The hearty, charcoal oven cooked dishes are perfect for a long lunch or weekend brunch at their breezy, light and airy restaurant.

Source: FYR Cycene Onc Drinc

Here's the menu. Simple, but plenty to choose from. Prices are all quite reasonable too! All their dishes are cooked in the Josper Wood charcoal oven, as written.

We started off with the thirst-quenching and ever so refreshing Iced Teas - The Hibiscus Mint ($4.50) was to me the best among the trio!

Their Lattes ($4) were also really surprisingly good,for a restaurant because it was made with their premium La Marzocco Espresso machine. Mine was smooth with a hint of sweetness from the milk. Great accompaniment to breakfast.

There's also a new introduction: the Party Detox Basket ($10). Cure a hangover by combating it with some Blood Mary, DIY! There's vodka, grilled fresh tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce at rock salt for our disposal to concoct our own poison. Mine was pretty strong for a Saturday late morning, I'd say!

We then started with some Small Bites. The Skillet-roasted Escargots ($12) were an intense pot of buttery garlic and snails, with some bread to soak everything up. They were good, I won't really recommend ordering them for brunch.

There's also the Grilled Squid ($12), which was quite juicy and tender, even if its too early for seafood. I liked the mix of textures and hint of charcoal on the squid. But I am just not a big fan of squid in general.

I really liked the Yam & Sweet Potato fries ($8) though! Especially with the decadent and tangy cheese sauce and tomato salsa. Perfect for a group of 4 to munch on while waiting for the food to be cooked! They were very addictive, be warned.

Then one of the highlights of the meal in my opinion - the Baked Beef Hash ($18) with ribeye, corned beef and spring onions crepes! Seriously this is just... a flavour explosion of homely spices, tastes and everything. I totally did not see that coming.

Dipping the spring onions crepes into the broken egg was so SHIOK. You can easily share this dish between 2! Or have 3-4 people, order this plus a main and the fries.

The Baked Java Curry Chicken Ragout ($15) on the other hand wasn't as impressive as it sounded. The curry taste was rather overpowering with something like cumin even though it wasn't strong, and I am just not sure whether it's that enjoyable. The chicken was also imperceptible.

We have the "celebrity" dish of the day then - the Grilled Steak & Eggs ($25), comprising of a striploin with a sunny side up, some side salad, and some toast. Before we get to the meat, I must tell you to check out the garlic butter that was served with the toast. I melted and went to heaven with it. How can butter, which is already awesome, be any more awesome? Turns out it can with garlic. Of course the steak itself was a chunk of charcoal-grilled perfection - not too tough, with juices still running amok in the flesh as you sink your teeth in them. Meat lovers, your dream.

What I thought was a strong contender for not-so-carnivorous eaters was the Baked Blinis ($15) which came with an awesome slab of perfectly grilled salmon, some Avruga caviar on a sunny side up as well as grated Bottarga (salted, cured fish roe) that's on the baked blinis (the doughy pancake made with yeast butter underneath the egg). Honestly, the salmon was the real deal for me. It literally melted in my mouth! So fresh! So healthy! Omega-3!

OK, so that was it for the small bites and mains. Then we got to the dessert that rounded the meal off to a great finish with a signature Baked Pistachio Melt & Pandan Ice Cream ($10). There was pistachio cream that flowed out from the cake -- it was like a green lava cake, only with more delicate flavours like pandan and pistachio! Very innovative, and made for great Instagram photos of course.

Some of us from the tasting session! Really enjoyed brunching with these girls.

I'd say despite the fierce competition in Chinatown/Boon Tat/Telok Ayer area, FYR Cycene Onc Drinc managed to hold their own with their brand of charcoal-grilled dishes and innovative dishes to jolt jaded brunchers from their eggs benedicts. Definitely get their fries, the baked beef hash, and either the steak or salmon!

FYR Cycene Onc Drinc
19 Boon Tat Street, Singapore 069619
Mon - Fri: 11:00 - 23:00, Sat: 09:00 - 23:00, Sun: 09:00 - 16:00
+65 62213703
www.facebook.com/FYRBTS

Thanks to Brand Cellar and FYR Cycene Onc Drinc for the invite!