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Wednesday 29 October 2014

Tea time at Bloomsbury Bakers Cafe @ Boon Keng



Blk 30 Bendemeer Road #01-889 Singapore 330030
Tel: 6299 3450



I had been thinking if I wanted to visit Bloomsbury Bakers, fractions of hesitation because it is a cafe situated in a HDB block. Then I saw photographs of the vintage black-white tiled floors and lovely decor leaning heavily on French flavors, and made up my mind instantly. I just love the sleek furnishing - dark toned, mirrored and mysterious all in one. With settings like that, who could still remember they are in a cafe hidden in a neighborhood estate?


We took one of the tables in the back, and loved the lovely knick-knacks adorning the tiny tabletop - nice touch.


And a shelf selling some books and baking etc, with some cards and jars of butter etc.




We checked out the shelves of cakes, tarts and brownies - lovely baked goods, one looking more mouthwatering than the other. It was hard to decide on which to have, seriously, and we took some time to debate and make up our minds. Passion fruit meringue tarts or lemon meringue tarts? Red velvet cake or brownies?


Most importantly, the pastries all looked fresh. The most difficult choice was choosing between the Strawberry Shortcake and Lychee Martini cake - we intended to have one pastry from each category, and there was no way we could take both. The Strawberry Shortcake had been reviewed as "the best" a prominent food blogger had ever had, whereas I love Lychee Martini Cakes.


In the end, we made our choices and I sat back with a cup of Cuppuccino (SGD$4.50) - a hot soother for a cool rainy day. The coffee was aromatic enough.


The Lemon Meringue Tart (SGD$5.00) had a lovely crust - golden, crunchy and yet subtly sweet, balancing the sweet- sour lemon curd very well. The lemon curd was in turn gossamer smooth, hittng just the right note of tart, giving it a refreshing hint. Again, the word "fresh" came to mind.


Next, our Lychee Martini Cake (SGD$7.50) was served - the cake was so pretty, especially with the tiny rose bud sitting atop the cream. The cake was light, almost cottony, with sweet cream and real lychee flesh tucked between layers of this fluffy light cake. While the sweet flavor of lychee was distinctive, the slosh of martini was gentle - I enjoyed this, but still prefer Pine Gardens' more.


Finally, the third shared pastry of Sea Salt Caramel Brownies (SGD$4.50) - we chose the one with nuts. At first bite, we enjoyed the rich darkness of the smooth chocolatey slab, paired with the lovely taste and texture of walnuts. Even the caramel sauce was not overly sweet - something that changed my mind about the usual too-sweet flavor. Then we started biting into large grains of sea salt, and it was scaldingly salty - no joke. After three dainty bites each, we left the brownie alone because the saltiness was too much to bear, and eventually obliterated all the other lovely flavors.

Overall, the variety and taste of pastries make this place well worth a visit or two.

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