Melvados Cafe (Ordered out)

Heard lots about Melvados cafe and its famous brownies but due to the fact that its location is on the other side of Singapore, i've never coerced myself to make the trip down to visit it. In fact, i still have not visited it due to mixed reviews on the service and the food from the place. However, i did manage to get lucky one day and got my hands on a box of Melvados brownies for a tea time treat for free.

Location: 559 Bukit Timah Road King's Arcade #01-01 (Beside Coronation Plaza)

Delivery Location: 54 Woodlands Terrace

Contact: 63394953

Website: http://www.melvados.com/

My Lucky Box

Foodedge Gourmet

Macadamia Nut Brownie ($28 for 10 pieces) & Mango Mousse ($26 for 10 pieces)

Fortunate me got this box of brownies and cakes for free due to over ordering and i can say that i found the brownies and cakes above average. The Macadamia brownie obviously had a crunchy layer of macadamia nuts strewn all over the top of a chocolaty and bitter brownie. Its also soft and crumbles easily with each bite, doesn't crumble in your hand though, which to me, is a mark of an above average brownie. On the downside, the only thing to pick on is that the bitterness gets to you pretty quick.
The Mango mousse cake is smooth, creamy and soft. Its lightly sweet with a thin layer of cream for that feeling of indulgence and balance all in one. It also helps to note that it was fresh. Another yummy treat.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Last Word:
I liked the brownies quite a bit. Its fresh, pack with taste and pretty much comfort food for me. The fact that i didn't have to pay for them helped quite a bit as well. All in all, i'd recommend ordering out to try for yourself. It ain't cheap though so please take note.

Lana Cake Shop

Lana cake is a tried and true tradition of chocolate cake that has been getting rave reviews everywhere and i finally got my hands on one of them at my grandmother's birthday recently when my aunt ordered one just for the occasion.

Location: 36 Greenwood Avenue

Contact: 6466 8940 / 6466 5315

Price Range: $75 for a 2kg Lana Cake

The Lana Chocolate Fudge Cake

An Inside Look

Weighing a hefty 2kg and fetching a price of $75, this takes the crown as the priciest cake i've ever had thus far. That is why i was quite surprised when the cake was cut open, it seemed extremely ordinary with no additional embellishments which i can identify with for the high price.

Even the exterior was rather normal looking, a few words with colored icing and cream and a smoothed and wavy chocolate fudge is all that you get. Nothing fancy at all.

The cake slice you see above best describes why i was surprised. A thin layer of chocolate fudge covers the sponge and its only....one thin layer of chocolate fudge with a whole load of sponge cake. I believe the shop charges these exorbitant prices based on the promise of using top grade chocolate on their cakes, which is probably why it is used so sparingly in this cake.

Now for the actual taste. First bites basically didn't impress. It tasted like something choc a bloc could have done and at a cheaper price too. Subsequent tastes did not change my impression. Sure, the cake is rich and the chocolate is definitely not your everyday chocolate but they sure could have added some chocolate mousse or something to make the cake a little more bang for the buck...but thats the first impression of course.

Then i took a second piece and chomped it down slower, which is when i realised then despite this being a chocolate fudge cake, it is surprisingly light and yet packed with taste from the chocolate fudge. This is probably the little difference that makes a big difference in the end.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Last Word:
Decent and strong, the simplicity of the cake belies a hidden promise of quality chocolate that will not present itself immediately. It takes time (and money) to understand why this cake is so sought after but once you do, it may be difficult to see other cakes in the same light. That said, the chocolate quality does shine out albeit a little slower than i would have liked. Try it yourself to judge.

Mango Tropicana (Four Leaves)

This time, my parents bought the cake from yet another outlet of Four Leaves. As always, the cakes are of a certain standard and this being my own birthday cake. Its definitely something i don't take lightly.

Location: White Sands (#B1-09)

Contact: 6583-8535

Price: $24 for 15 x 15 inch

A cake for the ages

Close up of the actual mango slices

Cross Section

By now, i'm sure everyone is more or less well acquainted with this brand of cake? Well, its a humble shop thats found in almost every shopping mall selling decent pastry but the main draw of the place is still going to be the cakes they have on store.

The Mango Tropicana is comes in a cheery yellow color with loads of mango mousse, sponge cake and bits of mango strewn meticulously within. I like the fact that its not too heavy on taste and instead, is a little sour. Somehow this gives me the impression that it is at least authentic and not just sugar coated for effect. The mango pieces themselves add a good dimension to the cake and is pleasing overall. The sugar can really be felt only on the sponge cake surprisingly, which is still airy, light and soft enough to warrant a try.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Last Word:
Can the cakes here do no wrong? I'm not sure about that but i've been introduced to alot of the more....high end cakes which i'll go along to try soon. More cakes coming on this cake filled weekend. Cheers!

StrawBerry SweetHeart (Four Leaves)

Cakes, every single year is a chance to try as many cakes as is humanly possible. And yet again, its four leaves cake that we went to. This time, for my GF's birthday (hence the shape). I'll reiterate that i've so far not had a bad cake from them yet.

Location: Hougang Mall (#B1-21)

Contact: 6425 8421

Price Range: $26 for 15 inch cake

Heart Shaped And Full Of Love

Another Look

A Dissected Look

Another View

First off, i'm not a fan of heart shaped cakes, secondly, i'm also not a fan of strawberry cakes. With that out of the way, on to the cake and how it tastes.

Unlike the usual chocolate cakes i'm used to, this version of strawberry cake actually has a strong and slightly bitter taste in the mousse to my surprise. It also lacks a somewhat "girly" feeling which usually accompanies cakes of this flavor. In fact, the soft chocolate sponge is of a stronger and better caliber then most. What it does is it compliments the strawberry mousse to a satisfying degree.

The cake is also very soft and creamy without overwhelming such that seconds and thirds can be easily stomached.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Last Word:
As far as strawberry mousse cakes go, this is one of the better ones i've had. Yet again, Four Leaves has not disappointed me my expectations. A reasonably good cake for your loved ones and strawberry lovers alike.

Christmas Log Cake

Cakes, cakes, cakes. Who can ever get enough of these soft, sweet tasting delicacies that come in a rich variety of flavors and mixed with different mediums? I for one, never feels a cake is enough. This post is a little late of course but hey, better late then never yeah?

Location: Four Leaves Compass Point

Price range: $38

A worthy label to remember

After scouring for cakes for Christmas for a long time, and seeing the obscene prices each cake is being touted by in almost all the shops we visited, me and my gf finally settled on something very familiar and almost guaranteed to satisfy. The choice is none other than the Four Leaves cakes that we pretty much swear by for any occasion. Does it disappoint though?

Looks nice no?

Front view with happy little Santa

Cross Section

Christmas, a season of giving and sharing. And also a season of eating, partying and generally getting fatter. Well, my success in that field is pretty much legendary i suppose. Back to the cake at hand.

Despite the rather cute appearance, the cake has its roots from an old favorite of mine. The much revered Cocoa Exotica. The main difference is on the icing and cream which adorns the outer layer and a distinctly smaller inner layer in terms of the usage of cream and chocolate. Nonetheless, the cake itself simply melts in your mouth, and the hazelnut cookie layer gives it much needed fragrance and taste. Do not be mislead by the thick icing and cream you see, it never gets overwhelming nor unpleasant as the icing itself is just a tad sweet and is strangely soft that it is easily taken in. I like this cake as much as the Cocoa Exotica, enough said.

Overall Score: 8/10

Last Word:
So far, in terms of cakes, i haven't had a particularly disappointing experience with Four Leaves yet. And if they keep up the good work, this is one of the better cake shops out there despite its abundance in malls.

Oreo Cheesecake (Eatzi Gourmet)

On my sisters 19th birthday, the choice of cake was decided as the all time favorite oreo cheesecake. Having a plethora of choices, we settled upon a quick and easy fix of getting one from Jack's place which was a bus ride away.

Website: http://www.eatzi.com.sg/index.html

Contact: 62876298

Oreo Cheesecake 0.5kg ($18 before gst)

Cross Section

The cake looks decent but not exactly aesthetically pleasing. The top layer consists of a thin layer of dark chocolate which melts too readily and the middle cream cheese portion came across as being too soft for my liking. I also found the cheese filling sour and lacking the sweetness present in other renditions of Oreo cheesecakes. As mentioned earlier, it seems to melt or turn soft a little too quickly which really takes away from the experience. The oreo crust base is about the only thing that is reasonably passable for this cake. Overall, a disappointment and a prime example of a good cake gone bad.
I hope the rest of their offerings aren't that meager because i actually have fond memories of their cake offerings. Maybe its because it used to be made in house but now, they added a Halal cert and a new pastry arm which doesn't quite do the brand justice. The same goes for their food offerings as well. Such a pity.

Overall Score: 5.5/10

Cocoa Exotica (Four Leaves)

Family, where would i be without them? Nowhere i believe, i wouldn't exist without my parents thats for sure. And so, its important to remember their birthdays, such as my dear mother's birthday which was yesterday, 19th August. To commemorate this important day, we brought her to her favorite vegetarian eating place and bought her a simple cake. After much pondering, we bought a cake from Four Leaves at Raffles City.

Cocoa Exotica ($35) Pictures taken by my sister


Pictures taken me

My slice of cake! Yum!

At $35, this is a regular sized cake which will probably be able to fill around 8 people's stomach with a pretty generous serving. Most importantly for me, my family liked it and that in itself is good enough.

There are four layers to this cake, the sponge layer, top bitter chocolate layer, cream and chocolate fudge layer and a biscuit layer near the bottom. The sponge cake layer is quite good as it holds enough body and is not too airy as compared to some offerings i've had. The bitter chocolate layer was very thin so it doesn't quite do enough for me. The middle cream, chocolate fudge and biscuit layer is what won this cake for me though. Although the cream layer was thick, it wasn't too sweet nor too 'creamy' which is a good thing for me. The biscuit layer was great but i'm unable to tell you what kind of biscuit they used. Try it yourself to find out.

Score: 7.75

Last Word:
Overall, everyone liked the cake and it was one of the better cakes i've had from Four Leaves so far. Its pretty much on par with other cake specializing stores which did come as a surprise to me. I have my girlfriend to thank for this great choice of a cake and for opening my eyes to the fact that even Four Leaves can offer decent cakes.