Awfully Chocolate (Katong Mall Outlet)

Beginning in 1998, Awfully Chocolate brought a concept and slowly but surely, turned a simple idea into a region spanning franchise. One of its franchisee's, Stella Huang, is a resident Singaporean celebrity who sang and acted in various sitcoms during her university days earn "some" pocket money. The result of a simple concept and limited selection of items is what you get from Awfully Chocolate.
( Correction update: Stella was a franchisee and not a founder. Thanks to Anonymous for the update.)

Location: 112 East Coast Road #01-26 Singapore 428802

Contact: 63459106

Website: http://www.awfullychocolate.com/

black on white

Hei(Black) Ice Cream Single Scoop ($3.80)

I guess this franchise is proof that a simple idea can blossom and spread with a good amount of financial backing and some really tasty chocolate.

Ice Cream: This is the first time i tried their ice cream and it was smooth. Despite the extremely thick chocolate its made of, the bitterness was mild. It also had just the right amount of sweetness to push you towards the next mouthful. However, i can't help noticing that the ice cream has a taste very much familiar to extremely thick Milo concentrate. Not to say its a bad thing, but its an observation.
My two cents? Reasonably good enough to stand on its own, but more then a few mouthfuls and be prepared to call in sick the next day.

Cake: I've tried a slice of their cake before and its rich, slightly fluffy and easily messy to enjoy. The fudge is smooth and moderately sweet which once again, gives it a balanced taste. I felt it was pretty similar to 3 other cakes i've had before though. Lana's cake shop, Choc-a-bloc and even Secret recipe. I think its a fair comparison since they all belong to the moist chocolate fudge category. The difference is mostly on the ratio of chocolate to sponge and Awfully Chocolate's version has most in common with Lana's version, albeit having a thicker fudge layer in the middle and on its coverings. Whether you like it or not depends on how much you like chocolate.

Final Score: 6/10

Last Word:
I like chocolate and this is definitely pretty good for both the ice cream and the chocolate cake. I also like the attitude of the founders for their arrogance and daring in sticking to this concept but honestly, there are lots of chocolate cakes around. And when the differentiation factor is not as apparent, its less of a draw to return. Still, give this a try if you have not tried it yet.

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.

Choc a Bloc

Fancy cakes with a strong chocolate twist? Tired of old and run-of-the-mill cakes available everywhere else? Want something reasonably affordable and yet packing in the taste department? Well, welcome to choc-a-bloc. Coincidentally, the word "bloc" actually means blissfully luscious orgasmic chocolate as is positioned on their website. I wouldn't go that far to say their cakes are the best but i do second the fact that they are less common then the rest thus far.

Location: Blk 86 Bedok North St 4 #01-179

Contact: 64466096

Price: $30 per 800 GM

Self explainatory

Its my girl's birthday

Smooth and rich dark chocolate fudge

This is a customized version of the "Mom's coco fudge cake". One thing about the cake is that its generously big (though of course you have to pay for it to be big.) The cake is surprisingly simple and expensive. 2 layers of chocolate and 3 layers of sponge cake is pretty much all you get for the price and yet. It feels surprisingly worthwhile. For one thing, the dark chocolate used is tastefully chosen. Being just the right balance of sweetness and bitterness which it balances very well. So much so that despite the big portion, i had no difficulty in finishing the cake at all. Being a fudge cake, it is also nicely soft and filling. One of the simplest and better tasting cakes i've had actually. I have to say its pretty much on par with the renditions even in Secret Recipe and some french gourmet cakes i've had. (Maybe i just have not eaten enough cakes to have a cake that has a higher standard yet but i'm getting there.)

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Last word:
I'm interested in having more actually but i do feel the pricing is abit steep and seems to have increased. Anyone who has tried better cakes out there, do let me know so i can try others yeah?

Secret Recipe (Moist Chocolate Cake)

National Day meant many things for me but most of all it meant my girlfriend could get the National Day celebrations discount offered by Secret Recipe which allowed all their cakes to be available for purchase at a whooping 42% discount. Her choice of indulgence? After an agonizing 1 hour of listening to the shop assistant who eventually lied to get her number, the heavy weighted Moist Chocolate Cake which weights in at an astonishing 2.1kg.@

Moist Chocolate Cake ($26 due to discount)

Cross Section

Being my first Secret Recipe cake, i'd say this was big. The shop assistant kindly pointed out the best way to enjoy this was by first heating it and he wasn't wrong at all. When heated, the cake is warm, with a nice layer of melting dark chocolate that would have been better if given in bigger doses but in its current form still managed to indulge the senses with its cocoa content. The thin light brownish layer you see in the middle is mocha fudge which provides a sweet and light relief from the majority of the cake's thick bitter chocolate layer. The sponge cake was also denser then usual and thus results in a more fulfilling spoonful then regular sponge cakes available elsewhere.

So is the Secret Recipe used in this cake good enough? I would say it was really quite good. I loved the melting bitter chocolate layer and the small mocha layer in the middle when i munched on its sponge cake. However, i really would have preferred it if they could have given a few more layers of chocolate of something else to mix up the taste abit as it can get overwhelmingly strong after a few bites.

Score: 7/10

Last Word:
Definitely worth its price when discounted but i would never pay the full price for a cake of this caliber. To me, $45 should net me something much more exotic or at least thoughtful then this offering. However, this is still a good steal at $26, too bad it comes around only once yearly. =P