Basic Kneads

The cafe serves 4 types of muffins on regular days and this review is for the triple chocolate. It’s a decent muffin with the nice chocolate chips tops, but a little sweet for a dark chcolate lover like myself.

But if you’re in the area and want to check out the nice hojicha to accompany the muffin, it might be nice for you to know that the two founders reason of starting up the cafe, which was to provide work opportunities for people with special needs.💕

*Note: my taste palate leans towards dark bitter chocolate at a sweet spot of 65%-72% cocoa. So please use that as a gauge of my taste perspective.

Had managed to find out about the new Basic Kneads whilst scrolling around social media one day — it does seem that it is finally the time where a cafe had opened their doors within the neighbourhood of Selegie House. Situated at Blk 9 Selegie Road, Basic Kneads is located in the HDB estate that is right across from where Apartment is along Selegie Road. Taking up a space that is the size of a typical shophouse unit at the ground floor of a HDB block, Basic Kneads does look like a cosy and homely set-up; the facade of the shop being one that is pretty modern as compared to its neighbours with the use of wooden fixtures and white walls with a dedicated blackboard that describes the establishment and lists its operating hours. Basic Kneads describes themselves as a collaboration between Sweet Surrender and Hey Sprouts; the former being an home-based baker while the latter is a social enterprise “that hires and trains people with special needs in industry-relevant job scopes with the eventual aim of open employment”. The interior space is rather simply decked; the left side of the space is dedicated to the espresso bar and the bakery where the muffins are baked in-house; both segregated in their own areas within the space. Towards the right of the space as one enters the cafe will be the dine-in space; there are a mix of tables good for two pax and four pax available, while there is one table that is good for groups of six as well — the furniture composing of mostly tables and chairs with wooden accents that is tastefully matched for a homely vibe despite being a little haphazard. Being a cafe that only serves bakes, the bakes that are available for the day are displayed prominently at the counter, while the list of beverages served up at Basic Kneads include espresso-based specialty coffee, teas and drinking chocolate.

There were three variations of their muffins that was available in-stock during our visit made to Sweet Surrender during a weekend afternoon — this would be namely the Sea Salt Triple Chocolate Muffin, Banana Cinnamon Muffin, and the Strawberry Muffin; we found ourselves going for the Strawberry Muffin since the formrer two muffins are flavours of which are more commonly found flavours at bakeries all around. Our order of the Strawberry Muffin is served warmed up without us having to specify for it to have come so, and it does seem that the Strawberry Muffin is best eaten warm. One thing that we note about the Strawberry Muffin here is how there is a crumble layer that comes on the top of the muffin; almost akin to that of the crumbles found atop Apple Crumble Pie. This adds a tinge of sweetness and a soft and light crunch that provides both flavoural and textural contrast to the muffin. As we dig in deeper into the muffin, the muffin was surprisingly light and fluffy — not too dense nor greasy and is actually really easy to eat. We did not find the muffin to be overwhelmingly sweet, and we were also impressed with how it does come with nibs of fibrous strawberry flesh embedded within that provided a bit of a light tang. The small nibs of dehydrated strawberries on the top of the muffin also adds a sourish zing and a bit of a bite that further enhances the notes of the strawberries as well.

During the same visit to Basic Kneads, we had also given the Lemon Bar a try — the Lemon Bar is an item that is sourced from Sweet Surrender whom they are in collaboration with and the Lemon Bar would likely be an item that would appeal to those whom love sour desserts. The Lemon Curd is smooth and thick, comes with quite a zing without being overly sweet; refreshes the tastebuds whilst coming with a crunchy crust at the bottom for a contrast of textures. We were not expecting much for the White that we had went for; the White we have had yet is not the best but does work well enough for those whom are not too particular with their cuppa; one with a somewhat medium body with a citrusy flavour profile — quite a decent one to match with the Strawberry Muffin that we have had. While the ‘hood does have more snazzier cafe options such as that of Apartment at Selegie Road as well as Working Title at LASALLE College of the Arts around, Basic Kneads is one of those spots that serves up simple yet well-executed muffins and bakes that we found comfort in; a great place to rest the tired feet at whilst walking in between the Dhoby Ghaut and Bugis areas.