Not a totally new name in the local F&B scene, Cakebar had been operating as a takeaway kiosk within Holland Piazza Shopping Centre for a while now — they had since expanded its operations, with their second outlet now opened within Palais Renaissance along Orchard Road. Occupying a slightly bigger shop unit than their outpost at Holland Piazza Shopping Centre, Cakebar now does have a space that is dedicated for dine-in customers at their new digs at Palais Renaissance. The dine-in space is rather limited however; with only three (3) tables meant for two (2) pax each, the dine-in area does make Cakebar more suitable as a short stopover for dessert with a friend while shopping around town. Being primarily a patisserie that serves up various types of cake, Cakebar is known more for their mini cakes that come in a size of 3.5” meant for personal consumption — they also do offer other cakes such as those that are shaped in bars, as well as more mousse-based stuff that are sold in small jars. Aside from cakes however, Cakebar also does serves up dessert pies by the slice, as well as a limited variety of French viennoiserie such as Butter Croissant and Kouign Amann; beverages available to pair up with the pastries and cakes include coffee and hot tea.

Based on some of the articles which we have came across on social media and other sources online, the Kori Lemon is one of the signature items available at Cakebar — the item is also tagged as “Top 1” on the description card in the display fridge as well. Described to come with elements such as 100% pure lemon juice, lemon zest-infused lemon curd and white chocolate almond crumble base, the Kori Lemon on first look does seem to resemble that of a cheesecake with its plain-Jane aesthetics, though this is not quite a cheesecake but more of a semifreddo (i.e. semi-frozen dessert) that is best to be eaten after a short period of thawing once it is out of the fridge so that it is served in the form that it was supposed to be without being too frozen. The kind folks behind the counter had actually sliced up the Kori Lemon for us into bite-sized pieces; digging into a piece of the Kori Lemon, it was noted that the texture of the cake was pretty ice cream-like — it is smooth and creamy without being particularly laden in cream or milk. It also felt relatively dense; there is no aeration detected within the frozen cream; all that carrying that intense flavours of lemon they is oh-so-zippy and tart; very refreshing without being overly sour — would definitely hit the tastebuds of those who generally loves sour-ish desserts. The white chocolate almond crumble base does provide that crunch factor with that slight hint of sweetness that is akin to that of a cheesecake base; something that really helped to cut through the tartness of the lemon zest-infused lemon curd atop.

Haven’t really tried many of their creations but it does seem that Cakebar’s offerings does carry a good quality based on what we have tried. We could totally see how the Kori Lemon has attained its popularity here; something that is a little out of the ordinary from what one would have expected — despite its simple looks, we liked how there was quite a fair bit of attention to detail being placed in terms of its execution with the various elements, as well as being served at a temperature that would best suit it considering the type of dessert it is. The folks behind the counter are also pretty friendly; eager to introduce their offerings to the patrons for them to make informed choices on what to order. With a unique identity formed around serving mini-sized cakes at 3.5” that would satisfy those craving for a full-sized cake that works for individual consumption, we are definitely curious about the other cakes that they have to offer — somewhere which we would most likely be intrigued enough to make a subsequent visit to give their other creations a go.