The opening of Margaret Market within the housing estate of SkyResidence @ Dawson definitely helped to add on to the F&B scene around the Queenstown neighbourhood — while Margaret Drive Hawker Centre had been opened for quite some time, housing the hawkers that were previously located at the now-defunct Tanglin Halt Food Centre, Margaret Market is an entirely “new” building that is re-purposed from the old Blk 38 Commonwealth Avenue Wet Market (also known as the “Coffin Market” due to its architecture) — the structure had been preserved for quite some time, being quite a historic icon for the residents who grew up in Queenstown. The two-storey building have since turned into somewhat of an amenities hub for residents of the SkyResidence @ Dawson estate — the ground floor mainly comprises of eateries with a communal area for dine-in so patrons are able to order from multiple stalls and consume them at the same table; a little similar to that of a hawker centre. The Homme Baker is one of the new F&B concepts to have moved into Margaret Market; previously a concept that was online-based, this is the very first time The Homme Baker has opened a brick-and-mortar store — the same building also sees other tenants such as that of WAWA Lala Bee Hoon, The Urban Folks (serving up açai smoothies, sandwiches and coffee), Bowen’s (a western food stall with another location at Pandan Gardens) and Emart24. The Homme Baker is perhaps best known for their dessert cakes encased in a chocolate shell (more about that later), though they also do offer a variety of more conventional whole / sliced cakes as well — all of which are being displayed prominently at the counter. Beverages available at The Homme Baker comprises of espresso-based specialty coffee.

As mentioned earlier, the product of which The Homme Baker is probably best known for during its day as an online-based business would be their T&J Collection. The T&J Collection is an acronym for Tom & Jerry; the cartoon of which the line-up of dessert cakes that are encased in a chocolate shell — the aesthetics of the cake being stylised in the form of blocks of Swiss cheese being a nod to the cartoon featuring the mischievous antics of the cat and mouse being featured as the main characters of the cartoon series. Considering the aesthetics of the cake, it is no surprise if one mistakes them for cheesecakes — this is also considering how some cheesecakes from other establishments feature the same form factor. With so multiple flavours of The T&J Collection being stocked in their display chiller at the counter, we decided to go for the T&J Original to best have the item in its true form. It is not being mentioned in the description cards at the display counter on what are the elements that have been included in the cakes, though The Homme Baker’s website does describe the the T&J Original as “original recipe with a complementing sweet and savoury note from the caramel chocolate shell”. The aesthetics of the “cheese” is formed by a chocolate shell; the chocolate shell does come with a light hint of sweetness, and cracking it open reveals a interior that seems to comprise of what seems to be a chocolate cake layer and a mousse layer of a light shade beneath it. The chocolate cake layer is actually rather moist and bears a light sponge cake-like texture, whilst it also carried rather cocoa-like flavours; the mousse layer below which attempts to replicate the texture of a cheesecake was more interesting however, with its flavours being closer to that of Milo with a maltier sweetness as opposed to that of the usual chocolate. Overall, something which was quite different from the typical cheesecake, though one that is also rather interesting as well.

Considering how The Homme Baker does pretty much surround itself over The T&J Collection as their main offering, The Homme Baker does seem to be a brand where creativity is part of their DNA — The T&J Collection is really their unique take on the cheesecake, though we are not sure if this variant might be bringing things a little too far for some whom are more accustomed to the more conventional forms of cheesecake such as the New York-style Cheesecake, Japanese Cheesecake, or the Basque Burnt Cheesecake. Apart from the T&J Original though, we had also given the Mandarin Orange Cake at The Homme Baker a try during our visit; the Mandarin Orange Cake is a more conventional cake at heart — it is also an item which The Homme Baker had offered during the Lunar New Year. Being a three-tiered sponge cake, each layer of sponge cake comes with a mandarin orange sauce in between; the topmost layer is also glazed with the same mandarin orange sauce, with half a mandarin orange sitting above it. The sponge cake layers of the Mandarin Orange Cake was sufficiently moist and fluffy — pretty light in terms of texture, all that while the mandarin orange sauce provides a tangy and zingy note of flavours that gives some sort of flavour contrast to the cake. Those tangy notes are further enhanced by the inclusion of the actual mandarin orange that sits atop; the mandarin orange adding a juicy bite to the cake. It is also noted that the Mandarin Orange Cake much like the T&J Original is also cake that is not too sweet as well; quite balanced in flavours. The prices of most of the cakes in The T&J Collection is at $8.80, while the price of the Mandarin Orange Cake is $7.80 — some would say that the Mandarin Orange Cake is more value-for-money since the portion sizes are bigger at a lower price, though it does seem that the cakes in The T&J Collection are more labour intensive hence the price tag; a spot that is worth making the visit to see what they have to offer!