GAMO

Kani Mentaiko (S$5.80+)
Iced Black

Note 📝 : Got 10% service charge
Only card payment

@gamo.sg is a cosy cafe nestled in Bras Basah Complex serving drinks, pastries and desserts. I liked the Hazelnut Royaltine which was rich and had crispy bits in it too! They serve a variety of other pastries such as the recently popular croons but I'm not a fan of croons so I can't really comment much 😅

Dropping the pretense of a fanciful name, this Matcha Yuzu Lychee cake (S$11.00) was an elegant dessert that I thought was quite befitting of a Christmas-y theme, even though it might not necessarily be the case.

Within the not-too-sweet Matcha mousse was a layer of Yuzu curd supporting visible slices of real lychee flesh. With a good balance of sweet and bitter notes, I was immersing myself into a relaxing mood amidst the light jazz music at the background.

It was a chance discovery of GAMO when I was at Bras Basah Complex to grab some stationeries, and I was quite drawn to their pastry display, honestly.

It was also a comfortable ambience to sit down for a cup of coffee on a weekday afternoon. Their Ichigo beans, blended from the Columbia and Ethiopia region, featured subtle notes of strawberries, honey, lavender and mandarin, which gave it a mildly acidic but light on the palates. A hot, black coffee, at S$6.00 per cup, was also reasonably affordable under this cosy environment.

🥐 Chocolate Crool
📍GAMO (@gamo.sg)
📌 Bras Basah Complex
💰 $8

Yes, another round croissant, this time its from GAMO! Compared to the other round croissants from other bakeries, the amount of fillings in this crool are pretty little. It kinda reminds me of a pain au chocolat in that sense.

The chocolate cream is rich and not too sweet but I do wish it was more generously filled to justify the $8.

⭐ Rating: 7.6/10
🤑 worth the price: eh
🦖 would I buy again: no
💍 would I marry: no

Bakery cafes seems to be quite a popular thing of the late, with the opening of establishments such as that of Simple Cafe, MADU The Bakery etc.; GAMO is another one of such cafes that have recently opened their doors at Brash Basah Complex — the very same HDB complex which Narrative Coffee Stand is situated at. Taking up a rather well-sized shop unit that is pretty much the same as some of the book shops and art galleries in the same HDB complex, GAMO is pretty well decorated with wooden furniture and fittings that adorn the space for a look that is modern with Japanese influence. Being a Muslim-run establishment, GAMO serves up a good variety of danishes — both sweet and savoury; think items such as the Kani Crab Mentai Croissant for the latter, and Double Chocolate Croissant for the former, whilst also serving up entremets and tarts like the Matcha Yuzu Lychee and the Strawberry Guava Mochi Tart. The list of beverages available at GAMO includes specialty coffee as well as Nanyang Kopi, whilst there is also Matcha and Chocolate being listed as well — pretty much the usual suspects one would find in a cafe.

Featuring elements such as Strawberry Guava Curd, Strawberry Caramel and Homemade Milk Mochi, the Strawberry Guava Mochi Tart is something which we found rather interesting considering the use of guava in the dessert — an element that is rarely used around. We were especially impressed with the tart base of the Strawberry Guava Mochi Tart here — slicing the tart down, the tart base crumbles neatly without shattering into a mess; one that was firm enough to hold up all that heft sitting atop it, but not so hard that it becomes cracker-like. What we really liked here was the Strawberry Guava Curd; whilst there is a distinct tang from the strawberry, the addition of guava adds on to that — the result is this rather refreshing zippy note that works especially well for those who prefer sour-ish desserts. That, coupled with all the chunks of strawberries that further gives a good bite and the homemade milk mochi which provides for a good chew, makes this Strawberry Guava Mochi Tart an unexpectedly enjoyable item from GAMO — a combination of flavours and textures that work with great execution that we would have not expected from a new spot like them.

Having tried other items such as the Kani Crab Mentai Croissant and Pain au Suisse during our visit to GAMO, we did feel that GAMO seem to do better for their sweet offerings than their savoury ones — the savoury ones are pretty well-executed but the use of shredded crab sticks for the Kani Crab Mentai Croissant just felt a tad out-of-place; this is considering how the croissant was actually enjoyable on its own being pretty flaky with very evident layers from the lamination process. We were, however, pretty impressed with the Pain au Suisse; crisp layers of the pastry and at a level of sweetness which we felt that we were rather comfortable with. Coffee is also considerably well-pulled for an establishment that is positioned primarily as a bakery; the White, despite being served up a little warmer than it should have been, did come with decent latte art and carried an earthy flavour profile with a medium body — pairs well with the bread and pastries that they have to offer. Being situated in the heart of the island, GAMO is a pretty convenient spot for breakfast or a tea-time hangout with a friend — this is considering the limited dine-in space it has where most tables accommodate for two to four pax each; it being located within the Bras Basah Complex may well mean that it even works out as a spot to have a good read with a cuppa and some pastries after grabbing a book from the second-hand bookstores there.