High/ Afternoon Tea

During the work week my mind (sometimes) daydreams about the good thing(s) I ate over the weekend and the above appears this week repeatedly.
On a slightly more laid back Saturday with mum, I was in awe as I forked mouthfuls of this delicious rye broffin. Only the best ingredients go into this squared sweet, think melted chocolate couverture, fresh raspberries and sea salt. Once frowning upon the prices of the sourdough loaves here when I first read about anna’s on social media, I am officially a converted patron of the sourdough produce.
Sheepishly I tell mum we need to visit more often please. Especially when they serve accompanying gryphon tea blends which we find the most reliable teas in the market now.

When a scone crumbles easily upon being forked, you’d be skeptical about it; truly the one here was a tad dry.
But the viet drip coffee and sourdough Banh Mi on Burpplebeyond would keep me coming back.

On off days my joy is found in visiting and attesting to great bake houses on my wish list for the longest time; today this visit to Rosemead had just sent me right into bread & pastry heaven.

We decided to share 3 sweets, each a star in their own rights. First, the almond blueberry tart may sound like a general classic but you get a precise and flawless tart base pleasantly infused with rosemary; an ingenious play of flavors.
Second the egg tart here is influenced I believe by the Spanish roots of Rosemead executive pastry chef. You get flaky pastry layers holding a hefty impeccably smooth egg custard filling; one of the best takes on Portuguese egg tarts you will ever have. The last sweet we had was a small but lovely to nibble on sticky date toffee pudding which also had an ingenious surprise of fresh lavender.

I reminded myself I came for bread so we ended with a savoury shiitake shokupan with house cultured butter; it was intriguing how the Japanese mushroom flavors are infused into the soft white bread that tasted like they were baked with the highest standards of precision.

Found out one of my favourite cream (polo) buns place does good Hokkaido milk cream croons too!

Cycled to les mains only to find that they’ve stop baking tarts that were highly recommended - thankfully there were still sweets in non-chilled baked cakes.
I had the sticky date caramel cake which tasted homely but what made this visit delightful was the helpful and cheery staff here. Because of that this becomes an excellent place to people watch and hang out in the day.

[new ibread at Pasir Ris Drive 6] When your neighbourhood bakery puts some of the atas yet nondescript scones out there to shame 🙌🏻

The long weekends are a perfect excuse to “live to eat”, at 4pm after lunch and a leisure cycle mum and I found ourselves at St Marc’s that bodes nostalgia. You see I used to frequent the cafe weekly when St Marc’s had an outlet at Raffles City, during my university days.
Today the cold signature vanilla soft serve on a warm Danish pastry drizzled with salted caramel still hits the spot like it did years ago. Some things don’t change and I’m glad this little Mt Fuji is one :)

Tea time at one of the most photogenic dining places in Singapore.
There are reasons why Ps Cafe is an established homegrown brand that has been brought overseas, I read they had outlets in China.
My eclair came large with a knife to slice and share; the set up at the relatively new outlet at Katong is so alluring and that you would want to come back again.

When mum comes back on a WFH day with bakery Brera croissants, one of the best in Singapore

Truly what joy feels, looks and tastes like 😶🥲

It was worth taking a minute to behold the sight in front of my eye, beautiful tarts plated on vibrant tile dishes; coffee art that’s a pity you’d destroy if you sip carelessly.

Not just a sight to behold, I loved the authentic Asian flavours in the European dessert base; these include locally farmed orh nee, a mild rose milk mirror glaze paying a good tribute to Bandung. I found the tart base passable, but it was really the fillings that married the flavours very memorably.

In addition the Kopi Jawa, with frothed milk and the use of unadulterated brown sugar, is worth every penny; it puts our Asian kopi right in the same league as our favourites western cappuccinos/ lattes.

Cedele has always been a reliable option for my staples of breads & baked goods.
I remember my junior college days towards A levels, camping at the Greenwich outlet and having a healthy lunch while cramming all the studying content I could. Then treating myself, again if I could, to sweets.

Today when I get the chance to have afternoon tea of their reliable cakes, it always delights.

The green local flavor seems like something they’ve developed for National Day but was still on display in the month of Sept. Thats great cause I got a generous amount of crunch from the desiccated coconut shreds and absolutely soft Pandan sponges and cream.

The cheesecake at Cedele is smooth and melts in your mouth especially if left seating for a period of time.

Looking back… it’s been 10years since I’ve been introduced to Cedele, hoping the baked goodness never stops ✨

Mum said that she thinks her 21st birthday cake was from this bakery that was in vogue during her time. Upon googling temptation cakes has been around since 1985 so I think there’s a possibility.
By the grace of Burpplebeyond I get to try the eclair and vanilla puff which had a filling to pastry ratio that was absolutely delightful.
My selected french influenced desserts were very comforting, not your upend fancy but homely and reliable.