MSW Mille Crepe Cake Despite being situated in between Hougang and Kovan, in a spot that is seemingly closer to the industrial estate of Defu Lane, Hougang Rivercourt is one of those HDB estates that comes with an air-conditioned neighbourhood mall within the estate. With the neighbourhood mall being opened for a while now, the neighbourhood mall has already got quite a number of F&B tenants operating within the complex — familiar names would include Overscoop (an ice-cream parlour that also has outlets at Yishun and Orchard), Rise & Grind Grill (a concept by the folks behind Rise & Grind Coffee Co. at Oasis Terraces), and Lotus Cafe. Sweedy Patisserie adds on to the variety of F&B establishments operating within the mall. Situated along the perimeters around the complex where one could also find an outlet of Wing Stop at, Sweedy Patisserie is only accessible from outside of the mall and not from within the mall. Stepping into its premises, one would find a cosy interior mostly featuring white colour elements with wooden fittings — the space being tastefully decorated. Being an online-based business previously, Sweedy Patisserie had been in operations since 2019; best known for their thick macarons which they call “Fatcarons”, one can also find their Fatcarons stocked in-store apart from their other signature offerings such as that of the MSW Mille Crepe Cake and MSW Durian Mousse Cake amongst other sliced cake offerings. Sweedy Patisserie also has a section of its menu dedicated to brunch offerings — think a limited range of sandwiches as well as Eggs Benedict available from 11am to 6pm, and a Banana Pecan French Toast that is available all-day. The list of beverages available at Sweedy Patisserie includes espresso-based coffee, chocolate and a Passionfruit Fizz.
Skimming through the various bakes which Sweedy Patisserie had in stock during our visit made in the evening of a weekend, we found ourselves being drawn towards the MSW Mille Crepe Cake — also a signature offering of Sweedy Patisserie. Featuring alternate layers of pastry cream, Mao Shan Wang Durian flesh and thin crepes, the MSW Mille Crepe Cake was perhaps one of the better iterations of a Mille Crepe cake which we had come across thus far. For one, the crepes were neatly stacked and packed relatively tightly — the MSW Mille Crepe Cake was easy to slice through without having the layers disintegrating altogether. Slicing the MSW Mille Crepe down and having all the layers altogether in one go, we liked how there was distinct contrast of textures across the different layers at play here, while the signature pungency of the king of fruits was especially prominent here — something which would certainly satisfy durian lovers considering how punchy those buttery and sweet notes are; one could also feel that fibrous flesh of the durian within the layers. Meanwhile, the layers of fresh pastry cream helps to bind all of the elements together — introducing some sort of creaminess that goes along with the durian flesh that makes everything go hand-in-hand with the crepes. Overall, an item that is bound to satisfy durian lovers and Mille Crepe fans alike!
One observation that we have had with what Sweedy Patisserie has to offer is how their selection of cakes just seemed to resemble the items that Lady M serves up — items like the Strawberry Shortcake, Checkers and the MSW Mille Crepe Cake being items which seems to drawn heavy inspiration from Lady M, especially for the latter two cakes. Whilst we had only tried a single cake during our visit to Sweedy Patisserie, we felt that the MSW Mille Crepe Cake does come at quite a good quality, though its price point is certainly more on the higher side at $14.80 a slice considering how it does make use of Mao Shan Wang durians, and that Mille Crepe cakes are generally a laborious creation after all. Other cakes are slightly more reasonably priced, with the Checkers being the lowest priced cake sold by slices here at $9.80 per slice. We had also given their Strawberry Cheesecake Fatcaron a go; these are essentially macarons with thick fillings thus the “fat” aesthetic that they have — we liked how it was not overall sweet and does have a zingy element that cuts through the heaviness of cream cheese for a good balance. Kovan may be an area that has no shortage of any good dessert spots, and that may well be the same for Hougang Rivercourt — but we do think that there might still be a space for Sweedy Patisserie here; not only a spot for those staying in its vicinity to hang out over cakes, Fatcarons and coffee, but also a spot where those who love their durian desserts can most probably check out as well!