melvados – the original brownie cafe July 29, 2007

today, the boy had a couple of hours to spare before his production meeting so we thought it’d be a good idea to chill at a cafe. i immediately thought of a particular one at bukit timah, one which a friend and i passed by exactly a week ago.

since we already had breakfast, we decided to share a meal. for starters, we had the fresh salad, which comprised shredded lettuce, raisins, sliced olives, baby tomatoes and capsicums. ($5.90+)

we didn’t really like this dish because the taste of the olive came through too strongly, and we discovered there were actually slivers of onions in it. the dressing was nice, but that wasn’t enough to salvage this dish. (in our opinion at least)

after that, we had the mushroom cream sauce spaghetti ($7.90+). this was very good – the cream sauce was substantial (not the campbell’s mushroom soup base kind) and there were a lot of mushrooms, to our delight. the cream sauce was not cloying, and neither it was too “heavy.”

we shared a passion twister ($7.00+), a gem from their gourmet pot tea selection. i have to admit, i was sold by the line on the menu that said “all pot teas are served with a plate of assorted cookies.” the tea was good – green tea with a hint of rose hips and the fruity taste of passion fruit. by the way, their pot teas serve 2; we had a total of 2 cups each if i remember correctly.

we ended our gastronomic indulgence with a plate of black and white kisses ($5.90+), an absolutely moist brownie studded with white and dark chocolate chips, served with a dollop of good vanilla ice cream and drizzle with strawberry sauce. this sent us to chocolate heaven. i liked the fact that the brownie wasn’t overly dense and rich, so we didn’t have problems licking the plate clean.

i’d definitely come back again. the ambience of the cafe is pleasant and soothing, a perfect place to chill and catch up with friends. i’d love to try their hotplate brownie and their wide array of both hot and cold beverages!

Melvados – The Original Brownie Cafe
559, Bukit Timah Road, King’s Arcade Center
#01-01 Singapore 269695
Tel: 6469 3101
Fax: 6469 3102

Opening Hours

Monday – Sunday (Unless Otherwise Specified)

11:00am – 10:30pm

(Last Order 9:30pm)

green tea cookies July 29, 2007

i think many people would balk of the idea of green tea in desserts, even though you might be a guzzler of the drink. i used to dislike green tea cakes, but a particular one from starbucks (the green tea and white chocolate cake) rendered me a convert.

now that i only have time to bake during the weekends, i wanted to make the session count. (i.e. new recipes every time!) on friday while waiting for the bell to go, i ended up surfing the net looking for novel recipes, when i chanced upon this.

the green tea flavour came through very well, and the texture of the cookie was crumbly, which melts in your mouth. it is a very light cookie and a dear friend to whom i gave a big tub to, said there’s a “cooling aftertaste.” a unique observation, i must say.

tarte noire July 23, 2007

i baked a tarte noire (literally translated – black tart) last week but i was so caught up with my first week doing relief teaching that i couldn’t find the time to do a proper post. any free time was either spent meeting up with dear friends for coffee or, you guessed it – sleeping.

i made a whole 7 inch tart for the boy, and two mini ones for myself and shidah – a symbolic mark of the end of our undergraduate journey.

triple chocolate cookies July 14, 2007

nothing quite like a perk-him-up than a bag of cookies.

these cookies pack a load of chocolate!

double berry tart July 10, 2007

since the jc girls are getting together this week for a birthday dinner (my partner-in-crime will be the one baking a cake this time), i didn’t want to overload the birthday girl with cakey stuff. in an sms she said that she’d prefer “fruity” to “chocolatey” so i decided on making a fresh fruit tart for her to savour with her family.

i was playing around with fruit combinations and settled on strawberries and blueberries.

choc-tipped cookies July 10, 2007

a very dear friend’s birthday is tomorrow (today, in fact) and these cookies are part of her birthday hamper. i am still in love with the look of piped-finger-cookies, and this recipe is a (simpler) variation of the mocha viennese fingers i did last week.

white chocolate and matcha marbled loaf July 6, 2007

yesterday over dinner, a friend and i were talking about cakes. we were deciding over what (cup)cake(s) to make for a birthday gathering next week. i was telling her i haven’t baked an unadorned, no-frills cake for the longest time. if it’s not cupcakes lashed with generous amounts of ganache, it’s sponge cakes filled with whipped cream and fruit, covered with a (un)healthy layer of buttercream.

i nearly forgot how a warm slice of loaf cake fresh from the oven tasted like. i decided to put the white chocolate couverture (from this wonderful chocolate company) that my cousin gave me a couple of months back to good use. i wanted something different, not the usual marble cake or pound cake. did a little bit of googling and came across this recipe. i love both white chocolate and green tea – this seemed to be a marriage made in baking heaven.

mocha viennese fingers July 4, 2007

the write-up before the recipe goes like this: “sophisticated cookies that look elegant and taste superb, they can be served with morning coffee to impress your guests or just please your friends.” i had the second ‘aim’ in mind.

these are actually shortbread cookies. i modified the actual recipe a bit, making fingers instead of swirls.