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mycc would like to introduce our new guest writer Geraldine!

Geraldine firmly believes that desserts make a perfect breakfast, lunch or dinner. A lawyer by profession who has had almost a year of journalistic experience with an established food magazine in Singapore, she can usually be found hanging out with friends over a glass of champagne and a platter of cold cuts and cheeses.

The Artisan's Apron was founded in May 2015 by two sisters, Nat and Val. Having earned a reputation from baking cakes, cookies and tarts for dessert tables and special occasions, Nat has accumulated several years of baking experience under her belt. Val on the other hand, with her background in Life Sciences, contributes her knowledge in food and health sciences to creating healthy yet still mouthwatering desserts.

Before you brush them off as just another start-up bakery with an online presence, credit should be given where it's due: the birth of The Artisan's Apron stemmed from their well-meaning desire that the joy of gifting heartfelt quality treats that are homemade and beautifully decorated should be made available to all those who care. And we definitely do.

We had the privilege of giving our taste buds a treat with the Earl Grey Chiffon Cupcakes and the Citrus Mint Chiffon Cupcakes (S$4.50 each).

The term "chiffon" never fails to bring to mind the textural qualities of softness and an ethereal cloudlike fluffiness. And we are happy to report that the cake bases we have tried are indeed, extremely worthy of its namesake. When we first bit into the cupcakes, we were surprised at how light and tender they were. Mind you, we were having these cupcakes after a heavy dinner of meats and cheeses, but we managed to polish off four between the two of us.

First up is the Earl Grey Chiffon Cupcakes. The Earl Grey flavour was distinct in every bite but was nowhere near overpowering. Topped with a Swiss meringue buttercream – known for being light and smooth, sans the clobbering sweetness of its other frosting counterparts – this had a well-balanced overall taste profile only experienced by us with Plain Vanilla's cupcakes.

The Citrus Mint version is refreshing with an underlying tanginess from the zest, but we felt that the flavours could be more assertive. We were told that these are "healthier" versions as the cupcakes are crowned by less frosting and thus, sport a lesser icing to cake ratio. But after tasting the buttercream, we think that a dollop or two more would likely be welcomed by us!

For other flavours available for order, do check out The Artisan's Apron's website, Facebook page and Instagram accounts. They are also open to taking customized orders and business to business orders.

W: http://theartisansapron.com/

F: https://www.facebook.com/theartisansapron/timeline?ref=page_internal

I: https://instagram.com/theartisansapron

After our first round of desserts at Do.Main Bakery, we decided to walk off those calories for our second round / fourth stop for the day. Just down the street from Rochor Thai, it's easy to miss out on this gem with the vibrancy of the area and a dark shop front that seemed to blend into the background. Stepping in gives a vibe like no other, greeted with a very Chinese-looking traditional signboard, with old-school Chinese songs playing in the background, vintage sewing machines as tables, and a long table of goodies in the middle.

However, don't be mistaken by their seemingly Chinese touch, what they really sell is Western pastries and interestingly, I like how they give different items a personified name and a 'character' to it.


Ugly Sue (S$3)


Fraiche (S$7)
Matcha Tee-soo (S$8) 
Cappuccino (S$6) 

Third stop in our trail, after filling our tummies with Datouxia and Laneway Market, Do.Main was located just down the street, catching our attention with the bread loaves on display.

Helmed by veterans in the pastry industry, Do.Main Bakery is run by the previous CEO of At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, and French native Chef Deshayes who had developed all pastry programmes and taught at At-Sunrice for the past 9 years. Given such accolades, it is no wonder that we were greeted by a whiff of heavenly freshly baked pastries and a kitchen that seemed bigger than the seating area.

A creation inspired by the classic Kouign Aman, a Breton cake, it was originally a round cake that was made with bread dough containing layers of butter and sugar folded in. Similar to puff pastry, it looked like a variation from croissant and I really loved its distinct folded layers of puff pastry where it was still crispy despite exposing to air for long. I would suggest this rendition of pastry being categorised as Valentine's Day sweet treat too due to its rich chocolate and heart-like shape, it's something that I would want to hand it to my boyfriend!


Orange and Chocolate Marble Cake | S$18 for whole cake | S$4.50 per slice
*All CNY creations are available from February 2 to March 3,2015, at all TBB outlets.


All these localised delicious festive delicacies are perfect for welcoming guests with or can even be served as gifts while visiting family and friends!

With a history that traces back to 1933, Asanoya started as a store catering to foreign embassies and diplomats of various countries in Karuizawa, Japan. With an increase in demand for European-type of bread, Asanoya was the first in Japan to introduce Spanish-made stone oven. The oven traps and radiates heat from a fire, either built within the oven itself or in a firebox that vents into the oven. Specially designed for baking of bread, the oven is able to store several hours' worth of heat after completely burning a load of wood.

Showcasing more than 30 types of bakes, the flagship product at Asanoya was the fruit rye loaf with orange peel, rum raisin, walnuts and almonds on rye dough. Available only in half or full loaf, we decided to pass but managed to get a sample of it to taste a balanced level of sweetness and fragrance.

Chocolate Lava Cube | S$4.50/-
Oozing with decadence of cocoa, the little cube was indeed calories worthy, with a chewy and fluffy chocolate-flavoured bread containing a rich chocolate molten core. We enjoyed the dense chocolate on the inside which had just the right level of sweetness to please our palate without any satiation.

We also learnt that you can request for the cubes to be heated up so on your visit, it would be a handy tip to bear in mind!

Banana Bagel | S$3/-

While this plain looking banana bagel did not receive a 'Baker's Recommendation' tag, it surely deserves a lot more recognition. An inconspicuous bagel of caramel dough with dried banana imported from Japan, it is further dipped in coconut fondant. Like the chocolate cube, the sweetness of the bake was very well contained and a cup of Americano paired it just fine. The combination of caramel, banana and coconut fondant sounded overwhelming on one's palate but it went surprisingly well.


Orange sugar brioche | S$2.80/-

An all time favourite snack of mine, this fluffy bake checked all the criteria of a good buttery brioche. With dried orange peel generously tucked within, the seemingly dry brioche was actually soft and relatively moist. The coarse sugar pieces made all the difference with a medley of textures with each delightful bite.


Tomato & Mozzarella | S$2.60/-

What seemed like an innocent donut was anything but, concealing cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with pizza dough on the inside. We loved the chewy texture on the inside as the cooled mozzarella cheese worked its wonder. Be warned though that the cherry tomato centre bursts easily so be prepared for that!


The tantalising treats were elegantly showcased but with plenty of golden brown delicious-looking bakes on offer, it took us moments before we could make up our mind on which ones to try! There were a couple of other recommended pastries such as the maple walnut and apple cinnamon that we would return to try.

Being a huge fan of Japanese patisseries or rather bakeries of any forms, I found Asanoya a close match to Maison Kayser, one of our top-ranked bakeries in Singapore. Offering quite a different range of sweet bakes, it was a touch more creative with a separate dessert menu and even offer alcoholic drinks (yes, they carry my favourite Asahi beer!).


Apart from the bakery section, there was a separate portion to the bakery which retails different types of tea, coffee and even appliances.

In terms of customer service, it was passable since everything was pretty much self-service. If there are any items which require waiting time such as drinks and sandwiches, you would be handed the UFO buzzer that calls for your attention to collect it at the self-service kiosk beside the cashier.

Note to self - never to visit after a hearty lunch meal as we were too full to try anything else and there were easily another two or three pastries that looked too good to miss! Definitely returning to satisfy my curiosity! 

P.S: All pictures were taken with Nikon D810.

Many people would be familiar with PAUL as it opened doors in Singapore more than two years ago at Takashimaya. Established in 1889 in the city of Croix, near Lille in Northern France, PAUL is an icon of a proud family heritage which has been passed through five generations of bakers.