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thesundaytimes June 22, 2014 June 22, 2014 thesundaytimes

BERRY GERRY BAKES AND ALL THINGS DELICIOUS

Who: Ms Geraldine Wang, 42, baker-owner of Berry Gerry Bakes Where: Thomson V One, 9 Sin Ming Road, 01-04, off Upper Who: Mrs Dewi Imelda Wadhwa, 35, “I don't follow trends. A lot of people Thomson Road, tel: 6457-0274 baker-owner of And All Things Delicious crave comfort and not novelty Open: 10am to 6pm (Tuesday to Saturday), closed on Sunday and Where: Block 462 Crawford Lane, . My cakes go back to the basics and Monday 01-61, tel: 9382-4767 I use only organic unrefined sugar and Info: E-mail [email protected] or go to Open: 9am to 7pm (weekday), 9am to farm-fresh eggs sourced in ,” www.berrygerrybakes.com 5pm (Saturday), closed on Sunday she adds. What’s special: Head here for a classic sugee or sugee cake Info: Go to andallthingsdelicious.com Offerings at her takeaway cake shop What’s special: All its cakes and baked with a twist – an intense pandan sugee cake with a gula melaka range from with cream goods (below right) are made with organ- cheese frosting and banana upside-down drizzle. The cakes here are a throwback to the wholesome cakes of ic unrefined sugar and natural ingredi- yesteryear that never go out of fashion. Offerings include cake to blueberry with frost- ents. No frosting made with hydrogenat- ed lemon drizzle. cake, orange and brandied fruit cake. There are also Earl ed vegetable oil in lurid colours are Grey Cookies, Cheddar Crisps and classic chocolate chip cookies. If, on the off chance, she is asked to found here. It also sells scones, slices and bake a cake and frost it, she uses a Swiss assorted brownies. Although the cake butter cream. And to tint it In a cake scene where and customised fondant cakes are a shop is not halal-certified, Mrs Wadhwa, pink, for example, she uses raspberry dime a dozen, baker-owner Geraldine Wang has decided to offer who is Muslim, says she uses only halal puree instead of bottled colouring or ingredients in her creations. creations that are a lot less common. These include good-quality colour paste. sugee and butter cakes. The self-taught baker, who used to handle It was only last July that Mrs Dewi Imel- Prices range from $5.50 a slice and marketing and communications for a private hospital, opened her $45 and up for a whole cake. shop last November. da Wadhwa, a part-time art director of an advertising photography studio, The singleton, who has been baking since she was a child, took decided to turn her passion for baking in- to the craft more seriously two to three years ago. to an online business. She has a love for sugee cake, the rich and dense Eurasian Now, 11 months on, the mother of confection made with egg yolk, and ground almonds, and two sons, aged three and six, who is mar- was determined to find the best recipe. ried to commercial photographer Many families would not divulge their sugee cake recipes to her Sameer Wadhwa, 44, runs a and after following countless disappointing recipes in cookbooks, bricks-and-mortar store, which opened Ms Wang then took to reverse engineering her favourite cake. After last month. numerous attempts, she got the recipe right three years ago. She says her unique selling point is She says: “I had never looked at baking as a career but more of a offering cakes that are “simple, whole- PHOTOS: AND ALL THINGS DELICIOUS some and comforting”. useful skill. Cakes made from scratch are nice, personal gifts.” Mrs Dewi Imelda Wadhwa uses only natural ingredients in her cakes. Her preference is for wholesome cakes without fancy frosting and she thought there were bound to be others like her. She says: “I wanted to offer good quality local cakes, and at times, with bit of a twist.” For her pandan sugee cake, she soaks semolina in coconut milk instead of fresh milk, then drizzles the top with a thick gula melaka THE WHITE OMBRE syrup. It has already proven to be a hit with customers.

A 16cm sugee loaf cake is priced at $15 while a butter cake starts PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES Who: Baker-owners Tricia Tjhin, 33, creating, preparing, baking, assembling at $10. Larger cakes are available on request. Order at least three and Nicholas Ang, 34, who are engaged and piping a rainbow cake. days in advance. Berry Gerry Bakes’ Geraldine Wang (above) with her classic and pandan sugee cakes. The baker-owner loves wholesome cakes sans fancy frosting. Where: Block 206 Toa Payoh North, In fact, you can learn how to make 01-1209, tel: 6254-6434 almost everything that the shop sells, Open: 10am to 7pm (Tuesday to from its cake pops ($2.50 each) to its Sunday), closed on Monday macarons ($2 each). The only thing the Info: E-mail [email protected] owners will not teach is their signature m or go to thewhiteombre.com Earl Grey Strawberry . What’s special: The White Ombre a The cake shop and baking studio is takeaway cake shop and it also run by recently engaged couple, Tricia Out of the cake box Tjhin, 33, and Nicholas Ang, 34, who conducts classes on how to make items had run Cake Over Heels in Mid View such as cake pops, rainbow cakes and City with a third partner. The other macarons among other things. partner left to pursue another business Quite a few shops are now industry stalwarts such as Balmoral Bakery and December last year, sells delicate mousse cakes so the couple decided to relaunch Lana Cakes. and can customise miniature viennoiserie for On the shelves of The White Ombre’s themselves with a new brand and in a selling house-made cakes. Last year, SundayLife! reported 10 new cake diners upon request. display counter are symmetrical slices new location. SundayLife! looks at five new, shops that had opened between July and Octo- Of the competition, Ms Sharryl Ng, 37, of perfectly formed rainbow cake, each Aside from teaching customers to ber last year, which means no fewer that 30 cake chef and owner of The Audacious Cakery in decorated with a pink macaron, which make what many other cake shops sell, interesting cake shops to see shops opened in the last year. Everton Park, who opened last September, says: sell for $7 a slice. the couple say that while they are what makes each unique While the cake scene here has been explod- “Healthy competition benefits customers as it Those keen on learning to make ing with cupcakes, and those offering eye-catch- drives continual improvement to deliver new aware of the competition, they are not their own can attend one of the cake ing customised fondant cakes, cake pops and and quality products. As business owners, it threatened by it. multi-layered cakes in lurid hues, the new would be be ideal if the market size can grow so shop’s classes. Ms Tjhin says: “We know that we entrants seem undeterred by the competition. that there is room for everyone. There, for $150 a person for a basic are different because we can customise Some are sticking to what sells – cupcakes “Unfortunately, business being business, course which includes ingredients, you almost anything under the sun, be it Ms Tan Min Yee, Rebecca Lynne Tan with fancily piped frosting made of whipped veg- cake shops that manage to create a brand and can learn everything related to the shapes of cakes or cake flavours.” Food Correspondent chef of P. Bistro etable fat and popular favourites such as red identity will probably continue to remain in the (left), can customise market, while those that do not will have to PHOTO: STEFFI KOH velvet and rainbow cakes – while others are try- miniature The White Ombre co-owners Tricia Tjhin and Nicholas Ang (both above). ing to set themselves apart. exit.” viennoiserie on ingapore’s hunger for cake seems SundayLife! highlights five new and interest- She adds that it is important for cake shop request. undiminished, and there has been a ing cake shops and sums up what makes each of owners to identify that brand position and ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI proliferation of cake shops to cater to them unique, from their cake offerings to their remain focused. the demand for cake, cake and more service. “We focus on bold flavours and a twist to familiar tastes and textures,” she says. “Thus, we S cake. Ms Geraldine Wang, 42, baker-owner of Berry Gerry Bakes, a bakery at Thomson V One in Sin need to continually reinvent ourselves and will Open Door SundayLife! found no fewer than 20 cake CHEF YAMASHITA Ming Road, has opted to sell local cakes such as be launching new flavours such as Salted Egg Policy’s chef WHAT WOULD YOUR shops and patisserie-cafes selling house-made Yolk , Salted Caramel with Chocolate Hey, pesto perfect Daniele LAST MEAL BE? sugee, pandan sugee cakes and orange butter cakes that have opened since November last Sperindio cakes, instead of the ubiquitous cupcake with Banana Mousse Cake and a Green Pea Wasabi Who: Masataka Yamashita year. says to make frosting. Macaron.” (right) , 49, patissier-owner of Assorted Mediterranean anchovies; Some which opened in the past two months good pesto, trofie, a short, thin, twisted pasta, She says: “Things such as cupcakes might sell On the receiving end, of course, are consum- Chef Yamashita Justyn Toh ed at age 19 as a professional technician in the basil include One Bakery Boutique at Thomson V well because they are popular, but I don’t believe ers, who have a plethora of cakes to choose Where: Block 1 Tanjong with pesto sauce; veal shank; a fresh food and beverage operations, with a must not be fruit tart; Bonarda for nostalgia One, A Bite in Cambridge Road, Chef Yamashita in trends. I offer something that is not readily from, with no shortage of innovative flavours Pagar Plaza, 02-44, tel: overheated hef Daniele Sperindio, who specialisation in dietary restrictions. and finishing off with a sip at Tanjong Pagar Plaza and The White Ombre in available in the market, and I thought, well, and customised creations. 6604-9709 heads the kitchen at Open during Toa Payoh North. “In my specialisation, I learnt about of Amaro Montenegro someone should bake these sorts of cakes.” Housewife Leona Wee, 35, says: “At the end Open: 10am to 6.30pm Door Policy in Tiong Bahru creating balanced diets. It is useful and blending. Others include bakeries run by Muslims that Over at One Bakery Boutique, also in of the day, if the cakes are good, and have some- (Monday to Saturday), 10am comes from Genoa, Italy, interesting to write menus that ensure a offer cakes made with halal ingredients. These Thomson V One, baker-owner Kelly Poon, 33, thing unique about them, there will be a follow- to 4pm (Sunday) C which is famous for pesto. balance of carbohydrates, fats and include Cake Delights in North Bridge Road, says she is able to customise sweetness levels and ing. As consumers, we look for value for money Info: Go to The green sauce is made using fresh protein,” he says. And All Things Delicious off Jalan Sultan and also make cakes for diabetics using isomalt. and good quality and the right cake to suit the chefyamashita.com basil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and olive On graduating, he worked in Paris, Senso Group, and he was French. We were cake shop Baker Bites in Cambridge Road. She says: “This is something that makes us occasion.” What’s special: Expect fine oil, and is often served tossed with pasta. Monte Carlo and Miami. in a car and he asked me if I had ever tried a More retail shops or cake cafes are slated to unique because we can customise rainbow and elegant Japanese-inspired On making good pesto, the 27-year-old He decided to move to Asia because he durian. I told him that I had not and we open in the coming months. These include Out cakes, for example, that would be suitable for [email protected] French-style gateaux with says it is important to ensure that the basil was interested in its myriad cuisines and saw one uncle selling durians by the road, Of The Cake Box, Bake A Joy and Artzbake. the whole family to consume, from toddler to delicate sponge and is not overheated by the whirring of the landed a job as sous chef of Italian restau- and we bought a few to try. The first time I The new shops add to well-known patisserie grandparent.” Follow Rebecca Lynne Tan on Twitter intricately piped cream. The food processor or rant Alkaff Man- ate it, I bit through the seed. It was a very chains such as Bakerzin and Antoinette, and P. Bistro in Owen Road, which opened in @STrebeccatan patissier, who uses imported blender, or it will turn sion Ristorante, at ingredients such as black and bitter. Telok Blangah embarrassing and funny experience. I love strawberries and chestnuts He says: “Some- Green. the flavour of the durian as it is both from France and Japan, plans intense and pungent. PHOTOS: LIM YAOHUI FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES thing I like to do is to On how he got to use more seasonal put a couple of ice the job, the mid- LYNN’S CAKES & COFFEE Japanese fruit in his cubes while blending dle of three chil- What is your guilty pleasure? creations. the mixture to lower dren says that be- I love chocolate. My mother said when I Who: Mr Jonathan Lim, 43, and his wife the temperature.” fore working here, was a kid, I would always think about choc- Mrs Lynn Saijan-Lim, 40, The name Masataka Yamashita might ring a bell, especially if you He has been in Sin- he was head chef olate. So whenever I did any colouring, I owners of Lynn’s Cakes & Coffee are familiar with cakes from Patisserie Glace at Icon Village, and gapore for three years, of Italian restau- would always use brown. I would go for a Where: 11 Eng Kong Terrace tel: 6314-2886 Flor Patisserie in Duxton Hill. That is because the chef-patissier, and recounts how his rant La Lupa Di Ro- dark, bitter Valrhona chocolate. or 9023-4678 who now runs his own month-old 450sq ft patisserie, used to run Peranakan wife, Ms ma in Miami. Open: 11am to 7pm (Tuesday to Thursday), these shops with various partners, before venturing out on his Petrina Choo, 30, a 11am to 9pm (Friday, Saturday and eve of “I applied for What are your favourite ingredients communications and public holiday), 11am to 8pm (Sunday and own. jobs in Shanghai, to cook with?| public holiday), closed on Monday He moved here six years ago from Nara Prefecture in Japan, external relations exec- Hong Kong and Whenever I cook, I always have fresh basil, Info: E-mail [email protected] or go where he had been running a cake shop for eight years, to help utive, surprised him Singapore, and olives, capers and cherry tomatoes. These to www.lynnscakes.com.sg set up Patisserie Glace in 2009. The following year, he left to set by making perfectly Alkaff Mansion are common ingredients found in Italy and What’s special: Mrs Lynn Saijan-Lim, who up Flor Patisserie with a business partner. hand-pounded pesto recently. Ristorante gave me a reply first,” he says. in Italian cooking. is Muslim, uses halal ingredients. She bakes At his new shop, creations include the Luna Wrap (below) – a “One day after work, my wife surprised Besides that restaurant, he also did con- me with her version of hand-pounded pes- popular cakes such as carrot cake, red velvet sponge cake that resembles a , which is filled with custard sulting work for Zzapi Pizza Bar in River Val- What do you think is a kitchen tool to, using the Peranakan mortar and (below), and a brightly hued rainbow cake and cream and topped with fresh fruit, then folded in half; and ley Road, owned by the Senso Group, that homecooks cannot do without? pestle,” he says. “She told me she did some from scratch. While other rainbow cakes may Mount Fuji, a dome-shaped cake with chocolate sponge and before joining Open Door Policy, the PHOTO: OPEN DOOR POLICY For me, it would be a KitchenAid mixer. just look good, hers has a burst of orange zest research on it, and I felt that it was per- chestnut cream; and Ichigo, a Japanese-style Strawberry 60-seat restaurant managed by chef-owner You can make a lot of things with it – flavour. She also has a light fect.” Ryan Clift of the Tippling Club. Shortcake. Individual cakes are priced from about $5 to $8. bread, pasta, all the different types of with a chocolate ganache that may give Lana The couple met two years ago and they Chef Sperindio also knows his wines. He The pasty chef, who has been baking for about 29 years in aromas and flavour of the Sangiovese Gros- years, what is your favourite local dough. It’s a really good tool for people Cakes a run for its money. share a common interest in food and holds an intermediate Sommelier certifica- various pastry shops in cities that span Kobe to Osaka, says it took so grape. If I wanted a table wine, I would dish? who enjoy cooking. ST PHOTOS: MARK CHEONG travel. They do not have children. tion from the United States sommelier I love black pepper crabs and chilli crabs The seven-month-old cafe and cake shop him about six months to develop the Luna Wrap, to create an go with a nice rustic Bonarda. Cake shop bosses Jonathan Lim and Lynn Saijan-Lim use halal ingredients in their cakes. At the age of 13, he started working Association, a six-month-long part-time that you can get at hawker centres. I like took over the space occupied by SwissLink airy but malleable sponge cake that would not break or crack Do you cook at home? part-time in restaurants in his hometown course he took while working in Miami. the coconut flavour in as well. Bakery and is located in the same row of when folded. You were a head chef in Miami I don't usually cook at home. The only hand at a new business together that would A 15cm round rainbow cake starts at $60. for about two years, doing tasks such as shophouses as coffee joint Necessary Asked about the competition from other cake shops, including before becoming a sous chef at time I cook is for my wife, as a treat. I’d centre on her baking. She had been baking A slice of a 23cm round cake is priced transferring wines from barrels to bottles Why did you want to learn about What is your take on Peranakan Provisions, in the quiet the two that he had previously opened and Alkaff Mansion Ristorante. Why did rather prepare instant noodles instead of neighbourhood of Eng for about four years at the time. between $5.50 and $7.50. which continue to serve some of his and preparing cheeses to be served. being a sommelier? cuisine? The couple, who have a daughter, 16, and She says: “We like that we are located in a His parents, who worked as nurses, gave I took this course as I feel that it is very you accept a position that was less I enjoy all the spices. I love ayam buah kelu- cooking for myself. Kong Gardens, off Jalan creations, he says: “It has than what you held in your previous Jurong Kechil. a son, 11, decided to take the plunge with a housing estate which has a very different vibe always been my dream to him the green light to work at such a important for a chef to have a good wine ak, a spicy chicken dish with the black young age, as long as it did not interfere job? What are your plans? Former housewife and cake cafe to showcase Mrs Saijan-Lim’s to a HDB block. Here, it is serene and quiet. open my own shop, and pairing menu. I’m able to understand more buah keluak nuts, and also kueh talam and homemade creations. The new kitchen would We also realised that there were not many with school. Whenever I work in a different country, I So far, my style of food has always been a hobby baker Saijan-Lim although I may have run about the structure of wines when I’m the rainbow-coloured kueh lapis. also serve as a space for her to create bakeries selling cakes made with halal “I worked not because of the pay, but drinking it too. try to get a lower position to have time to fusion of traditional casual Italian and and her husband Jonathan those, I am no longer there. Lim, a senior officer in the customised cakes that include ones for ingredients in the west side of Singapore and because I wanted the experience of analyse how the kitchen works. Most of Do you enjoy local fruit such as duri- French cuisines, but now it’s taking a differ- I am now at my own kitchen Singapore Police Force who left weddings, given her keen interest in making saw an opportunity to provide for the working in a restaurant,” he said. What is your favourite wine? the time, the flavours are very different. ans? ent direction, thanks to chef Ryan Clift’s at Chef Yamashita.” recently, decided to try their sugar flowers. community.” He then enrolled at the Professional I love red wines. I like a Brunello di Montal- Yes, I do. I remember the first time I had influence. As for the future, I’m looking to Institute Marco Polo in Genoa, and graduat- cino, because of the depth, tannins, Having lived in Singapore for three durian, it was with one of the owners of the work in fine dining.