NKIKICHUA: Toast

C.O.D.E (Cafe of Desserts Enthusiasts) @ The Jas Ramintra | Bangkok, Thailand

This relatively new café, CODE Cafe of Dessert Enthusiasts made its way to The Jas Ramintra shopping mall at Lat Pla Khao on November 2015. The café serves lava toast and croissant as well as other sweet treats. The cosy setting boost the tranquil atmosphere, making it an ideal chill out spot, comprising of three section - indoor, indoor garden and outdoor seating area.

Oozing lava from toasts and croissants are a common sight in Singapore’s café scene but upon seeing and reading the reviews of the lava toast on social media feeds, we have decided to give it a try despite the distance. We got on a GrabCar/Uber after our shopping spree at Chatuchak Market and it took approximately 30mintues to reach the mall. Note: it may not be the most convenient shopping mall to get to in Bangkok, hence it will be a longer ride from the city.

Without further ado, let’s move straight to the lava goodness. Starting with the crowd’s favourite, Earl Grey Tea Croissant Lava | 120 THB, with the croissant slightly glazed, topped with crumbs and contains earl grey tea lava within that is waiting to spurt out upon slicing it.

The aromatic earl grey tea lava were of the right texture, not too dilute and not overpowering as well. The flaky croissant seems to be on point too and complemented with the lava very well. It also comes in Salted Egg and Thai Tea lava but sadly we were stuffed after our meal at MK Steamboat.

Next up, lava toast. The toast itself isn’t buttered inside hence I suggest dipping your toast on the lava, or it may appear dry and tasteless. Although, the toasts were tasteless but it were still soft within and not overly crisps on the exterior. Which are better done than those found in Singapore hence it can be quite challenging finding good shibuya toasts on our sunny island.

The toast and the scoop of ice cream served are prefixed. With that, the Matcha Lava Toast | 165 THB comes in white toast with half of it shaded in light green and a scoop of matcha ice cream as well as whipped cream at the side. Whereas, Thai Tea Lava Toast | 175 THB comes in charcoal toast with a scoop of (I believe it to be) vanilla ice cream as well as whipped cream at the side.

We were glad that the lava from the toast prevails to be in the same consistency as the croissants’. The overflowing matcha lava were concentrated with a slight bitterness to it, go along with it with the matcha ice-cream if you want it sweeter. Similarly, the Thai tea lava were thick and flavourful that brings forth the sweetness of the authentic Thai tea. I personally preferred this to matcha, as I believe Thai makes better Thai tea. You may also find these toast in Chocolate and Salted Egg lava as well.

As the location is really off, I would recommend visiting this place only if you have time to spare or are really into the nice deco for photoshoot. Otherwise, head over to their pop-up cafe at Siam Paragon, situated on G Floor (opposite to Haagen-Dazs) for the lava toasts and croissants.

Address: CODE (Cafe of Dessert Enthusiasts), The Jas Ramintra, (Ladplakhao Road) Lat Pla Khao Road, Bangkok, Thailand

Opening Hours:

Mon-Fri: 11:00am - 9:00pm

Sat-Sun: 10:00am - 10:00pm

facebook.com/codedessertcafe/

Monday, June 20, 2016
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Shiberty Bakes @ Owen Road | Farrer Park, Singapore

Dessert

Shiberty Bakes is the brainchild of local blogger and baker, Jessica Loh or better known by her moniker name, Shiberty. She walks her way to up success from selling bakes online to pop-up stores and now a physical store. With a physical store tucked away in Owen Road, there are more to offer than just cakes and macaroons as compared to the online platform previously. Be smitten in everything sweets!

First off, Gourmet Waffles | $14 that comes in three different waffle flavours, Buttermilk, Red Velvet and Charcoal. We stick to the classic and chose the Buttermilk waffles, it’s served with berries, maple honey, and two scoops of ice cream which were (pre-selected) sea salt caramel and vanilla ice cream. The denseness of the waffles were pretty on point for me plus the berries shower got be smitten even more.

Jessica includes her take on Shibuya toast, otherwise known as Shiberty Toast | $16.0 in the menu, which also comes in three flavours – Classic, Rocher and Matcha. We went ahead for Rocher Toast as recommended by fellow foodie. The toast came attractively decorated with all kinds of chocolates such as kit-kat, cookies, chocolate balls and wafer, not forgetting the spread of edible gold as well. Along with a Rocher macaron, fudge sauce, hazelnut and vanilla ice cream. Although I would prefer the toast leaning towards the buttery side but Jessica’s aim is to create a well-balanced toast with a substantial amount of butter within yet maintaining the crisp exterior.

Fans of Shiberty Bakes can rejoice as these Artisanal Macarons | $2 each are available in stores and does not require pre-ordering any more. The crusty and light macarons comes in flavours of Salted Egg, Ferrero Rocher, Red Velvet and Earl Grey (which happens to be my favourite among the lot).

The ever-so-sinful beverage that brings the boys to the yard (or maybe not), Shiberty’s Milkshakes | $9 each are available in Sea Salt Caramel, Matcha, Hazelnut Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake. Matcha topped the charts when it won the hearts of the crowd that day.

The interior of the café is decked in minimalist furnishing and has natural lighting through the glass window. Best of all, it consist of an Instagramable corner which is perfect for photography. I look forward to more bakes for my next visit.

Address: 46 Owen Road, #01-277, Singapore 210046

Opening Hours:

Tue-Sun: 12:00pm - 9:30pm

(Closed on Mondays)

instagram.com/shibertybakes/

..Hosted Meal..

Wednesday, June 01, 2016
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Dessert Project @ Havelock Road | Tiong Bahru, Singapore

Café

A hidden gem located under the short housing development building on Havelock Road, approximately 20 minutes walk from the nearest MRT station; Tiong Bahru. I would say their highlights would be the shibuya alike toast and their hand-crafted unique ice cream flavours, such as White Truffle, Melon Parma Ham, White Rabbit Candy, Coconut Kaya Swirl and many more.

I had this few months back in 2015 and didn't had the time to sit down and complete this post. It's better late than never right! I could not not post and rave about how good their toast is. A three inch toast topped with a dollop of whipped cream, two scoops of hand-crafted ice cream and finish with drizzles of delectable sauce. There are a total of six flavours to choose from, we had the Gula Melaka Coconut [$14.90] - coconut ice cream, grated coconut flakes and gula melaka syrup.

The hand-crafted coconut ice cream is one of the most impressive flavour, comparable to Chatuchak Market's signature coconut ice cream in Thailand. Now for the best part, the toast. If you have tried and like After You's Shibuya Toast in Bangkok, you have got to try Dessert Project's! Soft, fluffy and buttery, a great alternative and it won't disappoint. The toast is good for sharing.

Because we shared the toast among the four of us, we ordered a waffle to go along. After a few ice cream sampling, here's what I concluded...White Truffle is something different is an acquired taste, Melon Parma Ham has the sweet and savoury hint to it and White Rabbit Candy literally taste like the candy. My friends and I went ahead with Pistachio (premium flavour) and drizzled with salted caramel sauce [$5.90 for waffle | $4.50 for single scoop]. Another place for good pistachio ice cream! If you are wondering where else has it, try FatCat's. Back to the waffle, it is not bad but slightly dry for me, however I do fancy the crispy surface. It's toast over waffle for me! Can't wait to be back to try out the rest.