Baker & Cook hits Robertson Quay CLOSED
PUBLISHED December 6th, 2012 12:52 am | UPDATED May 9th, 2018 03:13 am
After much buzz, the second Baker & Cook hits Sing. Making its way down from the cute enclave of Greenwood Avenue in Bukit Timah, the self-professed ‘only true artisan bakery’ in Singapore is now doing its thing in River Valley.
The brainchild of Global Baker, Kiwi Dean Brettschneider, one of the most respected bakers on the planet, author, celebrity TV personality and basically it seems, the godfather of new world baked goods and baking excellence, the second outlet is the more diminutive little sister of the flagship store – and while it may be small, it is rather perfectly formed.
As you walk in, your eyes will probably pop off their stalks as you take in the handcrafted, artisan bakery products which are displayed in all their glory from fantastic breads, tempting cakes and slices, huge meringues and everything in-between.
Here for a spot of lunch, we decided what better way to start things off than with a Tartine ($13) – otherwise known as an open sandwich. Served up on their famous Pain Miche bread which has been lightly toasted, we plumped for the melted mozzarella, basil pesto, tomato salsa and fresh basil option. Now this rustic bread might not be for everyone because it’s hard and crusty (but that’s why WE like it) which makes for a lovely texture contrast with the topping which was fresh, and very garlicky! My only complaint was more mozzarella needed please! There seemed to only be a very teeny tiny layer which was barely detectable so go on Baker & Cook, a little bit more of the cheese please and we Nomads would be very happy.
The Quiches ($9) at Baker & Cook are so I hear some of their best sellers. We opted for a slice of the smoked ham and then another of the salmon, each served up with a side of salad. The texture was more akin to a compact frittata, and while there’s no denying the flavour was good, we couldn’t really find any sign of the main ingredients mentioned – namely the ham or the salmon. Please Baker & Cook can we have some more?
It’s just too hard to choose on the sweet treats front – there are so many tempting choices but in the end we stuck our stick in the sand with a slice of the Carrot Cake ($4.95 – pictured below left). A tasty, rustic version, moist with a nice ingredient mix and texture including pumpkin seeds and dried apricots, this scored about a 7/10 on our carrot cake rating.
What we REALLY loved though was the Apple Tart ($4.50). Packed full of juicy, delicious and sweet yet tart apples, with a divine pastry, we could have eaten piece after piece of this. A little side of vanilla ice cream probably would have tipped us over into apple tart heaven!
We hear that disciples of Baker & Cook are rather enamoured with the brunch menu here, which pairs their breads with poached or scrambled eggs…or you can simply just slather some pieces with some butter and jam as you please.
As the bakery scene hots up in Singapore, there is no doubt that those currently entertaining a love affair with baked goods will want to scope out this new addition. With such a selection, there will probably be one – if not more – thing that you fall head over heels with but do we think it’s worth all the hype? Well we think the jury’s still out on that one….
Written by Ms Demeanour
