Afternoon Tea at Bakerz@Work Cafe at Tai Seng

605 MacPherson Road #01-18 Citimac Building, Singapore 368239

Tel: 6820 7578

Website: http://www.bakerzatwork.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/BakerzWork/347973101964903

Passing this bakery cum cafe by chance, I decided that a visit was mandatory. Bakerz@Work does not look like much on the outside. Furthermore, it is a hidden gem situated at an industrial area, so not many people would actually realise that yes, there IS a little cafe in operation here.

What is more interesting is that this is a retail shop selling baking ware and ingredients. They also conduct baking classes (in fact, that is the main core / gist of their business). And then they have a little gourmet area for people like me to try the ready-baked pastries. The concept here is FRESHNESS.

So, *Lara and I dropped by one afternoon, only to be dazzled by the display of delectable-looking desserts, and puzzled by what to order. The sandwiches looked good as well, adding on to the dilemma, bearing in mind that "tea time" was a cross between after-lunch and before-dinner (when fuller meals were and to be consumed).

Everything looked interesting, that was the problem - from the lemon lime cheesecake to the death by chocolate cake to the macarons and brownies etc. The price was very affordable as well, ranging between SGD$3.90 to SGD$5.90 per pastry. Hence, we decided to order 4 items to share between the two of us.

We started with the Walnut Brownies (SGD$3.90), looking rocky on the outside but tasting like chocolate silk in the mouth. I have never had brownies this fine before, and that's amongst the aromatic chocolatey flavor and delightful crunch of walnuts.

Next, the Sacher Cake (SGD$5.90), explained to us to be a Austrian dessert. Some may know it as a sacher-torte cake, invented in the 1800s by a chef apprentice at Prince Metternich's Court, and has since been the world's most famous chocolate cake.

A deceptively simple looking chocolate dessert, this cake consists of some salt and icing as well. The Sacher Cake was luscious in flavor, a little like the "salted chocolate cakes" that are so popular today; the solid and firm texture melts readily in the mouth. The icing on the cake was exactly that - the saccharine teether was a bonus for me, adding on to the pleasure of eating this original creation.

After that, we tried the Chocolate Almond Mousse Cake (SGD$3.90), a glossily-coated black beauty with a rich and velvety texture. The mousse was creamy, and thick with dark chocolate and almond ganache, allowing it to permeate the tastebuds smoothly and sweetly.

Finally, the Lemon Meringue Tart (SGD$3.90) with its buttery crust and refreshing citrusy lemon curd. The crust was a little soft for my liking - might have been lovelier if there was more crunch to it. The lemon curd was the right degree of sweet-sour blend, and using meringue (in lieu of cream) on the tart was certainly a rather innovative move. The gentle sweetness of the meringue complemented the flavor of the tart beautifully.

For beverages, *Lara settled for a hot Japanese Green Sencha (SGD$3.30) , hot Japanese green tea to be exact; whilst I tried the Coffee Mocha (SGD$5.90). My mocha was quite smooth, with pretty coffee art, but I thought the chocolate blend was not strong enough to give it the rich hint of chocolate.

Overall, this serene little cafe is worth every single cent we paid and more. Besides the delectable desserts and very reasonable prices, one could see that they put in a lot of efforts into the service, food and drinks. They do so much better than many other cafes located in town areas, and do not even charge GST. On top of that, this is a good spot for business discussion or quiet catching up sessions, away from the hustle of the city.

Murdoch University's Alumni Event @ Mint Museum of Toys

When I got the invitation from the university, and a brief glimpse of the location piqued my interest, so I decided to signed up. Well, I've never attended any alumni gatherings before -  not for polytechnic ("college" , for some of you) and certainly not for the university.

I thought it would be a good time to network, catch up with some familiar faces (especially those whom we've lost touch over the years) and maybe see what's going on with the university these days. Anyway, our event was held at the Mint Museum of Toys, which also gave me a chance to visit that interesting museum.

26 Seah Street, Singapore 188382

Tel: 6339 0660

Website: http://www.emint.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mintmuseumoftoys

It is a 5-storey contemporary building housing a museum, gift shop and Mr. Punch Rooftop Bar, as well as restaurants in the basement. Impressive, no? The exhibits consist of an impressive collection of toys and childhood memorabilia, including stuffed animals, tin cans and some vintage dolls etc - all with very detailed description. There are also events ongoing at the museum from time to time.

The opening hours are as such -

Mondays to Fridays                      9.30am - 6.30pm

Public holidays & Eve of CNY      9.30am - 4.00pm

Closed on first and second days of Chinese New Year

Admission Fees-

Child (ages 2 - 12)                       SGD$7.00

Adult                                            SGD$15.00

Senior Citizen (ages 60 & above)  SGD$7.50

So, we got a brief tour of the interesting museum after registering ourselves at the front door and getting a name tag as well as were asked to go join the alumni Facebook page. There were some magazines and newsletters for reading pleasure before the talks commenced.

There was also a cocktail station on Level 3 where we helped ourselves beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) as well as some very light snacks. The Meat Balls were large and succulent but I preferred the taste of the Thai Fishcake with their tangy overturs.

And lots of red and white wine while mingling with new friends (what to do, since NONE of the people from your cohort were able to attend / were aware of this event!), catching up with an ex-colleague who happened to study here as well, and some photo sessions.

The red seats were set up as we were invited to be seated. Then the standard "Welcome back to Murdoch" speech by one of the school's personnel, followed by talks by guest speakers flown all the way in from various parts of the globe.

And then it was dinner session as we proceeded downstairs  - they catered buffet for us - there were quite alot of stuff. I took some fruit, vegetables, shrimp and chicken. It was time for more minglling, more museum tour and some more networking going on. I think some of them headed for drinks on their own accord after that but I had to rush off for another event.

Was glad I went because I made some new friends and touched base with a couple of people I know who also studied here.  I guess I would be attending future gatherings as such, and maybe rein in more people from the ex-cohort.

TIll then.

Dinner at Medz Bistro & Bar @ Raffles Place

24 Raffles Place #01-01 Clifford Centre, Singapore 048621

Tel: 6536 1917

Website: www.medzs.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MEDZS.SimplyMediterranean

Having visited Medz Restaurants at Orchard Central and Millenia Walk before, I was surprised to learn from *Edwin that they have another outlet at Raffles Place, a bistro and bar concept. As such, we made plans for dinner there.

The tiny cafe is done up prettily in dim lighting, with a long bar counter, comfortable booth seats as well as "window seats" that allow the diners to see and be seen by passerbys along Raffles Place. We took a table in the latter category.

The eye-catching stuff would of course be the colorful array of pastries greeting the guests at the main entrance.

This bistro & bar is very different from its other outlets, which abide by a marketplace concept - lots of stalls, patrons order at the stalls and collect their own food. Over here, they have a la carte menus as well as servers to take orders and bring the dishes to our tables. Here they have Asian / Chinese dishes as well, instead of the usual Mediterranean and European cuisine at the other two outlets.

There are also Set Lunches and Set Dinners available if one wishes.  We ordered a variety of different items for sharing.

Drinks were served first. *Edwin had the Iced Tea (SGD$4.90) and I had the Koppaberg Strawberry-Lime beer (SGD$8.90).

Then he had a Wild Mushroom Cream Soup (SGD$6.90) which I managed to try a couple spoonfuls of - thick, creamy and completely redolent with black mushroom's distinctive flavor.  The texture was just nice - not too thick nor diluted, making for a smooth journey down the throat.

Next, the Hummus with Pita Bread ($6.90) was brought to the table. Pita, being pita, had a hard and dry texture so I had to break it into smaller pieces.  The hummus (a dip / spread made from chickpea, olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, salt and garlic typically) was prepared moist enough so that it was easy to scoop for  or dip the bread with.  However, there was something lacking in the flavor that I could not fathom. The entire spread was somewhat bland save for the sour overture of the lemon juice.

I had better hummus at Deli Moroccan @ Haji Lane and Restore Cafe @ Tanjong Pagar.

Following that, the Lemonade Crab Meat mini Croissant Sandwich (SGD$4.90) was served. Crabmeat with mayonnaise has always been a divine (albeit sinful) combination on their own, tossing together the sweetness of the two into a delectable union. Who would've thought that the infusion of lemonade would bring the taste to another level? This was so good we wish we'd ordered the large version for it (if any).

After that, the Home Cured Salmon mini Croissant Sandwich (SGD$3.90)  Being a salmon lover at all times, this was a delight - a little saltish, but balanced well by the flakey croissant.

Finally, time for desserts. There was the Chocolate Truffle Cake (SGD$.6.90) which was rich and indulgent with its chocolately goodness.

Then a slice of Medz Signature Rainbow Cake (SGD$6.90). It was soft and fluffy to the touch, gently filling the tongue with sweetness; not cloyingly so, but the rich cream was a little overkill I felt.  Other than that, it was pretty good and I felt it was on par with Le Chocolate's rainbow cake (only cream coated here instead of chocolate).

The rainbow cake here definitely won the toothache-inducingly sweet ones at Quarter to Three Cafe and the stone-textured ones at Backstage Cafe. The best rainbow cake I've had so far would still be the one at The Bakery Chef - cottony soft in texture and each layer has its own distinctive, fruity flavor..