The Sugar Bar

Being surrounded by amazingly intellectual and witty characters, the conversation can veer towards subjects dangerously complex (sometimes, unfortunately crude, stupid or superficial as well; don’t mean to shock you either but the mundane is included in our list of worthy conversation topics such as Hollyoaks and the weather). And of course the witty ones are always the victorious few left standing in the bloody massacre of English banter. So I must admit, I like sounding a teeny bit clever. Sounding, and not ‘being’, clever comes in handy now and again and I unabashedly adopt the use of jargon and my own eclectic mix of jazzbangmatastic (this word an example in itself) self-coined vocabulary to stun, bedazzle and confuse. Think I’m cheating? Doesn’t matter. It gets the job done.

But I won’t attempt to do that here. Instead, I will say it as simply as I can – that one undeniable truth:

I heart cakes. And most importantly, I heart beautiful cakes (which are more often that not, not made by me) and so where else better than to go to the professionals who do it best? Also, beautiful cakes mean there is no need for silly banter to fill the silence at the table at all because they are beautiful to look at and to taste and shall therefore, need your 100% full attention.

What do we do, then? We shut up and eat. Human nature. 

An old friend of mine, S, and I decided to meet up after about a year or so of not seeing each other. She’d just gotten back from LA and we really wanted to do something that required little effort, involved air-conditioning, something pretty and a friendly laidback ambience. Every time we meet up, we do a bit of a gift exchange to make up for missing each other’s birthdays, etc. So a fairly nice place was preferable. I did a little bit of research over at Ladyironchef (thank you Brad!) and found out about 1 Caramel Patisserie, where the cakes looked so lush I was almost moved to tears.

The research paid off. Away from the noisy traffic of the main road, tucked into the snazzy embrace of The Luxe, this little patisserie • café • atelier was a gem of a find. Modernly furnished with an almost zen-like feel from the dark wooden tables, bar stools and mustard yellow seats, it provided the perfect relief from the outside heat and humidity. It sure made my day to see handmade cakes of Singapore’s landscape (it was Singapore’s National Day the day before we visited) and waterfront set up at the bar next to a couple of jars of cookies and a tray of fondant cupcakes. It was something like a cross of posh bachelor’s pad, a bar and a traditional sweet shop. Enchanting, welcoming, delightful and real joy to be in. The friendly and attentive staff were a great bonus too.

S and I took some time ordering. 1) We’d not seen each other for a very long period of time so there was quite a lot of gossip, bitching and just general animated observation and chatter to get through before we could mull over the menu, 2) the cake list was very comprehensive. We were spoilt for choice and it was frustrating to have to decide on only 1 to spare our hips the morning-after guilt, 3) I was determined to taste one of the offered teas on the menu and so, harsh as it was to my cake calling, I went for a cake and a pot of tea instead of 2 cakes! *Can I just comment on the service at this point as well? The waiting staff were very patient with us. We bounced back and forth the menu, hmmed and hummmed loads before making the final decision but they were all smiley and friendly. Amazing!

I (after much deliberation) ordered the Fraise Pistachio Tart (S$8.90/slice). Ok, don’t get your panties in a twistie just cause I didn’t order real cake. I wanted the Opera Cake and the Lemon Roulade. But I’m a girl and I really didn’t want to put S through the whole ‘oh my god, I’m so going on a diet tomorrow because 3 plates of cake will induce immediate thunder thighs and chubby cheeks!’ scenario. Besides, I love tart. And I was well in the mood for tart. To me, this was very aesthetically pleasing because of the green and pistachios is way up there on my fav list. The strawberries were to-die-for. I mean, these buggers were fat, sweet and juicy. Yes, they were glazed with those sweet gelatin concoctions but they weren’t fluffy on the inside or 98% sour like some of those horrible stuff you find out there. It was bright red, it was fresh, well-shaped and beautiful. The pistachio frangipane was gorgeous and moist. I wasn’t too sure about the colour of the mixed berries cremeaux. From certain angles, it just looked kind of brownish purple to me but taste-wise, it was spot on and worked very well with the pistachio. Tart still had bite in it despite the general moistness of the tart. One thing I would improve upon would be the crunch and flavour of the roasted pistachios. They were just a tad wet and chewy and hardly seemed like the roasting had done it any good.

Ok, so here’s the real shocker: we did not share our cakes. Each to their own, ya know? S had the Hazelnut Pear Torta (S$6.90/slice) and from where I sat, it looked very moist and oh so good! It was glistening golden, beckoning me over. What a tease, that damn cake. I could see hazelnut pieces in the tart layer and the top layer was made up of caramelized pear slices. I didn’t taste it but S said it was delicious. And I take her word for it. S doesn’t lie when it comes to food and she knows her food. I sort of wished we had ordered more cakes to taste or that Caramel did a platter for 2 of littler versions of their cakes. Never mind that as S and I are deciding on a date to make a second trip down for the real deal – the cakey, chocolatey kind. Opera Cake, fear not, I will be back! Red velvet, stay where you are. And if you can, switch the dark chocolate you’re paired with to a cream cheese frosting?

The cakes polished off, our drinks sucked dry, we continued our catch-up in a dreamy sugar-induced state. And it was lovely. It was fine as. The tarts may not have looked very impressive but they held up well. These simple delights certainly made our reunion a whole lot sweeter, even if we did do very naughty things like gossip and bitch. 

Conclusion? We heart 1 Caramel. Such a laidback chilled out spot in a swish setting, how could we not like it? Am already eagerly waiting for our next trip down.

If you fancy it, check it out at the address below. While you do that, eat cake and have fun. S and I are headed to the beach for some sun and ice cold beers.

1 Caramel Patisserie
6 Handy Road
#01-01 The Luxe
Singapore 229234
Tel.: 6 338 3282
E: info@1-caramel.com