Amanda FooChef Icon Nature Bakery, a little café at Kampong Bahru Road, is best known for their unbelievably good cheesecakes, as well as a chocolate cake that is the fruit of six hours’ labour.
In fact, they’re so good that when UrbanWire visited on a quiet afternoon, those famous cakes were sold out.
However, before we crumpled upon the weight of our disappointment, the other items in the menu caught our attention: Latte ($3.90), Hot Lava Chocolate ($4.50) and their Tiramisu ($6.80).
We were told that what makes their Latte different is that the milk is heated up to only 65 degrees, far cooler than the scorching boil we have gotten used to, in order to make it smoother.
While some people may complain about the drink cooling down too fast, the result is nevertheless a velvety drink that goes down easily, making it easy for you to appreciate the bitter tones of the coffee.
The foam is also done superbly; the sugar takes delightfully long to sink into the drink itself, so thick and solid is it.
The Lava Hot Chocolate is another triumph. Instead of using coca powder, Chef Icon Nature Bakery uses a bar of chocolate.
It makes for a comforting drink, warm and satisfying with the same smoothness that the Latte had. It’s the sort of hot chocolate that makes you wish there was snow in Singapore, just so you can enjoy this to its absolute fullest.
Finally, there’s the Tiramisu.
For those of you used to coffee, alcohol, sponge fingers or coca powder in this dessert, you’ll be surprised. This particular version doesn’t have any of the aforementioned.
However, there are handmade Italian cookie crumbs, sandy and chocolaty, top-grade mascarpone (think ricotta) and melted Belgium chocolate.
We know there will be those who argue that this isn’t true tiramisu, but with the first taste, the creaminess of the cheese light on your tongue, the crumbs providing the perfect counter-texture, you don’t really care.
Also, it’s not just Western desserts that Chef Icon Nature Icon excels at. They also produce their own kaya (coconut egg jam) and peanut butter, which are flavourful without being overly sweet. At only $2.50 a bottle, it’s value for money.
Address: 5 Kampong Bahru Road
Telephone No.: 9337 3900
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday – 8.30 am to 8pm
Rating: ★★★★✩