Amanda FooDo you know the muffinman? UrbanWire does.
He really goes by the name of Maurice Ching, an executive who left the advertising industry after a good 12-year stint for a muffin shop in China Square Central. He’d considered Raffles City first, but found the rent too exorbitant.
So how does an adman make the leap into the F&B business? It turns out that Maurice always had the interest. He finally embarked on muffinman after getting inspiration from a muffin his sister baked him for fun.
Since last Jul, muffinman has been offering its 4 categories of muffins: 99% fresh fruit, hidden treasures, wellness and luscious chocolate.
UrbanWire first tried the hidden treasures muffins.
Having The Chocolate Custard (a pretty pricey $3) is like biting into a chocolate cloud with a custard center, that’s how soft it is. A slightly crunchy top crust provides a needed texture contrast. It’s not dry at all and the custard is smooth. The chocolate used remains a trade secret, but it’s undoubtedly of a great quality if it can produce a baked good that tastes like this. Also, the chocolate is not overpowering, unlike muffins from say, Chocolat’ N Spice, which has many local fans.
Maurice says that he took extra care in creating muffins with more variety and he didn’t want to be lazy and just use the same batter base for all the flavors.
Another muffin from the same category is the rum and raisin ($2.40). While the muffin was soft and moist like the previous, our focus was mainly on the rum-laced cream cheese center (we like our desserts slightly sinful). This rum and raisin combination is classic, not only in ice creams but in muffin form as well. The cream cheese provides a creaminess that buffers the alcohol, making it the ideal treat when you’re in the mood to indulge.
UrbanWire decided to sample a 99% fresh-fruit muffin next because we felt guilty, even then it had white chocolate, oops.
The White Chocolate and Banana ($1.80) is the moistest of the 3, mostly likely because of the banana. Maurice says that most people expect dark chocolate to be paired with the banana and so he decided to give it a twist by switching to its pale counterpart. The 99% fresh fruit muffin lives up to its name – Maurice is definitely not stingy with the ingredients, the banana flavor comes right through.
It’s a brilliant move using the white chocolate. The chocolate’s presence isn’t very obvious, but it undoubtedly imparts a richness and weight that plays up very well to the banana. It may be a bit too sweet for some though. If you’re looking for something healthier, muffinman has other offerings such as Lemon Raspberry and Apple Walnut Cinnamon.
Maurice first opened muffinman to pursue his interest and do something for himself, but with the quality muffins he’s offering us, he’s doing something for the rest of us too.
Address: 18 Cross Street, China Square Central, #01-07
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday – 9.30am to 8pm, Sunday – 10.30am to 5pm
Rating: ★★★★☆