Sujith Kumar S/o PrankumarIt’s the Chinese New Year season again.
Aside from Ang Pows (red packets stuffed with cash) and dancing dragons and lions, the season is also synonymous with snacks and savouries.
So what better way is there to get you excited than to show you some of our most promising finds?
We took a look at what the folks at local bakery café, Cedele by The Bakery Depot had to offer.
Once again, they have worked their trademark organic, vegetarian, handmade and no-trans-fats flair for confectioneries into familiar Chinese New Year (CNY) cakes and cookies – with a twist.
The UrbanWire was excited to try out the healthy snacks that came in attractive, re-usable containers.
The treats were all made from scratch and were clearly labelled according to their dietary benefits (e.g. no baking powder, no eggs, no trans fats etc.).
The Confectionery Pageant
One of the menu highlights is the Circle of Happiness range of 8-inch round cakes ($18.80 each), which includes flavours like Blueberry Almond, Pear Frangipani and the Cherry Chocolate Financier.
The cherry on the icing was, without doubt, the Cherry Chocolate Financier (above, $18.80). The cake was delightfully moist and crunchy, while cherries completed the package with an acidic hint, all of which led to an interesting explosion of texture and flavour. The Almond Apricot cake ($18.80) had substantial bite to it with the liberal amount of almond slices sprinkled at the top, while at the same time not being too overpoweringly sweet. The cakes are part of the Circle of Happiness range
However, the other cakes and cookies left much to be desired.
The cookies were fragrant and looked brilliant, but bombed in the taste test. The only exceptions were the Cornflake Crunchies ($15.90), Lemongrass Pistachios ($17.50) and Pineapple Pocket Pies ($17.50), which had more pronounced flavours. Though the latter offering was soft and delectable, the pineapple jam could have been more pronounced.
The Golden Bar cakes (above, $13.50-$16 for 350g, $30-$32 for 1kg) looked highly appetising but turned out to be dry, coarse and difficult to swallow. The best of the lot was the Orange Cranberry cake (first from right), which tasted strongly of orange.
While we are definitely going to make a run for the Cherry Chocolate Financier this CNY season, we’ll stay clear of the other goodies that, quite frankly, disappoint and solidify the impression that healthy eating is bank-busting and tongue-numbing.
But don’t write them off just yet – if you enjoy mild flavours, have special dietary requirements and/or want a guilt-free CNY, this is a fantastic option.
Additional reporting by Ervin Liu, Jessinta Cheng and Teo Yin Yin