See Lian Cake Shop
20 Defu Lane 10 #01-278
138 Tampines Street 11 #01-114
http://www.streetdirectory.com/restaurants/singapore/reviews/location-See_Lian_Cake_Shop-1000009517.php
Nostalgic, Old School Confectionaries & Cakes
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 6
Value for Money: 10
Spent about SGD $3 per person.
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Located just next to the Tampines Round Market, See Lian Cake Shop is one of those old-school, retro heartland bakeries, that is still going strong after all these years. Even more surprising, See Lian Cake Shop has managed to maintain a relatively high quality to their baked goods and confectioneries, while still keeping prices really low. Truely a rare gem these days!
As See Lian Cake Shop is a takeaway bakery, there is no seating at all. However, there is still some ambience, which calls to mind the heartland bakeries I visited as a child... brings back nostalgic memories! Furthermore, the shop is constantly filled with the fragrant aroma of baked goods, incredibly attractive! Buns, breads, cakes, pastries, and other confectioneries are all clearly labelled, and displayed neatly. Pity about the small walking space though, the shop feels rather cramped.
The staff at See Lian Cake Shop are mostly older generation workers, quite down to earth, heartland approach to service. They'll joke and talk to you straight, no beating around the bush here. You can tell the pride they have in each of their products, they can make recommendations as well, though the default is "Everything we have here is good!". Best of all, it's no idle boast! Everything on offer is fresh baked daily, and for more popular items, prepared more than once daily!
The old-school, retro baked goods at See Lian Cake Shop are truely tasty. The Asian flavoured buns have generous stuffings, bread is fresh and fragrant, cakes are unashamedly creamy, cookies are large and warm... it all looks and smells good! Portions are nicely sized, and best of all, prices are extremely cheap / affordable, typically costing only SGD $1 - $3 per item! For a dose of nostalgia and some good quality Asian baked goods, I highly recommend visiting See Lian Cake Shop!
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You can't miss the shop with its large signage and fragrant aroma wafting out to the street. Lighting within is rather low, and every now and then, the kitchen wheels out a fresh trolley of hot-from-the-oven confectioneries or bread.
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| See Lian Cake Shop Facade |
The large Almond Cheese Cookies (SGD $0.80) are crunchy with the fragrant aroma of almonds. Unique due to the addition of cheese, which lends a savoury, salty flavour.
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| Almond Cheese Cookies (SGD $0.80) |
Love the retro Butter Sugar Toast (SGD $1.50) with its crisp, crunchy, buttery, almost biscuit-like texture, studded with small sugar crystals that lend some sweetness. Rather dry though, but that's how it's typically made!
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| Butter Sugar Toast (SGD $1.50) |
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| Butter Sugar Toast |
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| Butter Sugar Toast |
Originating from Indonesia, Bolu Gulung (SGD $2.50) is a colourful, multi-flavoured Malay style Swiss Roll. Primarily tastes of vanilla, with some chocolate, strawberry, pandan / screwpine leaf, and coffee flavour! It's incredibly popular around Ramadan / Hari Raya Puasa, with the kitchen churning out hundreds of these everyday! They also offer a single vanilla flavoured version, with colouring to make it just as pretty!
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| Bolu Gulung (SGD $2.50) |
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| Bolu Gulung |
Love the generous stuffing of pandan kaya / screwpine leaf coconut jam within the Kaya Bun (SGD $1)! The bun is soft with a slight chew, and tears off easily. Looks like they also handmade the sweet, tasty, fragrant pandan kaya spread, because it's not the factory processed version!
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| Kaya Bun (SGD $1) |
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| Kaya Bun |
The delectable Kaya Puff (SGD $1) has a crisp, flaky, crumbly puff pastry exterior that is full of buttery sweet flavour. The interior has a firm, crunchy, sweet caramelised pandan kaya / screwpine leaf coconut egg jam filling. Pretty decent.
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| Kaya Puff (SGD $1) |
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| Kaya Puff |
The large Coconut Tart (SGD $1) has a generous stuffing of sweet, chewy dessicated coconut within a buttery tart shell, which crumbles easily when bit. The exterior is nicely torced, with a savoury, smoky flavour. Excellent!
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| Coconut Tart (SGD $1) |
The nostalgic Fresh Cream Cake (SGD $1.50) features a chocolate sponge cake base, topped with a thick, sweet cream, decorated with coloured strips of sweet dessert gel! The dessert gel flavours of blueberry (purple), strawberry (red), lemon (yellow), and lime (greeen), are distinct and tasty! Really nostalgic / retro, but the overall dry texture of the cake itself is a let-down.
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| Fresh Cream Cake (SGD $1.50) |
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| Fresh Cream Cake |
The Egg Tart (SGD $1) is pretty good, featuring a smooth, sweet, wobbly egg custard, set within a buttery, crumbly tart shell. Straight forward, while not as eggy as those in Cantonese Dim Sum restaurants, it's still delicious.
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| Egg Tart (SGD $1) |
The Curry Bun (SGD $1) has a center stuffing of spicy curried potato chunks. Living up to its name, the curry is actually spicy, not those weak versions elsewhere, and you really get the heat and burn from the chili! Good!
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| Curry Bun (SGD $1) |
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| Curry Bun |
The Cheese Tart (SGD $1.50) is lovely! The base of cheese is rich and creamy, with the addition of lemon zesty that lends a tangy sourness, cutting through the heavy cheese. Topped with a sweet blueberry gel, this was a delight to eat!
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| Cheese Tart (SGD $1.50) |
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CONVERSATION