Mad About Sucre, Outram: Cafe of the Year?

By Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow on February 21, 2015 • ( 6 Comments )

Two trusted instagrammers told me Mad About Sucre is the Cafe of the Year. When I entered, I was immediately greeted enthusiastically by Eric Chan and James, the two shareholders, who explained the concept to me. (They do it to every customer.)

Leena Chan, Eric’s sister, who traded banking for baking at Le Cordon Bleu at Paris. She specializes in fondant cakes (usually wedding cakes), crafting a memory into every cake.

“She is best at making fondant flowers you see at the door,” James said.

“Those are fondant flowers??” I exclaimed. “I thought they were real!”

Moulin Rouge ($10.80)

Mad About Sucre also reduces sugar in their cakes by 40%-60%, which means instead of eating the usual 1 cake, you can eat TWO CAKES! YAY! My Maths rock. But as a result, the cakes are heavier, packed with more ingredients, which also mean it’s not feasible to sell whole cakes by the kilo. They sell the cakes by per person, and there is a 2-month wait list.

With a French radio station playing, the Parisian-inspired shop currently offers only 5 types of cakes although Leena has 40 recipes in her repertoire. The cakes are baked in batches so they remain fresh. The shop also comes up with their own special blends of tea to pair with the cakes, each cake a different blend.

Coco Citron ($9.80)

Although there were only 5 cakes, there was variety enough to titillate. The three cakes we tried didn’t belong to the ethereal Japanese-styled cakes at K Ki. These European-style cakes had contrasts in flavors to create a tension and a union.

My least favorite was the Moulin Rouge (lightly charred caramel mousse, walnut parfait, short sweet bread, and almond crunch) because much of it was mousse, which didn’t give a good texture. The Coco Citron was very light in flavors, a dance of lemon curd and coconut mousse. Although this tart may not appeal to those with heavy palates, I appreciated its daintiness.

My favorite was indubitably San Domingue ($12.80), named after a former French colony. You put the chocolate jewel box of very light rum into the mouth, and when it reaches a state of not-solid, not-liquid, you stick your fork right through the sphere of 70% dark chocolate mousse, whose centre is caramelized plantain, which strangely and interestingly numbs the back of your tongue, and put every flavor in your mouth at once.

Is Mad About Sucre the Cafe of the Year? No, because, to me, cafes need to serve savory food and MAS doesn’t. But is Mad About Sucre the best patisserie in Singapore? Yes! There is class, there is sophistication, there is heart, style, and taste, all these without sacrificing comfort and affability. Mad About Sucre is a game-changer, a trailblazer in the cake scene in Singapore.

We paid $52 for 3 cakes and 2 teas. Is it costly? Yes. But is it worth it? A resounding yes!