Bloggers Outing: 1 Caramel

Ever since the enjoyable food blogger outing at Cafe Oliv, the momentum has been on a high for the next gathering. Fifty-one (excited) emails later, we managed to settle on a theme, a place, and a date - Sweet Treat Sunday at 1 Caramel. This time, there were more of us food bloggers, and I am sure you would be seeing this post about 1 Caramel popping up in five other food blogs within the next few weeks. Here's the "guest list" for the day:

Kaelyn from My Food Sirens
Elaine from Divine Essentials
Angeline & Janelle from SistaFood
Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac
Fen & Yuan from Indulgence After Workout
Michelle from Never Trust A Scrawny Foodie


This wasn't an invited session, and the staff had no idea that a group of food bloggers were here with a craving for everything sweet and delectable. I could tell everyone was clearly amused when the cameras were being whipped out, and they watched us as we gleefully handed the cakes around the table for that one perfect shot. For us, it's like on automatic really, lining up the cakes, tilting the shot, snap snap, calling for another, line tilt snap snap. The cakes, pretty as they were, posed proudly for us. Enjoy :)

Red Miso Soufflé: 4.25/5


This was certainly a unique soufflé that got the girls squealing in delight. The "salty goodness" of miso is paired with a scoop of sourish vanilla ice-cream (the ice-cream needs a bit getting used to for some) for that welcomed hot-and-cold balance. Soft, light and delicious.

Brownies Almond Cake: 3.25/5


The menu promised something moist, but the brownie came quite dry actually. They should warm the brownie up and pair it with ice-cream. I wouldn't mind paying a little more for it if it's going to taste way better, especially since at $4.50 it's already quite a steal. The brownie is rich and chocolatey, so it just needs to be a bit more moist, warmer and well, ice-cream always helps.

Carrot Walnut Cake: 3/5


We had expectations for this cake, but oh no, it didn't impress at all. As Elaine mentioned, it didn't have that "spice" that a good carrot cake should have, and I'm thinking she's probably referring to the cinnamon taste that I'm familiar with some other carrot cakes as well. This cake in particular had a bland aftertaste, and I'm quite sure it's not because our tastebuds got numb after all the sweets and sugars.

Hazelnut Pear Torta: 3.5/5


The pear torta was just about alright, a spongy (slightly dry) type of middle with caramelised pear slices to top it up.

Peanut Butter Cheese Tart: 4.5/5


I would like to think that the people managing 1 Caramel somehow read my earlier post on their peanut butter cheese tart. I'm saying this because the tart has improved a lot since then, and much of it lies in the thicker layer of peanut butter (yums!) that I simply adore. Perfect for peanut butter lovers of course, though others may find that it's a bit too much for them. Still, I like it the way it is now, and I'm sure those who love their peanut butter thick toasts will lap this up ever so willingly.

Midori: 4.25/5


This won the hearts of many at the table, and I think it's because of the unique blend of matcha, yuzu and azuki beans. This is a relatively new addition to 1 Caramel, and judging from the nods around, I think it will be something to stay.

Lychee Rose: 4.5/5


It's not always that something non-chocolatey or non-peanut buttery will attract me this much (I'm not talking about ladies here of course), but the lychee rose cake is simply lovely. It's probably the "lightest" of the cakes, with a lychee rose mousee atop the sweet, juicy lychee jelly. I understand there's a "Valrhona ivory chocolate glaze" (should be the white chocolate) somewhere in the cake, but it's the lychee and rose flavour that wins it.

Chocolate Praline Cake: 4.75/5


1 Caramel's cocoa signature cake, and with good reason too. The hazelnut praline feuilletine layer is my favourite bit in the cake, and the rest of the (varying) layers of chocolate mousse just completes this cake neatly. I heard from Fen that it's not entirely unique and that it can be readily found in some of the hotel cafés that do a good job of it as well. Makes me wanna try them all!

Strawberry Shortcake: 4.75/5


If there has to be a prettiest slice of cake, it would be the strawberry shortcake. I think Angeline especially loves this, and it's certainly not surprising. Crisp flakes with soft, light and flavourful strawberry sponge and small strawberry slices all come together to make this the top favourite of the day.

This is a wonderful way to spend a Sunday indeed :)

Service
Excellent. They don't take reservations because of the small indoor seating capacity, but if you have a larger group you might like to come earlier on the day itself to have them arrange the tables for you. All the staff were very friendly and helpful, constantly refilling our glasses with iced water even when we were lazing around for more than three hours.

Price
$12.90 for the red miso soufflé
$4.50 for the brownies almond cake
$5.00 for the carrot walnut cake
$6.90 for the hazelnut pear torta
$6.90 for the peanut butter cheese tart
$7.90 for the midori cake
$7.90 for the lychee rose
$7.90 for the chocolate praline cake
$8.90 for the strawberry shortcake

* Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.

Place
6 Handy road, #01-01 The Luxe.
Just beside The Cathay.