Bloggers Outing: Checkers Deli

Our food bloggers' outings have been gradually expanding in size, and if not for appointment and schedule clashes there would easily be twenty of us all gathered cosily in one place. I'm sure that time will come very soon, and it's definitely something to look forward to in the coming new year. As they always say, the more is always the merrier :)


It's usually easier planning for teatime-dessert outings because all we need is some place peaceful that gives us free reign over our cameras, and where we could have as many sweet delights as we can ask for. This time round, after our cameras were being denied action by Cova Pasticceria at Orchard Paragon, we bought our little tickets to sugary heaven instead from Checkers Deli at Hilton Hotel, and I must say that the experience was quite lovely indeed. It's what some may call "a blessing in disguise". First up of course, the food bloggers' "guest list" for the day:

Justin from J2K3Blogs
Kaelyn from My Food Sirens
Elaine from Divine Essentials

Daniel from Memoirs of Food
Gavin from Every Meal an Adventure
Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac
Phoebe and Chloe from The Food Chapter

One of the most fantastic things about being a food blogger is about finding like-minded people out there who not only share your almost insatiable love for food but also who have a passion to share the joy of such gastronomic wonders. Dedication then comes naturally, as we spend hours every week updating our blogs, posting on food forums (some even do both!), tagging on one another's blogs with the latest recommendations or with just a cheerful word or two of encouragement. And to make things even better, and what keeps us going day in day out, is our amazing readers out there. These blogs are not only about us, it's also about how much we want to reach out to new friends out there who have kept us on their bookmarks and who would read our humble blogs from time to time. To these awesome people, thank you!


As such, one of my New Year Resolutions is already in place: I would really love to meet some of my frequent readers and go out for meals together! I've been very encouraged by the emails, tags and Facebook messages thus far, and it's certainly spurring me on to organise something within the first quarter of 2010 (make sure you all turn up ah, else I have to start dragging people in as fillers haha!). So stay tuned to this blog as I try to come up with plans for an official blog outing! Till then, do keep reading and do keep eating :)

The Damsels


Ahh, on to the sweet treats, shall we? I hear from Phoebe that Checkers is especially known for its cheesecakes, and amongst the three that we tried, the Blueberry Cheese Cake came up tops, and by a big margin too. The thick cheesecake is nicely paired with the soft, almost jelly-like blueberry top and in itself had a balanced, sweet flavour to it. The Marble Cheese Cake and Walnut Cheese Cake meanwhile didn't impress me much, in fact they were plain (and after the second tiny forkful, boring) and couldn't match up to many of the other cakes on the table. Many others however have continued to rave about these two cheese cakes online, and the general consensus remains that Checkers sells one of the top quality cheese cakes around!

The Beautiful


The pretty lady of the day, the Mixed Berries Tart (almost typically?) charms more on its looks than on its content and taste. The mixture of rum and almond cream was fine, but somehow the whole tart just didn't come together for a full, wholesome flavour. Still, pretty to look at.

The Bodyguards


Surrounding the lady were her two formidable-looking bodyguards, looking all round and tough indeed. I liked the zesty Lemon Tart a lot, and I dare say it's one of my top two favourites of the afternoon. The hard crust is contrasted to the smooth lemon custard interior, but what's worth more mention is how the lemon flavour was of a perfect measure that makes it neither too over-powering nor too fleeting. The Vanilla Chocolate Cake on the other hand looked like a safe bet, but it's description of crispy praline, vanilla cream, chocolate sponge and mousse raised our expectations a bit too much - save for the praline, it seemed quite ordinary to me.

The Specialists


I have to admit that both the Coffee Moka Finger and the Carrot Walnut Cake did not leave a deep impression in me (so much so that a week on I don't quite remember how they actually taste like!) but I do know that the latter had mixed reviews around the table and a couple commented that it was a bit too dry for their liking. This deserves another check. The coffee finger was comparatively slightly better, but only if you like your cakes with a hint of coffee.

The Knight


I'm wondering why, at half past two in the morning, that I'm calling this "the knight", and I remember now that it's only because this cake reminds us all so much of one of the best-selling cakes from a common bakery - Coco Exotic from Four Leaves Bakery - and that this particular one from Checkers is like a refined and "upgraded" version to it, just like how a celebrated soldier is promoted to the ranks of a knight. Needless to say, and before I get carried away (haha!), the Hazelnut Royaltine is certainly one of the best versions there is to the hazelnut praline cake as it has a good balance of soft chocolate cake and crispy hazelnut praline and biscuit.

The Prince


The Prince, naturally, commands all, and for that I'm conferring such a honorary status to the Snicker's Cake, which boasts Jivara milk chocolate, peanut caramel, biscuit Joconde (almond-based sponge), peanut crisps and dark chocolate glaze. The best slice of cake for the day for me, prized alongside it's more fruity and equally tantalising counterpart in the lemon tart. The ingredients speak for themselves really, dark chocolate with peanut caramel and crisps is enough to make any (non-health conscious) boy happy :)

Service
Very good, polite and friendly. Constantly refills our glasses with water.

Price
Dine-In Price (Takeaway Price) Nett:
$11.20 ($7.80) for the blueberry cheese cake
$11.20 ($7.80) for the marble cheese cake
$11.20 ($7.80) for the walnut cheese cake
$8.85 ($6.95) for the mixed berries tart
$8.85 ($6.95) for the lemon tart
$6.95 ($6.95) for the vanilla chocolate cake
$6.95 ($6.95) for the coffee moka finger
$8.85 ($6.95) for the carrot walnut cake
$8.85 ($6.95) for the hazelnut royaltine
$8.85 ($6.95) for the snicker's cake

Place
Hilton Hotel, Orchard Road.
Dine in at Checkers Brasserie within Hilton Hotel.

Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.