How can you tell between a baker who live to bake and someone who bake to live? A simple one liner like this sometimes requires a series of complex analysis. But Ms. Mary Chan, 34; didn’t complicate matters, her muffin says it all. There is no reason for me not to believe that she loves to bake and making good muffins for everyone forms part of her mantra.
The former pastry cook from Mandarin Oriental and supervisor at The Fullerton, started her first pastry outlet in the heartland – Shunfu Mart a decade ago; Chocolat N’ Spice becomes the talk of the town. As the never ending queue grew, the business expanded into CBD and central part of Singapore. It continues to draw crowds that includes executives in office attire, SAHMs and many sweet-tooth. I had my maiden attempt in 2009 and was impressed until today. I do not sing praises for the sake of good readership, neither am I a devotee of muffins; but these small “mushroom” cakes are really good stuff.
Yesterday was my second time, having Chocolat N’ Spice muffins – a 3 years gap. Little did I expect they still delight me the same way before. There is consistency in her baking, undoubtedly. These freshly baked muffins were as delicious as 3 years ago, I am glad that I had 6 fuming hot ones to takeaway.
Coffee walnut – S$1.40: The batter was amazingly moist and not overly buttered. It has a spongy texture and you could see very fine tiny air pockets in the cake, the batter must have creamed thoroughly. (unlike huge air pockets in others but not as soft) It has a very captivating mocha scent and flavor, sweet but not cloying. Each mouthful was filled with coarse pieces of walnut – absolutely nutty. In fact, all the muffins have the same texture which was so enticing to all.
Banana walnut – S$1.20: the ripe banana mash permeated in my mouth, sweet and longing. The walnut bits heightened the texture with crunches. I liked how she baked the muffins that yields a light crispy shroomy cap.(a brush of syrup in between the bakes?) The cake, again was moist and squashy.
Double-Chocolate – S$1.40: one of the popular. Chew on the cake, and you have to agree that she didn’t compromised on the quality of the chocolate. For a dollar more, you get to appreciate a moist and intense cocoa scent. The rich and velvety flavor lingers in my mouth, I’d know one was never enough. Look at how the cake bloomed? Who wouldn’t yearned over this mushroom cap?
Pumpkin – S$1.20: Nothing notable, except for its gratifying cake texture. There were wee pumpkin shreds in the cake, but it didn’t have a pronounced taste.
The prices have not been increased dramatically, given the soaring raw food prices over the years. Barely 20cents different (I used to get them at S$1.10 for some), I am more than happy to reward them for their baking effort and making my day a pleasant one.
If you are near any of their outlets, do pay them a visit while I hope the queue has shortened quite a bit by now as there were only 3-4 people in the line at Tanjong Pagar branch during lunch hours. Alternatively, you can choose to order online in advance and collect them 2-3days later, this should save your time. These muffins are hard to resist, indeed a double bonus for everyone – Delicious & tag with a Heartland price!
Singapore 082001
Singapore 570320
Tel: +65 9383 0413
Tel: +65 9326 3850
3 Yung Sheng Road
#02-108
Taman Jurong Market & Hawker Center
Singapore 618499
Tel: +65 9368 6104
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