Becasse Bakery (Closed)

I have been meaning to try French inspired Becasse for the longest time. Last weekend, we spent a leisurely afternoon at its first outlet at Ion, a bakery as well as a full-service restaurant.Since Becasse was brought in by the folks behind Jones the Grocer, I had high expectations. Glad to report that I wasn’t disappointed! Overall, brunch at Becasse is decent, with more hits than misses. Brownie point for the reasonable prices!Generally vibes are good-I love the stylish setting. Service is great as well. The manager took time to approach every table to check if everything was ok.Croque Madame ($16) arrived with a bubbling mini casserole dish of truffle eggs. Sandwiched between the golden crusted pillow-y brioche are savory slices of smoked leg ham and Gruyere cheese. Soft flowy eggs are what we always need on the weekends! What’s best is the prominent truffle flavor. Dip a piece of sandwich into the eggs and savor the lovely combination of flavors. Do try to finish the eggs quickly, because it will be further cooked by the hot casserole dish and solidify.Hubby was rendezvous and wanted something more filling. Becasse’s Entrecote with frites ($24) was hearty and satisfying. Choose from Horseradish and Dijon butter, creamy mushroom sauce, black pepper sauce or Becasse secret sauce to accompany the moist, tender 300g Scotch steak. Fries were a tad too dry though.Salted Caramel and Chocolate Tart ($4.90) was delectable and very value for money. Because the salted caramel (black flakes) is concentrated in the centre, I recommended a little stirring with a fork before tucking in.If you like your lemon desserts face-scrunching sour, skip Becasse’s Lemon Curd Tart ($4.90). The lemon curd was too sweet and lacked that refreshing sourish punch. Tart base was not as buttery or crumbly as I’d preferred, leaning more towards doughy texture.For pictures and full review. pls visithttp://madamechewy.com/2014/08/30/becasse/ continue reading

It was a rare weekday morning that i get to hang out in town! Had some time to spare before i start my busy day and i wanted somewhere quiet so Becasse was my top choice since i was at Ion. It was a perfect quiet surroundingSaw egg royale on the menu and opt for that plus a flat white to complete my meal. It was a nice and quiet morning without the crowd, feels like i own the whole place. I was served a glass of iced water and my flat white while i wait for my food. I like the little heart coffee art (it's always nice to enjoy looking at one). The egg royale came looking really nice but first impression was the portion seems small. Maybe i am used to seeing 2 muffins topped with individual egg. Becasse version was everything one single muffin. Luckily it tasted good so it makes up for the small portion. And poached eggs were well done and i was so happy to see the oozing egg yolk full of goodness! Overall the food didn't disappoint but still a bit bothered by their not so big portion (to me). May come back to try their main course to compare. continue reading

The famed artisanal brand from Australia finally opened doors in Singapore at ION Orchard and Dempsey as a bakery and full-service restaurant. We had been anticipating its opening months back and better known as a 'bread lover' by my co-authors at mycc, it was no wonder that we made a special visit together to the bakery over the weekend!Under the family of Australia F&B brand, Jones the Grocer, can Becasse Bakery live up to its reputation?Eggs Royale (S$21/++)Served with smoked salmon, the poached eggs rested nicely atop some sautéed spinach and on a thick slice of pain de mie, which is similar to a pullman loaf or regular sandwich bread. It is a type of bread which is sweeter than most French breads but certainly palatable in this rendition with a nice crust. It was also thick enough to absorb the essence of Hollandaise sauce and egg yolk, yums!We felt that the free range eggs were slightly small and you could taste the quality of it, especially with the thin layer of egg white and a burst of that rich egg yolk as we pressed our knife through.Much could be said about the eggs as they should have been handled better. You could see from the above picture that a portion of the egg yolk was overcooked. Apart from the technique or rather control of timing in poaching the eggs, the chive-based Hollandaise sauce had a rich and creamy taste that packed a punch of flavours and left a tangy after-taste from the lemon juice. Personally, I enjoyed it a lot better than the pseudo cafes out there offer but our other mycc author, Swee, begs to differ and found it a touch too sour for her liking. It was however a general consensus that the smoked salmon was fresh and I especially enjoyed the generous portion size.Croque Madame (S$16/++)Recommended by the server as one of Becasse's signatures, the classic croque madame was served to perfection, almost. Let me explain why.We loved the beautifully toasted brioche that was used to make the croque-monsieur which meant grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Expect to find a generous portion of smoked leg ham and melted Gruyère cheese sandwiched in between and each mouthful was calories-laden yet highly pleasing to our palate. If you are after something savoury, this would surely fit the bill.The truffle baked free range egg however was quite a disappointment. While it carried a light tinge of fragrance from the truffle with each spoonful, the eggs were poorly handled as one of the two eggs was overcooked while the other was left slightly runny. Once again, the chef's egg-handling technique was being challenged.Crab & Avocado Sandwich (S$23/++)Divided between choosing the Becasse Wagyu Burger and this, I went for a lighter option and chose this beautiful Alaskan King Crab sandwich which had avocado, shallots, lemon mayonnaise and baby cos. It was just the perfect choice for a relaxing afternoon if you craved for a light yet palatable meal to awake your stomach. Surprisingly light, the first mouthful was a burst of freshness from the king crab and it was beautifully complemented by the lemon mayonnaise which gave it an extra tang. You could also taste the natural sweetness of the king crab and while I am usually very particular about the seafood, this surely left me very satisfied.The accompanying salad served on the side tasted fresh and crisp. The only complaint was that it could do with a little more balsamic vinegar dressing.While the mains passed the mark for us, we surely could not give the pastries a miss since Becasse is a bakery-restaurant afterall! Before we had the desserts, we had some drinks to 'cleanse' our taste buds.Dark chocolate and raspberry macaron milkshake (S$10/++)The milkshake was rich, creamy and generally it was within expectations. We liked the crunch bits within the milkshake and served with a macaron, it was surely slightly different from the norm. The raspberry macaron however failed to shine and somewhat led the downfall of the brunch meal.The shells of the macaron was too stiff and lacked the soft-melt-in-your-mouth on the inside. The filling was a sweet and viscous raspberry jam and truthfully, I did not enjoy it as much compared to some better ones tried. While it was regarded as macaron milkshake, it was really a dark chocolate milkshake with some raspberry sauce within and a raspberry jam macaron served on the side. We also felt that the colouring used on the macarons were too 'artificial' for our liking.Gateau Opera (S$7/++)When we asked for their signature cakes, we were actually informed that they do not actually have a 'signature' and the gentleman informed about some of the best seller cakes and his personal favourites. We did a quick Google search and found some matching answers.The classic Opera cake was ordered and the presentation was rather distasteful to say the least. Firstly, I would not expect to be served a smudged slice of cake. Secondly, the chocolate glaze that layered the top layer of the cake was uneven and looked dull. Lastly, there were candle-holes on the surface of the cake?!Moving on, the taste failed to impress. The almond sponge cake was too dense and tasted too dry. Separately, the ganache and coffee buttercream failed to shine. While we usually try not to waste food, on this occasion, we felt that it was more important not to waste calories and left the cake unfinished.Banana salted peanut brittle tart (S$5.50/++)Fortunately, there was some saving grace from this tart, which had a beautiful combination of flavours and textures. The two ladies on the table found the tart too sweet for their palate and it satisfied my sweet-tooth craving just fine. We enjoyed the crisp and crunchy peanut brittle atop a quality sweetened cream. Finely sliced bananas and a thin crust laid base to the tart. The customer service was okay, well, nothing to impressive to give a shout-out. The restaurant was located on the top-floor of ION Orchard and despite it being in the middle of the busy shoppers, it offered a relaxing and comfortable ambience. Definitely one of the nicer places to head for brunch or stop by for a rest after a busy day of shopping! We would return for the mains and the pastries (also available for takeaway, such as the croissants) but would probably give the cakes a miss.Due to the limited number of photo uploads, please visit http://www.makeyourcaloriescount.com/2013/12/sg-becasse-bakery-singapore-sumptuous.html for full review, complete with pictures. continue reading

One of the latest entrants to the F&B spread at ION Orchard, Becasse Bakery adds an additional notch of posh extravagance with it's array of French-inspired pastries and dishes.Located on the 4th floor of ION, Becasse Bakery's design just came off as contemporary chic - I remember feeling 'wow-ed' seeing how the monogrammed black white floor contrasted and yet fit with the white cubic design of the ION ceiling.The wow-factor reasserted itself again upon seeing the menu, albeit not in a very nice way. $18 for a quiche and $30 for a burger just sets off the warning alarms. A speculation which can only be confirmed by jumping right down into the food.Our meal featured 2 of the bakery's signature dishes:Becasse's namesake burger aims for the stars with a star-studded cast of exquisite ingredients. 2 100% Wagyu Beef patties sandwiching foie gras atop half melted Gruyere cheese simply makes for a very luxurious mouthful. And toplump up the meal for bigger eaters, some kipfler potatoes baked in their skins with duck-fat for additional flavour.Becasse Wagyu Burger - $27Verdict: I wish I could say that I was bowled over by the taste as much as I was reading the description off the menu, but the star of the burger just did not quite deliver - the Wagyu Beef patties were just too processed to let the quality beef shine. Redeeming qualities came in the form of the rich foie gras and the Gruyere, which have the burger both flavour and taste.I get pretty excited over something as sinful as duck fat but the kipflers just came across as pretty bland. Personally I'd still prefer the US potatoes for their taste. At the very least, they helped fill me a bit more!Assorted seafood (mainly crab and prawn) baked together with macaroni and cheeses, the Seafood & Macaroni Bake at Becasse Bakery was another dish off the menu we thought we had to try. Seafood & Macaroni Bake - $27Verdict: Fans of cheesy meals would probably snap this right up. The dish is best rates hot when each forkful brings up macaroni and seafood in equal proportions, trailing yummy, sticky threads of molten cheese. At $27 though, still a tad pricey for me.It's been a couple of days since my visit to Becasse, and my wallet's still stinging. Given how hungry I still felt after settling the bill, I'd probably steer clear of the main courses and maybe head back there for a Parisian tea over macarons and iced chocolate. continue reading