So yesterday, I journeyed to the west to try another up and coming castella cake shop, which will be officially launched from tomorrow onwards, at Bukit Panjang Plaza (14 July 2017). First launched in Malaysia, their cakes have already sold 100,000 boxes over 14 outlets within a span of 3months. Come August, Ah Mah will also open stores in China, Thailand and Australia.
But, Singapore first. :)
Before I start gushing about the cakes, if Bukit Panjang is too far, you guys don't have to worry that you mayn't get a chance to taste Ah Mah's cakes.
With a Castella cake trend that's not going to die down anytime soon, another Ah Mah branch is set to open doors in Harbourfront's Vivocity from 20 July. Yes, just next week, it'll be much closer to the central crowd!
So some of you might ask: why are castella cakes so popular now ah? Here's my own reasoning.
For me, I seriously admire shops who dare to go all traditional, especially in an age that's all about creativity, attractiveness and colours. But beyond that superficiality, people are still looking for the true #goodvibes. That's why traditional foods like these are tenacious in nature. When you eat them, you're filled with good memories of the good old days. Even if you don't have memories of the 'good old days' per se, you'll get a glimpse into the 'good ol' past and what it used to taste like back in those days'.
And that's why one reason why I thought the cakes here tasted good was because of its gu zao wei taste (lit. filled with traditional taste / taste of sentiment (古早味 = 怀念的味道)).
A taste of sentiment - now, it's really hard to beat that touch of romance and depth of character, right?
Another reason I like their cakes is because the simpler the food looks, the harder it is to actually perfect it. And I thought they did their cakes extremely well; due to the extreme fluffiness and softness of Ah Mah's version of the castella cake.
(You think you can remake at home? You try. haha!)
Castella cakes (Kasutera in Japanese) are said to have originated in Japan. It actually has a supposedly longer history than that, and it was also said that the cake was initially from Portugal, who calls it the Pao De Lo (a.k.a sponge cake). I don't know why it sounds so Singaporean, though.
'Uncle, give me a Pao De Lo, tabao!'
Lol. Okay, never mind. Not funny. Let's look at some pictures.
Similar as Le Castella (which caused a recent uproar and snaking queues at Tampines One), Ah Mah Homemade Cake offer two flavours (Original and Cheese) in-store now.
All their cakes are baked and sliced on-site. The Original and Cheese costs $8 and $11 respectively.
Made purely with milk, eggs and quality flour, there is no added water, preservatives and colourings. The taste is an absolutely healthy one, especially the Original cake. I love the savory one better, because it offers a little more punch without the guilt, but not to the extent of it feeling jelat (Singaporean slang for flavour overdose). So, cheese it is for me.
And I also got a chance to see how Ah Mah's head chef - Jim Wong - actually prepare the batter for the cake.
Each batch, filled with more than 10 years baking experience and peppered with his tender loving care as key ingredients, is baked for 80 minutes.
To ensure absolute freshness and maintenance of quality, Ah Mah Homemade Cake bakes its cakes daily and discards all cakes after 12 hours if they are not consumed.
Here's Head Chef Jim Wong bringing out the freshly baked cake from the oven.
Another chef in earlier prep of readying the baked cakes.
Making sure each cake is sliced to accuracy and the perfect size to fit into the boxes.
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| Branding tool used on the readied cakes for takeaway. |
The cheese one is my favourite!
To provide more variety to the crowd, another 1 new flavour (Chicken floss) is on the way, to be launched in stores sometime late August, next month!
So do keep a lookout for that too!
Website / Facebook: www.facebook.com/iloveahmahsg
Bukit Panjang Plaza Branch (open from 14 July 2017)
Location: 1 Jelebu Road, #01-18, Singapore 677743
Hours: 10am to 10pm daily
Vivocity Branch (open from 20 July 2017)
Location: 1 Harbourfront Walk, #B2-K7 Singapore 098585
Hours: 10am to 10pm daily
