To celebrate the last day of school, Jamie, Pat and I went to cafehop again! This time we went to try out The Bakehouse by Carpenter and Cook which is at Alexandra Central Mall. They have another main bakery outlet selling pastries and vintage furniture at Lorong Kilat. But I prefer having main courses instead of desserts so I guess this outlet is more suitable!
Carpenter & Cook is a quaint and small café with a vintage feel, but a little too crammed. Luckily it wasn’t peak hour so we had seats. Although the café was not too big, there were some vintage decor that were quite interesting, like the typewriter and weighing scale. Even the utensil holder was not spared.
We also realized that the table was really unique, we can step on the pedal like an antique treadle sewing machine. We kept playing with it hahaha.
Carpenter & Cook has some delicious looking pastries on the display, but I’m just a little concerned about the hygiene of leaving the food out in the open without any cover..
Ginger Lemonade
Iced Latte (Probably around $5)
&
Strawberry Banana Smoothie ($7)
Pat commented that the smoothie was too bland. I tried a mouth, I felt that it had a stronger yoghurt taste instead of the fruit itself, so it depends on your preference! My latte was average, nothing too bad nor fascinating about it. Jamie like her drink though!
Linguini, mushroom, truffle cream sauce
$16
(Add bacon: +$4)
Both Pat and I ordered the truffle cream pasta. I’m probably attracted to anything with truffle anyway. And it didn’t disappoint at all. The truffle smell was very strong the moment it was served, and for every bite that I take as well.
The mushroom cream sauce was thick and flavorful with the truffle, and every mouth was just bursting with flavors. It’s probably the star of the day. I just wonder why do they not serve any meat for this pasta (I had to specially make a request), serving it with mushrooms seem to be a little too plain for my palate. But I definitely enjoyed my pasta a lot!
Grandma’s Italian Style Chicken Wings (3 piece)
$5.5
C&C should probably work on their food plating for this dish, because it really didn’t look a single bit appetizing to us when it was served. The chicken wing looks charred partially due to the herbs, but to be honest, it doesn’t look like a dish served in a popular café.
The unique taste of the herbs might have compensated a little for the looks, but overall it was a tad too salty and dry for me. The money might have been more well spent on desserts.
Salmon Wellington
$27
Christmas Special Menu
Jamie ordered this for her mains, do note that the waiting time is about 20 minutes.
Jamie loved the mushrooms but Pat & my first response after tasting it was “OMG so salty!” It’s either uneven cooking or we just accidentally mix with the sea salt sprinkled on top of the pastry. Anyway I only took a few bites, this dish seems ‘okay’ to me, but I might be biased because I was already super full by then, AND I’m not a fan of such pastries.
I had high hopes about Carpenter & Cook, but apart from the truffle pasta, everything else seems n nomral and the prices are a little on the expensive side. The menu is also rather limited. A great point is that the service is really good and the staff are really friendly and polite to us. Other than that, I wouldn’t want to return to the Bakehouse anytime soon, but if there’s a chance, I would love to try their main outlet selling desserts because I have heard people raving about their cakes!
P.S. Thanks Pat & Jamie for the surprise treat at the end of the day! You girls are too sweet! ♥
Bakehouse by Carpenter and Cook
#01-14 Alexandra Central
321 Alexandra Road
Singapore 159971
http://www.carpenterandcook.com/
