For full review and pictures, please visit http://makeyourcaloriescount.blogspot.sg/2012/09/sg-torte.html

Hidden in a corner of SCWO (Singapore Council of Women's Organisations) at Waterloo Street, we were surprised to find this secret hideout almost full. We managed to occupy the last table available at about 8ish on a Friday night. Most were there for their rather affordable mains and of course, the torte for which their cafe is named after.

Creme Caramel with Gula Melaka ($4.50)

Afraid that we would get too jelat with just the chocolate torte and after finishing a rather fiery dinner, we decided to complement it with this chilled creme caramel, hoping to douse our tongues that were on fire. I was rather alarmed to see it being served in such small portion and it looked rather ready-made. As you can see, it's just the pudding at the bottom drizzled with gula melaka at the top. A rather fuss-free serving method I suppose.

There wasn't a tinge of caramel taste in it, unlike the traditional kind which would have a layer of caramel poured into the base before adding the custard. The caramel sauce on top was also substituted with gula melaka. The custard was a tad hard (imagine the agar kind of hardness) and the gula melaka lacked its coconut fragrance. The thick sauce became overly sweet for our liking and it would have been better if it wasn't so dense. It felt like thick sugar syrup drizzled over hardened custard pudding.

Verdict: 6.0/10

Chocolate Torte ($4.50)

Picture was taken immediately when served and well, I was slightly disappointed to see the presentation and the chef was even there to say the icecream had slipped off. I was shocked that the chef told us as a matter-of-fact that the ice cream had slipped and simply placed it on our table after that, serving the next table the exact same dessert with the ice cream intact. The ice cream was also very melted, and as we peered over the next table, it looked almost the same.

I shall not be biased, so beyond the presentation, I was actually quite interested to find out what a torte tastes like. Digging into the rich chocolate portion, it was extremely smooth and tasted just like a slightly harder version of pudding. It wasn't served warm as what we'd expected but I supposed the chilled version goes better with the smooth velvet texture of the torte. It was rich, yet not overpowering nor overly sweet, and didn't have the bitter taste of dark chocolates. It won me, the non chocolate lover, over and I thought this was one of the rare chocolate desserts that I actually enjoyed. It really depends though, as my friends thought it was a little too rich for their liking. I thought it went really well with the ice cream, though it would have been better if the ice cream wasn't on the verge of becoming milk shake right upon serving. It was very soft throughout, probably been placed outside for quite a while before it reached our table, or the fridge wasn't working very well.

Verdict: 8.0/10

A very small seating area, so go there either very early or rather late in order to get seats (their last order for dinner is at 8.30pm though). It's more suitable for small gatherings as the tables were all rather small and cramped. Longer benches could take about maximum 6 persons, but they only had 2 of that I think.

I'd probably return if I have chocolate cravings since this is a rare place where I like the way it was prepared. Service wise, I thought they weren't quite up to it as we were quite lost with their cues. After asking us to take a seat when we wanted to have a look at the menu inside and order immediately, they took quite a while to reach us and even the payment took quite a while. I'm still quite anal about the attitude towards the messed up presentation of the torte too, but taste wise, I would still recommend that you give their torte a shot.

They have rather different opening hours too and I've tried going there to a closed shop, so check out their opening hours before you head there!

Do visit http://omgsohungry.wordpress.com for more!

Been wanting to try this place because I heard about the affordable yet tasty mains here and the rich, dense torte. Met the bf for lunch near his workplace, so took a stroll down from Bras Basah MRT to the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations building.

So how does it work? Mains cost $10 for lunch, $13 for dinner. The mains change, according to what the chef feels like preparing. There are some standard things on the menu, such as buffalo wings, the desserts, the drinks. They offer quite a variety of beers as well.



The chef was the only guy running the place today - taking orders, setting tables, clearing tables, plating food, handling the bills. So he was a bit impatient, but all's good. Doesn't this look yum!



It was well-worth $10. Beef goulash with arborio rice. I am now a fan of this grain. It was my first time eating it and it is so creamy and chewy! It's a short grained rice that's usually used for risottos because it has a higher starch content, and absorbs flavours from the stock very well. Beef was tender and well-cooked. I loved how my rice soaked up every bit of that goulash.



Torte ($3 without ice-cream, $4.50 with ice-cream). Was trying to snap a photo of this and the scoop of ice-cream slid off the very smooth torte top hahaha. It tasted as smooth as it behaved. Very very dense and chocolate-y!!! Love how the chocolate is dark chocolate, which doesn't make it overwhelming/ too gelat even if you eat it by yourself. It's a very small piece though! Try this!!! I think it's the best dessert here.



Didn't think that you would find such food in the midst of town? Think again! The seating's all outdoors, so be prepared if you choose to go there on a sweltering hot day.

Atmosphere: unpretentious, young crowd. All seating was alfresco and the restaurant is small, I think it seats an absolute maximum of ~25-30 people. Pet-friendly, but no one brought their pets out in the sweltering heat that Sunday afternoon. We were plied with lots of cold water. There were only three main courses on the menu and I picked the Basa fish, and my friend picked the English breakfast. Both were yummy-- the delicious Basa fish was soft, put up no resistance at being cut, melted in the mouth, and came with chips, vegetables and tartar sauce, and the English breakfast had small sausages, eggs and vegetables, and more tasty stuff that I can't remember. We tried the Belgian raspberry beer, and the raspberry taste was very strong and sweet, but the alcohol content was very light (2.5%) and ideal with fish and chips. I think I'd try the pear cider next time. There was also a vegan brownie with ice cream which both of us couldn't finish. The chef was friendly and asked us how we were! We were stuffed and happy. Burp.