Caramel Cafe

Caramel is located in the building I'm interning at, so sadly, if you were to walk past the building, you probably won't notice it from the outside. The whole building is so blah, so I'm not surprised.

However, if you do manage to find this gem, goody on you! It's to die for. Parts quaint, eclectic, chic and homey, the decor is almost paradoxical. But it works! Tall windows, mismatched furniture and cutlery, bright yellow walls - you can feel your mood instantly brighten as you step in.

Service was lovely too. With the menu changing everyday, they had no printed menus to distribute. Instead, the day's menu was written on a relatively small board near the counter. My fellow intern and I were sitting further in, so instead of asking us to go to the board, the waiter (I believe he's one of the owners. How owners and servers treat you are very very different most of the time!) recited the menu flawlessly (consisting of ten items) to us.

Yes, ten items might not seem like a whole lot, but it only consisted of the mains. They have a drinks menu, and a plenitude of the cutest desserts. Adorable cupcakes and creme brulee! That's all I remember actually, though, I do remember there being much more.

Anyhow, fellow intern ordered a bacon and potato spaghetti olio aglio, and I order a smoked salmon salad with pesto. Each main costs $8.50. The portions were reasonable, though I doubt it would really satisfy anyone really hungry, i.e. a man. I was well sated, however.

They also serve a complimentary cup of hot lemongrass tea. Very tasty. I absolutely love how all their teacups, plates etc. are all different! It's so LOVELY I feel like squealing.

Oh, I probably should have mentioned this in the front, but Caramel Cafe is joint with Hairloom Salon. They actually take up the same space, but are separated well. Hairloom is the opposite of Caramel, in that it is more of a stark chic with concrete floors. Don't worry, I found the concept odd when I first heard about it, but somehow, the whole place just WORKS.

While paying the bill (no service charge, how much more awesome can a place get?!), I couldn't resist a creme brulee. So I got one to go, and then left it in the office fridge for later. It was blowtorched right in front of me. Heh, I just found that cool.

Anyhow, the place is open from noon to eight on Mondays to Thursday, and noon to ten Fridays and Saturdays. They are closed on Sundays.

You can check out their blog for more info: hairloomandcaramel.blogspot.com

They have pictures of cupcakes! Too adorable.

To sum up a really messy review, this place is a must-try (wah, I sound SO singaporean). In fact, I'm going back tomorrow! :D

Hairloom and Caramel is a pretty, bright, light and whimsical cafe located in the rather incongruous and slightly grotty Shaw Towers. Having seen pictures of their delicate cupcakes on their blog, I simply had to try them in my search for the island's best cupcakes.

The strawberry cream cheese cupcake comprises a vanilla cupcake topped with strawberry flavoured cream cheese frosting. I liked the buttery, fragrant vanilla flavour and the denser cake texture as opposed to a lighter sponge. The frosting was light and slightly grainy, with just the right balance of sour and sweet. This one was a real treat and favourite among my colleagues for its homemade, simple flavours.

The carrot cupcake was also outstanding, with its generous rough slivers of grated carrot and a beautiful cinnamon-y fragrance and moist, crumbly interior. A definite must try for all carrot cake lovers!

And for fans of salted caramel, you will love the chocolate caramel which is a dense vanilla cupcake topped with a layer of salted caramel followed by a layer of rich, slightly dark chocolate. Sweet, salty, sticky, this is one rich and unique tasting cupcake that will linger on your palate's memory...

While I was there, they had also just baked a fresh batch of bread and butter pudding which looked deliciously enticing. If the cupcakes are anything to go by, the rest of the menu is certainly worth a try.

For now, Hairloom and Caramel's cupcakes take the cake!

Thks for the reviews. I finally came here, for the cupcakes? or desserts? Yeah, i would always want to try out new establishments.
Bascially this is a cafe cum hairloom where u can style ur hair n den have a cuppa coffee, light meals and desserts. gOOD PLACE TO CHILL OUT.
I came here on a fri afternoon(they r closing on the 9th to - unsure of the date). They are several cute mini little cupcakes on display n some desserts such as creme brulee and tiramisu. I had no idea of wad to buy as they r jus too many choices. The friendly guy recommended me the tiramisu but i was not interested as i have high expectations of a good tiramisu thus he choose the chocolate walnut tart. Again, im not into anything nutty. But, he suggested picking out every single walnuts on top of the tart for me n dizzle caramel sauce instead. OMG, that's great. I appreciate that.

The chocolate walnut tart has no walnut now but drizzed with caramel sauce. It taste delicious when u microwave it where the caramel sauce would flow and when u eat it with the choc itself, it's yummy.
I may b back to try out the cupcakes when they have reopened their cafe.