Baker & Cook: A bustling contemporary artisan bakery

Baker & Cook: A bustling contemporary artisan bakery

Detouring on a Friday evening to look for a lens hood to use for a photo-shoot on the weekend was pretty futile. But whilst in the Holland Village area, I remember seeing Baker & Cook along Chip Bee Gardens whilst passing through last week. Decided to pop in to see if they had Gluten-free bread to kick off my (mostly) wheat-free diet again, but apparently it’s only baked fresh on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The cafe was super quiet, playing old school R&B tracks and had a sign with their wi-fi password—THE perfect place to get some work done I thought, so I ordered myself a Quiche and a latte.

I was wondering why Baker & Cook would open till 10pm on a Friday night as it was nearly empty when I arrived before 7:30pm. Little did I know, as I sit here now at 9pm, the cafe is absolutely packed with loners like me on their computers, couples dating and large groups gathering. Almost overwhelming and making me somewhat anxious to leave the cafe. But I’m determined to finish this post!

I decided to try the Salmon Quiche as it’s one of my favourite baked items at another cafe. The slice of Salmon Quiche at $9.50 comes with a side of salad. I went with the Pear & Walnut salad, which was not a bad choice if I must say so myself.

Baker & Cook: Salmon Quiche with Pear & Walnut Salad

The Salmon Quiche was unfortunately rather dry and I’m not liking the peppers inside either, but that’s a personal flavour choice. The salmon is sliced too thinly so I can’t taste it at all amongst the pastry. The Quiche didn’t have a creamy core which was disappointing, but it comes with a nice side of salad.

I chose Pear & Walnut Salad and it’s drenched in dressing just the way I like it. Light & refreshing salad with crunchy walnuts adding a slightly bitter tone to offset the sweetness of the pears and tanginess of the vinaigrette. A good mix of flavours overall.

Baker & Cook: Latte (Large)

A large latte is $5.50 and a bit too weak for me. I prefer my lattes with a creamier body too.

The cafe is spacious with small 2-seater tables, round group tables and a large communal table that fits 12 pax comfortably or more if you don’t mind a squeeze. Communal tables are great for people like me who dine alone frequently so we don’t look like we’re hogging whole tables to ourselves and it makes it appear that we are dining with company. And it’s always adorable when a family sits down at the same communal table with a baby who smiles at you. Yes, that happened and it made my day seeing how happy the baby was.

There’s an alfresco seating area too, which would be and awesome place to chill out in the mornings for breakfast. The service crew are friendly and patient which is a bonus.

Baker & Cook: Salmon Quiche & Latte

And the designer in me realised their display box was upside down. Yes—I judge branding and displays. It’s an occupational hazard unfortunately.

Baker & Cook: Oops!

I’m curious how busy Baker & Cook is during brunch on weekends. I’ll have to pop by again to pick up a loaf of gluten-free bread and check out the crowd, but it definitely makes a great place to chill out and work. Plus, great music!—But I may be the only one who thinks 90’s R&B with the likes of TQ, Next, TLC and old school Usher is awesome. But I must say, songs like R.Kelly’s Bump & Grind and Next’s Too Close do seem a little inappropriate for a family cafe.

I ran out of the cafe when my coughing started to flare up again, else I would’ve enjoyed staying longer in the air-conditioned cafe drinking my cold latte and borrowing their wi-fi. Next on my to try list apart from the gluten-free bread is also their strawberry lamingtons. It’s so rare to see lamingtons in Singapore!

Baker & Cook by Global Baker Dean Brettschneider

Baker & Cook: website | facebook
Global Baker: website | facebook | twitter | instagram

Baker & Cook – Chip Bee Gardens
44 Jalan Merah Saga,
#01-56 Chip Bee Gardens,
Singapore 278116.
Tel: +65 6472 0998

Opening hours:
Sunday–Thursday: 7.30am to 8:00pm
Friday–Saturday: 7.30am to 10:00pm

*Baker & Cook should claim a Facebook URL. Just saying… social media job hazard.