Shares Charmaine: “I’ve always joked about opening a cafe — especially after [online biz]  Bakeaholic took off. But now it’s actually happening, which still feels so crazy to me!”  She secured the lease to two ground floor units at The Brooks ll at the end of September this year, just before flying off to Hong Kong with her mother Angeli to visit Benz. “One of the reasons I chose this location is because my neighbourhood doesn’t really have a cafe,” she adds. 

Previously, Charmaine and Angeli had been separated from Benz for almost 10 months. Charmaine and her mother were stuck in Singapore due to the April circuit breaker, while Benz was juggling several drama, film and commercial projects in mainland China and Hong Kong for four months and couldn’t visit them easily because of the lengthy quarantine measures. 

“COVID-19 messed up everything for the whole world, says 70-year-old Benz, in a mix of Mandarin and Cantonese. “I felt very helpless, especially since we are such a close-knit family.” We can certainly tell, from how he teases and jokes with Charmaine during our chat and photoshoot. “All we could do during that period was video-call each other whenever I had free time between my shoots.” 

When Charmaine and Angeli finally made it back to Hong Kong on September 30, Benz had to fly off again almost immediately due to his work schedule. “We had to wait another month before we could see him again,” says Charmaine. She and Angeli served their stay-home notice during that time. “One of the first things we did as a family when my dad came back was to — of course — go for yum cha (dim sum)!” 

Benz has finally gotten a break in between his shoots, so he's back in SG to spend as much time with his family as possible, till he’s called back to Hong Kong again. “I’m very free now!” says Benz with a laugh, adding that he hopes to enjoy this time as much as possible.

Charmaine chimes in: “This time is especially precious now, as it’s going to be so much harder to fly back and forth between the two countries with the current situation.” Now that the SG-Hong Kong travel bubble has burst, it would be difficult to sync up their schedules, especially since she’d be busy with her cafe and won’t have the luxury of going on short visits like last time, says Charmaine. 

“I’m really happy she’s found something she’s passionate about,” says Benz as he smiles at Charmaine. Even when they were separated, he’d ask her every day about the progress of her online baking biz. “I’m so glad he finally got the chance to taste my bakes in Hong Kong!” chirps Charmaine. “To be honest, he’s the one who encouraged me to open a cafe. And now, here we are!” 

Charmaine is the owner and founder of Bakeaholic — she had to take a “big loan” from her parents in order to fund the cafe works, and she is determined to pay them back as soon as possible. “I owe a huge debt to my parents — not just for the money, but for all their unconditional support. They’ve been helping out so much in getting the cafe up and running too — my partner and I will definitely pay them back for the investments and the love they’ve given us.”

On how he feels about his daughter taking a rather unconventional path, Benz says with a wave of the hand: “Life is short. If you find the chance to do something, do it. A lot of things are planned by God.” 

Angeli chimes in: “Charmaine has been so busy these past few days. We can’t wait to see how the cafe grows after the opening!” 

One of Charmaine’s main priorities in Hong Kong was spending as much time as she could with her dad and her maternal grandfather who’s also based there — this included throwing a surprise birthday party for Benz in November. 

However, the trip wasn’t as relaxing as it might seem. “My Hong Kong return was a roller coaster ride,” quips Charmaine. Besides having to settle some unexpected issues in Hong Kong, she also spent a good portion of the time doing R&D for her cafe menu — all of which took time away from her catching up with family and friends. “But that’s just the reality of being a start-up owner.”

“I was out of Singapore for a good portion of the cafe renovations, and controlling things from overseas is such a huge challenge!” says Charmaine. There were a couple of setbacks with interior works, which she couldn’t stop stressing about — especially since she had her heart set on opening the cafe before Christmas. “Sometimes, I wished I could just meet everyone in person to avoid miscommunication and delegate tasks properly. Looking back now, it’s crazy how I managed to stay sane!” she laughs. 

Though Charmaine is the owner of Bakeaholic, she isn’t alone in her venture — a long-time family friend, 20-year-old Ng Xuan Xin, is her “cafe partner”, assisting her with the business operations. 

“Xuan Xin helps me with the financials and the coffee brewing — that’s the one thing I can’t contribute to — while I make the main creative decisions.”

Aside from Xuan Xin, the third person in Charmaine’s team is her chef (he prefers to remain anonymous, but Charmaine has known him for “pretty much forever”). Charmaine describes how she consults him on the more creative menu items she has in mind, and how he works to bring them to life.

As Xuan Xin will have university and internship commitments, Charmaine will be spending more time on-site at the cafe. “I’m currently on the lookout for part-timers, whether in the kitchen or behind the counter — I would love to see the Bakeaholic team grow!”

After signing the lease at the end of September, Charmaine’s interior design team from YWA Studio rushed to complete the cafe plans and renovation prep from scratch — starting on renovation works just 10 days later as they sped towards a mid-December opening target. 

“I really wanted to open the cafe before Christmas, and it’s only thanks to them that I was able to pull this off!” says Charmaine as she observes the contractors adjust the cafe’s lighting. “It’s been an insane two weeks! I think I’ve slept an average of four hours a night, trying to put everything together for this home stretch.” 

Compared to the progress photos that Charmaine posted on her personal Instagram just a few days ago, the progress is indeed astonishing — the chaotic, rubble-strewn cafe space has been transformed into a neat minimalist chic cafe, complete with marble countertops and pastel murals.

Beyond her family, Charmaine has been receiving a “tremendous amount of love and support” from TVB celeb friends in Hong Kong. “Once our Hong Kong friends found out about Charmaine’s venture, they started calling with their congratulations — some even went on IG to share about her cafe,” says Angeli. Pictured here is Benz with a bunch of HK stars, including actor Ben Wong (in white T-shirt in middle) plus host Maria Leitao (in black on the left). 

As the Hong Kong-SG bubble was still in talks then, a couple of their friends started planning for a possible trip to Singapore for the cafe’s grand opening — but those plans have since been put on ice, says Charmaine. 

“I’m so, so disappointed, honestly! I was looking forward to everyone being here. Especially my grandfather, who has been one of my biggest supporters.” Some of them still intend to show their support on the opening day — by video calling in from Hong Kong when Charmaine is at the cafe.

When asked how he felt about the travel bubble bursting, Benz shrugs. “I have no feelings, really. Certain things are just the will of God. You need to go with the flow.”

Charmaine cuts in with a laugh, “You see! He’s so chill. Nothing fazes him. That’s good in a way — I need that pillar of calm especially in crazy times like this!”

As Charmaine goes full-time at Bakeaholic, she intends to helm the baking and cooking duties, with the help of her chef. She describes the lead up to the opening as “super nerve-wracking.” “I really, really hope everything will work out well!” Charmaine still intends to fulfill online orders, though sales will be limited until she gets the cafe off the ground. 

On her plans for the future, Charmaine has set her sights on devoting her time to Cafe Bakeaholic. She was initially slated to complete grad school in the UK, but she doesn’t intend to do so in the near future — instead choosing to focus on the progress of her cafe. 

On his daughter as a biz owner, Benz says with a laugh, “I didn’t expect that she could handle and organise so many things on her own!” He adds with more clarity: “When you’re older, you usually won’t have the drive to be an entrepreneur. So why not take the chance to do it now, when you are young and have all the energy that you need?”

Benz won’t be playing an active role in the biz, instead taking more of an “advisor role” to Charmaine as she helms her cafe. However, you might see him pop by from time to time, for as long as he is still in Singapore.

“My dad has plans to catch up with several of his friends at the cafe,” says Charmaine as she leans on his shoulder. “If you’re lucky, you might catch him — and maybe even get a photo with him, if you ask!” 

Cafe Bakeaholic is split into two sections: The first has the gold-trimmed glass and marble counters where customers will place their orders, while the second has the kitchen entryway and a cute lightbulb-framed photo-taking spot (“very millennial, I know,” laughs Charmaine). Pastel murals adorn the walls. 

The whole space is warm and inviting — we especially love the ribbon-like light suspended over the first section of the cafe. Charmaine was inspired by her travels to Japan and Korea. “I’m a huge fan of aesthetically pleasing things, and I’ve always had crazy ideas. I guess this space is where I’ve poured in all my creative energies at one go!”

Cafe Bakeaholic’s menu is extensive: Charmaine intends to offer a rotating menu of daily bakes, savoury dishes, a tea-focused line-up of drinks, and seasonal specials. Charmaine and her chef will be making almost everything on the menu in-house from the cafe kitchen, which is outfitted with towering commercial ovens and chillers. 

“Just like with Bakeaholic, I still insist on fresh, low sugar — but still yummy — bakes made with no preservatives,” says Charmaine. “A lot of effort goes into our food and drinks, so I hope our customers will be able to taste that!” 

When asked what his favorite item is, Benz smiles slyly and responds, “All of them!” Her dad will really eat everything and anything she bakes, confirms Charmaine. “But he gives me honest feedback on what he thinks can be improved for each one. Everything here is Benz-approved!” 

One of her signature bakes from her online biz Bakeaholic were the lemon madeleines, and Charmaine is serving them at the cafe — with a twist. “I love the nutty earthiness of genmaicha (Japanese roasted rice tea), and  I’ve never seen that flavour in a madeleine before.”

The Genmai-Matcha Madeleines are made with Bakeaholic’s special matcha sourced from overseas, which has mulberry properties that give it a boost in antioxidants (it doesn’t affect the taste). Each Madeleine is soft and buttery, with a pleasant natural sweetness that’s offset with a hint of roastiness from the genmaicha. Very moreish.

Charmaine still intends to offer other flavors, like the original Lemon Madeleines and her previously seasonal Red Velvet Madeleine that comes with a shot of cream cheese.

Bagels are something that lies close to Charmaine’s heart. “My grandmother is a huge fan of bagels — she fell in love with them ever since she tried them in New York.” All the bagels are rolled by hand in the Bakeaholic kitchen, which kinda explains their rather imperfect look. The plump Cranberry Walnut Bagel has a shiny crust, along with a dense chewy interior specked with sweet cranberries and crunchy walnuts. A decent bagel. 

We paired our bagels with Charmaine’s homemade trio of jams. These will also be bottled and retailed at the cafe for purchase. As a self-professed “matcha-holic”, Charmaine aimed to make her own matcha jam, taking what she loved about the matcha jams she tried in Korea and adding adjustments. Unlike most bottled matcha jams that are rather paste-like, Bakeaholic's Matcha Jam is runnier, with a sticky consistency. It’s also less sweet, with an intense matcha bitterness.

The Apple Cinnamon Jam is our fave, surprisingly. The chunky jam looks unassuming, but is packed with creamy stewed apples that are sweet and perfumed with cinnamon. “We cook it down slowly to get it this thick — no cornstarch used,” says Charmaine. 

The Blueberry Lemon is good too, with a generous amount of lemon zest adding a brightness to the rich, jammy berries.

A variation of Charmaine’s Banana Walnut Loaf that we tried previously, the Lemon Blueberry Loaf has a tight crumb that’s packed with citrus flavour, with the blueberries adding a pop of pleasant tartness and juiciness. We caught Benz swiping a slice in the middle of the photoshoot. 

Beyond bakes, Charmaine will have a menu of savoury dishes at the cafe as well. Inspired by Charmaine’s go-to bagel order back when she was studying in Brighton, the Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Bagel makes for a light meal. The fragrant chives mixed into the cream cheese is a nice touch.

At first glance, the Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad looks rather plain. But the salad is surprisingly yummy — crisp overnight-marinated cauliflowers, a zesty well-balanced dressing, and creamy chickpeas to round it off.

These two seasonal drinks are Bakeaholic’s Christmas specials, and will be available only in December. “I wanted some items to be more experiential, and so we came up with this,” says Charmaine. “This one was a headache to perfect!”

A chocolate orb is dropped into an empty glass, before steaming milk is streamed over it. Slowly, the orbs melt and crack to release either matcha or cocoa powder. We prefer the cocoa one — creamy, Christmassy and not too sweet. As you stir it with a spoon, the chocolatey hit become more

Charmaine’s popular Mochi Monsters will make a return — sea salt brookies (brownie-cookie) stuffed with sweet, chewy mochi. 

Sugar and Cinnamon Donuts will be available at the cafe.

Three flavours of her Japanese-style Pull Apart Milk Buns (her mum’s favourite) will be on offer: Original, Raisin and Matcha Lava.

Cafe Bakeaholic is at #01-12/13 The Brooks ll, 25 Springside Green . Open daily from 10am to 10pm. https://www.instagram.com/bakeaholic_sg/

Photos: Aik Chen & Charmaine Hui/ 8 Days

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