Old Seng Choong’s New Pandan Chiffon Cake & Durian Milk Chocolate: Nice Or Not?

The pandan cake recipe was created by both Daniel and Susanne. According to the PR rep, "Daniel worked on its taste while Susanne focused on the texture". Prior to this, Susanne used to sell her home-baked cakes.

Photo: Susanne Ng/Instagram

What sets this pandan cake apart is the use of finely milled Japanese flour, extra fine Japanese sugar, and gula Melaka sourced from a supplier in Melaka. Coconut milk, virgin coconut oil, and pure pandan juice also go into each cake. It’s not surprising that the fine flour and extra fine sugar make for a finely crumbed cake — think a Japanese-style chiffon cake with a feathery lightness rather than the slightly damp pandan cake with larger air pockets you might find at the likes of Bengawan Solo. Everything about this cake is delicate — from the pandan flavour and fragrance, which is ethereally light, to its sweetness level and texture. The flavour and fragrance of the coconut oil and gula Melaka are practically undiscernible. Gotta say the colonial-chic box has Violet Oon vibes.

It’s a lovely cake if you like delicate Japanese-style chiffon cakes. If your preference is for the heartier traditional version with a stronger whiff of pandan, then stick to your favourite local purveyors.

Since Old Seng Choong shops are located in tourist-friendly spots like Marina Bay Sands and Changi Airport Terminal 2, these chocolate bars make good sense because they are excellent edible souvenirs for visitors to take home.

We are most intrigued by this creation since we haven’t seen anything like it elsewhere, but the flavour of the dried shrimps is so delicate, it’s overwhelmed by the sweetness of the Valrhona 32% Dulcey (caramelised white chocolate) that forms the base of this bar. The cereal flakes — the flat, oat-like kind that zi char restaurants use for cereal prawns — strewn throughout the bar are so fine they don’t add much texture either. Novel, but a bit of a let-down.

There’s a real harmony of flavours and textures in this, our favourite bar of the set. The toasty notes of the blond chocolate pair well with the buttery pastry crumbs and honeyed flavour of the freeze-dried pineapple bits studded throughout.

Freeze-dried bits of durian scattered throughout a smooth Valrhona 40% milk chocolate bar. It’s exactly how you might imagine it would taste — like sweet durian chocolate. Not our fave.

Like the durian bar, the same milk chocolate is flecked with freeze-dried jackfruit bits. It’s surprisingly pleasant as the sweet-pungent jackfruit somehow complements the flavour of the chocolate. As far as novelty chocolates go, this one is a nice surprise.

These sleekly packaged chocs make good gifts for visitors and are pleasant enough to eat, but we won't be stocking up on them to binge on while social distancing at home anytime soon.

The pandan chiffon cake & chocolates are available at all Old Seng Choong outlets, including #01-48 The Central @ Clarke Quay, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street. S059817. Tel: 6224-0915. Open daily 11am-10pm. Or buy online at www.oldsengchoong.com.