Tracy T.
Yelp
After having tried every cake Daan Go has to offer and having dabbled with several cakes from Butter Baker and Bloom Cafe, my family was interested in trying something new, something.. different.
So on the basis that the chocolate-covered almonds and hazelnuts that I've once had from here were *decent*, I took a chance on Cho-kwok-lat for their cakes and I have to say, on behalf of feedback from my ENTIRE family, our experience with Cho-kwok-lat was utterly disappointing and entirely off-putting.
Let's start with the one positive - I appreciated the valiant effort of combining the unique flavours of strawberry and black sesame. The pairing was surprisingly delightful as the two bold flavours competed and contrasted each other but neither was overpowered by the other. The black sesame chantilly was flavourful and rich while the caramelized biscuit remained cruchy and added a nice textural complement to the rest of the cake. Unfortunately though, the compliments stop here.
Now onto the multitude of reasons why I have decided to give a scathing one star rating. First of all, I did not feel that the owner upheld professional mannerisms or prioritized customer service. After placing and paying for my online order outlining all details of my pickup date and time, I received a call ~20mins later from Chris asking me to verbally repeat the specifics of my order. Why? I have absolutely no idea. Seems rather redundant and unnecessary. Then, on my pickup date, I called in at 3pm to see if I could pick up my order a little earlier than my scheduled time (4pm). Chris asked me to confirm that my order was for 2pm. I was confused if he had someone else's order mixed with mine and told him that I'm pretty sure my order was for 4pm but he replied with heavy attitude in his voice that it was already ready since my order was for 2pm.. ok.. I checked my online receipt afterwards. It was for 4pm.
Second of all, the overall execution of the cake was lackluster and downright shameful. When their tagline is that they "believe every little thing counts", I strongly feel that they should take this cake back to the test kitchen and revise it because he shouldn't sell it the way it is right now for nearly $50. The structural integrity of the cake was poorly designed, falling apart instantly on impact of the first cut. The black sesame chiffon that circled the outside of the cake was as dry as cardboard and literally peeled away from the rest of the cake as soon as you broke the white chocolate that was holding it together. It was a freestanding sheet of chiffon that had no cream, no sauce, no nothing. It was bland, dry, and uninspiring. The strawberries were also a huge red flag, unfresh and unpresentable. I can't believe that anyone who calls themself a baker would sell a cake using unripe and bruised fruit. With so many visible flaws on the strawberries ontop, I can't even begin to imagine what quality of strawberries was used for the filling inside...
It's really so rare that a highly Yelp-rated bakery would leave such a bitter taste in my mouth, but I assert that my experience here has left me unsatisfied and frankly, irked. I'm not sure if the pastries are what garners the praise but I will most certainly not order another cake from here again.