Ply Baked Goods - An Intimate Cafe in Upper Thomson

Upper Thomson is filled with cafes and eateries, and most of them are found on the shophouses lining the main road. It is not surprising then, to discover that there are also far more discreet cafes situated behind the main road.

Ply Baked Goods is one such place. In fact, it started out as a bakery, and has only recently converted some of its shop space into a little cafe area.

Mainly because of its pedigree as a bakery, the pastries found here are all freshly made and done in house.

It is common these days for hipster cafes to outsource their cakes and pastries, but not Ply. The one thing that you can be assured of when you come here is the high quality of baked goods that are on offer.

Chocolate Fudge Rainbow Cake

I was particularly looking forward to try their humongous white rainbow cake, but it was not available on the day. Instead I was delighted to savor this rather inviting chocolate fudge version as an alternative. It was incredibly tall, and instead of cream and cheese, the rainbow colored sponges were separated by delicious layers of chocolate fudge.

While it might not look as pretty as a white rainbow cake, the flavors were actually more balanced as the slight bitterness from the cocoa helped to cut through some of the sugary elements of this cake. The texture of the cake was light and moist, and the seductive nature of chocolate made it easy to finish this cake very swiftly.

Lemon Meringue Tart

The classic lemon meringue tart certainly looked the part here. Immaculately crafted, the crust was beautifully baked to perfection. It was suitably flaky and had a nice crumbly texture, while the lemon curd was judged to perfection.

The meringue itself was not overly sweet and the torched elements were so intricately done that it looked like a work of art. The perfect balance of sweet and sour could not have been done better, and all things considered, this was just about one of the best lemon meringue pastries that I have had.

Clipper 1872 Earl Grey Tea

The minor downside to this cosy cafe is the beverage aspect. While Illy coffee is by no means an inferior coffee choice, I guess we have been too pampered on barista caliber coffee these days that somehow, it seemed a bit lacking to have just Illy. Nevertheless, there are far worse coffee choices out there.

For tea drinkers, there is a good selection of Clipper 1872 tea here. It was my first time savoring Clipper Tea, and it was pretty decent for my money. And I like the fact that they serve the tea in a big pot that can easily accommodate two persons at a go. The Clipper chinaware looked pretty too.

Superb Pastries

Besides sweets, they do serve some savory quiches for meals and they make it from scratch as well. Judging by the pastries above, I highly suspect that the quiches will be of the same quality too.

Despite the small space, and rather simple layout, Ply's cafe concept actually works for me. It is well hidden from the main road, and that probably means it should attract a smaller crowd than usual. Which is just fine by me.

For a quiet afternoon and coupled with some delicious pastries, this is quite the perfect place to chill and unwind. 

Ply Baked Goods
95 Soo Chow Walk