Orh nee cake, long black, roasted almond latte ($21.45)!
Saturday cafe tea time — orh nee cake (yam paste cake) + long black + roasted almond latte $21.45. Peranakan-meets-third-wave dessert stop.
Saturday afternoon cafe with BB — orh nee cake + long black + roasted almond latte at $21.45. The Peranakan-meets-third-wave dessert stop after the morning sit-down lunch.
We ordered:
- Orh nee cake
- Long black coffee
- Roasted almond latte
Total: $21.45 for the trio.
Orh nee (烏泥, also written as 烏豆沙) is the Teochew dessert of sweetened yam paste — steamed yam blended down with sugar and lard until smooth, dense, and slightly sticky. Traditional orh nee is served warm with pumpkin and ginkgo on top; the modern cafe version reframes it as cake — yam paste mousse layered with sponge cake, often with coconut cream or pumpkin elements.
The cake at this cafe was the proper hybrid version. Layers of yam paste mousse alternating with light sponge cake, finished with a dust of coconut shavings on top. Slight purple-grey colour from the yam, with the unmistakable smoky-sweet yam flavour coming through against the cake base.
Texture was the test. The mousse was silky-smooth (the giveaway of properly blended yam paste, not chunky), the sponge cake provided structure without dominating, and the coconut topping added textural contrast. Each forkful brought yam, cake, and coconut together.
Long black was the proper Australian-style version — double ristretto over hot water, no milk. Strong coffee character, lower acidity than a straight espresso shot, with the bean’s depth coming through clean. The cafe’s house blend was likely a single-origin or carefully selected bean.
Roasted almond latte was the specialty drink. Almond milk paired with espresso, with the almonds toasted for deeper flavour. The nutty profile of the roasted almonds pairs well with espresso — different from oat milk or soy milk, with a slightly richer mouthfeel.
The combination of orh nee (Peranakan-leaning), long black (Australian-leaning), and almond latte (modern-cafe-leaning) covers the cafe’s full menu range. The cross-cultural blend is the kind of thing that defines Singapore’s third-wave cafe scene.
Overall: 4.1 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Solid cafe trio — would re-visit for the orh nee cake.
