Crackle Crème

Crackle Creme is a one man operated dessert shop that is located in Chinatown, serving creme brûlée and waffles. I only know of Crackle Creme because a few months ago, photos from the dessert shop were popping up on my Instagram feed almost every day! I was more interested in trying their waffles than the creme brûlée though. So after finishing up at The Fish Counter with C'est la vie a Maggi, we decided to make a dessert stop and headed to Crackle Creme.

The interior of Crackle Creme looks clean, tidy as well as simple, and the space is properly maximized. There are seating arrangements along the walls and a few seats outside of the shop. During our visit in the middle of the afternoon, the shop was not busy so fortunately we had no issues grabbing a seat. If the shop is full however, Crackle Creme offers creme brûlée to go in disposable tin cups.

On our visit, the flavours of creme brûlée included Bailey's, Madagascar Vanilla Bean, Cream of Earl Grey, Salted Caramel, Black Sesame, Pandan Coconut and Durian. In addition, there was some sort of event(?) that the shop created more flavours for which included Spiced Pumpkin Pie, Matcha Green Tea, Ferrero Rocher, Honey Lavender, Lemon Basil, Guinness Espresso, Maple Topped with Walnuts, Bourbon Butter and Chai Tea. Basically, there is a large variety of flavours available! 

Asides from the creme brûlée, there are housemade liege waffles, ice cream, caffeinated drinks and soda floats. We ended up ordering a couple of creme brûlées and a waffle with ice cream to share. Both the creme brûlée along with the waffles are torched/pressed to order.

The creme brûlées are served on a plate along with two small spoons. I really like the spoons because they are quality pieces, rather than thin and flimsy ones which bug me because I am heavy handed. Also, Crackle Creme has a stamp card system! I am a big fan of those. As for creme brûlées, both have a nice hard and brittle top which contrasts with the soft custard.

DURIAN CREME BRULEE ($5.00).

Maggi ordered the creme brûlée and of course went for the South Asian flavours. Beginning with the durian, the custard tastes creamy, light and fluffy, along with a rich strong flavour. The flavour of the durian is very apparent and the custard does not taste too sweet. Furthermore, I know some people prefer fridge cold custard to contrast with the warm and hard caramel, but I personally prefer luke warm or room temperature custards.

PANDAN COCONUT CREME BRULEE ($5.00).

As for her second choice, it is the pandan coconut. I have never had pandan coconut before and it was described as the "Asian vanilla bean" by the owner. The custard tastes creamy and I can taste a coconut flavour, but it sort of reminded of me of a banana as well.

LIEGE WAFFLE ($3.75) + EARL GREY ICE CREAM ($1.50).

Served warm and fresh off the press, is the liege waffle. The waffle tastes doughy and too heavy on the yeast. In addition, the waffle tastes oddly salty and the exterior is very dry as well as chewy. The waffle is not nicely caramelized too. I could not help but think, why not serve a different kind of waffle? Perhaps a more simple one such as a buttermilk. As for the housemade ice cream, this is the smallest scoop I have ever seen. Why not serve double the portion for twice the price? The ice cream has an okay earl grey flavour but I am not a fan of the leaves(?) because there are bits throughout the ice cream which resemble flour.

TOTAL: $17.10.

After we finished our desserts, we noticed a promotion which included one waffle and two scoops of salted caramel ice cream for only $0.25 more than what we paid. What is the point of having a promotion if no one is going to mention it? Overall, both of the creme brûlées we ordered have the fruits' natural flavour and the flavours are pretty rich. Crackle Creme is worth trying for those who are big on creme brûlée and are looking for unique flavours.

POSITIVES
- Large variety of creme brûlée
- Housemade and unique flavours

NEGATIVES
- Limited seats
- Horrible waffle (0/5)
- Very small ice cream scoop

Food: 3/5
Service: N/A