Cafe Lilac is gone, but not entirely gone.
The Crawford Lane café by Whisking Bakes has been rebranded into Sonder Cafe and Bakery, and if you had visited Cafe Lilac before for its taro drinks and cakes, you would still recognise some of that DNA here.
(Note: not to be confused with Sonder at Henderson.)
Same address, same general café space, but with a broader menu and a slightly softer look.
Sonder now feels less like a taro-focused café and more like a neighbourhood bakery café with coffee, cloud lattes, cakes, cookies, granola bowls and sandwiches.
The space had that living room vibe, warm and easy to settle into, with wooden tables, rattan chairs, soft lighting and a cake display near the counter.
During my visit, the cake display included Injeolmi Mochi ($8.90), Pistachio Burnt Cheesecake ($9.50), Mango Taro Cake ($8.80), cookies and other bakes.
I decided to go for the Injeolmi Mochi ($8.90), partly because it was not the usual cake I expected to order here.
The cake came with vanilla chiffon, injeolmi fresh cream, milk mochi and injeolmi crumble. Injeolmi usually refers to Korean rice cake coated in roasted soybean powder, so the flavour is more nutty and toasty than sweet.
What I liked was how the cake did not go overboard. The chiffon sponge was soft, the cream was light, and the milk mochi added that chewy layer in the middle.
The injeolmi flavour was there, with the house made soybean powder crumble giving a bit of roasted fragrance. If you want something less sweet and less heavy.
I also tried the Nutella Levain-style Cookie, which was recommended (after I asked for “one item to try”).
This was quite the opposite. Thick, chunky, chocolatey, and more indulgent, with a soft centre and Nutella inside.
What Sonder does quite well is keeping part of Cafe Lilac’s identity without staying stuck there.
Some of the popular taro cakes and drinks are still around, but the menu now gives you more choices if you are not specifically craving taro.
Sonder Cafe and Bakery
466 Crawford Lane, #01-08, Singapore 190465
Opening Hours: 11am – 5pm (Mon – Thurs), 11am – 7pm (Fri – Sun)
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