Banelé (@banelesg)

Heard all about the opening of Banele’s very first brick-and-mortar space around the Newton / Stevens neighbourhood recently. Banele had actually first operated as an online-based business — the brand does have its own following over the years. With the rejuvenation of Chancery Court in recent times, Banele has moved into a shop unit located at the second floor of Blk H of Chancery Court above the newly-renovated Cold Storage supermarket there. The shop unit of which that Banele has occupied is rather small — one that is seemingly more meant for takeaway operations but there is a bench seating area that comes with two tables that can allow for those wishing to dine-in within its premises to enjoy their offerings on-site. The space is decked out in a minimalistic decor theme with the use of geometrical elements for a soft visual impact — amidst the earthy wooden tones used in its furniture and fittings would be the use of bright yellow and dark blue coloured fittings that one would find familiar to the brand’s colour themes for a colourful contrast bringing a vibrant look. Banele offers a rather streamlined menu that focuses heavily on their signature banana bread - brownie - canelé hybrid creation (therefore the namesake Banele); on the menu would be the Banele Classic, the Banele Bundt and their Financiers. Beverage available at Banele would include espresso-based specialty coffee, bottled cold brew coffee, Kombucha and other caffeine-free options such as their Ladybug Girl’s Chocolate and the Babyccino.

Offering three (3) different flavour variants of their Banele Classic, the Banele Classic — Amande was the one that stood out to us the most whilst skimming through the menu during our visit made to Banele on a weekday morning; other flavours that are being offered for its Banele Classic line-up includes their Signature Valrhona Guanaja 70%, and the Peanut Butter and Jelly. We were asked if we would like to have our Banele toasted, which we agreed to. Noted for being slightly different from the usual Banana Bread (especially noting how the founder created the Banele being one whom is not fond of Banana bread), the Banele does come lightly crusty on the exterior after it is being toasted. We did think that calling it a Canele might be a bit of a stretch; this is especially so since it’s is also known that the Banele does not comprise of the usual ingredients that would have went into the making of a typical Canele. The texture of the Banele as one chews into it is soft, sticky, chewy and aptly dense; perhaps more akin to that of a sticky date pudding (or kueh-like) if one might put it across in that manner. There is however a lingering hint of sweetness from the bananas going around much like a banana bread would, and certainly more dense and chewy in texture when compared to a banana cake per se. Opting for the Amonde variant, the Banele sees a filled heart with a chocolate-almond ganache towards the bottom of the Banele; itself being a decent option if one would typically avoid chocolate for its usually sweet flavour profile.

We also managed to try the Financier during our trip to Banele — we actually found the Financier to be something that we liked over the Banele itself even. Also opting for the Financier to come toasted, we liked how the Financier was beautifully browned with crisp crust on the exterior — all that whilst perfuming of a buttery. Pte of flavours that lingers in the tastebud. The Financier did not feel overly dense, nor did it turn out to be greasy from the overload of butter — totally on point and something that would have went well with a hot cuppa for a light breakfast snack. The Cold Brew (White) comes unsweetened — we typically enjoy our milk-infused cold brew coffee to come with a nutty and earthy flavour profile even when unsweetened so the tanginess of the body of the one served here wasn’t particularly to our fancy. We have heard quite a bit about Banele prior to our visit made and we must say that Banele does offer an interesting look on how banana bread can be tweaked for a texture that we do feel works better for us as well — we did, however, feel that the description of it being a banana bread - brownie - canelé hybrid overcomplicates things a little, and not exactly befitting of the item. Nonetheless, Banele is still a location worthy to make a visit to try out what they have to offer — their Banele being something that should be tried at least once, and the Financiers being something to die for (at least for us)!