Those aware of the home-based bakery, Ganache, would know it has specialised in cakes and desserts for a good over four years. So when a namesake café pops up, one expects the bakery’s signature goodies stocked up for all instead of placing orders. But that’s not it! Ganache Café offers not just delectable signature desserts, but also a whole range of savoury items.

Opening up in February in Mall1 -- the latest but congested ‘it’ spot for any food business -- Ganache Café is a family venture. The desserts are prepared by Madeeha -- the force behind the original home-based bakery, the savoury items on the menu curated by her younger sister, Mehrunnisa, and the operations overseen by their brother, Salman.

The small two-storey café welcomes you with a large painting of Abida Parveen as well as other art pieces here and there. The interior is mainly done in soft hues of white, pink and light grey aimed at giving a garden vibe; there’s also a couple of tables set up outside.

After starting off with the refreshing and fruity Passion Cinnamon Ale and Raspberry Mint Lemonade, my accompanying friend and I ordered a couple of salads. The Potato Bacon Salad contained baked potato, Turkey bacon, crunchy broccoli and asparagus all tossed in a delicious mustard dressing. The Seasonal Fruit with Chicken Salad, as the name suggests, had chunks of fresh seasonal strawberry, grapes, pomegranate, kiwi, rocket leaves, candied walnuts, lettuce and dressed with balsamic vinegar. Perfectly fresh and soothing for this weather.

I was too tempted to try the Potato and Aubergine Soup as soon as I heard the name. It was different and didn’t disappoint -- creamy, earthy and comforting with aubergine slices and potato chunks in it.

First off the mains was Vietnamese Rolls. Presented in a wooden boxed tray were three rolls lying in the centre – filled with mushroom and minced chicken cooked in a Vietnamese sauce, wrapped in lettuce and rice paper, peanut sauce lightly glazed on the top with some more peanut on the side. The rolls tasted great – mild flavours from the chicken, mushroom and peanut sauce all blending well. But THREE rolls for main course had me wondering if this was better off as an appetizer. And just let that sauce keep sitting aside if you don’t want the rolls to be bamboozled with peanut flavour.

The Spring Pizza sounded out of the box, and it was, too. The base was mixed with beetroot puree because of which the pizza appeared pink, topped with pesto, cream cheese, buffalo mozzarella, fresh herbs and parsley. This pizza could be a cheese lover’s delight with the beetroot going well the lip-smacking topping.

The Korean Beef bowl was a downer. There were tender strips of beef cooked in a sauce served with caramelised onion on a bed of steamed rice, but it lacked that Asian, punchy flavour that’s signature of a Korean beef bowl. And the presentation was messy too.

The Truffle Oil Pizza was next on the table. With a combo of buffalo mozzarella and feta cheese, assorted mushrooms, rocket leaves and artichoke one would expect it to be mouth-watering. However, it was anything but. There was no hint of truffle oil. And the base, I was told, was mixed with semolina to keep it crispy (which it was), but then that also gave the pizza a very odd flavour, which is a pity given the topping was so tempting.

We also had Pasta Olio, which was whole wheat pasta cooked in garlic and olive oil with chicken chunks and large crunchy broccoli tossed in it. This was a light and not overwhelming plate of food, but pasta was slightly hard and the crunchy broccoli chunks seemed to overpower the chicken and garlic flavours.

Finally, we moved on to desserts, starting off with the Tres Leches Cake. This is essentially a sponge cake soaked in milk that was topped with cream and strawberry slices. The cake was delicious and fresh though I would have personally liked it without the strawberries. The Tiramisu was just the way it should be – bittersweet – but a bit too steep for over Rs450. Other cakes we tried were the soft, crunchy, creamy, aromatic French Vanilla Cake; the soft, squidgy, uber chocolaty Nutella with Roasted Almond Cake that can send one straight to food heaven and the simple and unassuming, yet delicious Coffee Cake that could have been a bit softer.

Specialising in desserts, expanding the brand as a cafe was naturally the next step for Ganache. And offering gluten-free pasta, beef nihari as well as many other contemporary options for mains as well as desserts, the cafe could do well if consistency in flavour is maintained. Plus, there are a few items on the menu that I have to try very soon.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2018