“I never wanted this place to go viral,” Diane Ong professes while perched at a greenery-lined table in her new cafe, Flourish Bakehouse.

The chirpy 29-year-old opened shop on October 22 for a soft launch, initially intending to serve just family and friends. But within a day, social media influencers got wind of the quiet, open-air cafe nestled in Phoenix Park, and she’s been overwhelmed with demand ever since. Flourish’s simple menu offers just coffee, tea, and eight bakes, ranging from scones to quiche and loaf cakes.

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Diane’s baking hobby began in primary school, starting with helping her aunts and mum whip up treats for Chinese New Year. The University of Sydney alum continued to bake as a way to relax after long days as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Sydney, where she worked for several years.

In 2018, she got a transfer to the firm's Singapore office, and took a six-month sabbatical later the following year. “I was quite burned out,” she admits. The break overlapped into the era of Covid-19, so she joined the slew of 'circuit bakers', selling treats like orh nee (yam paste) mooncakes and chilli crab bomboloni from home, and supplying her bakes to Grace Espresso, a cafe in River Valley.

The mooncake sales “really took off”, giving the enterprising baker courage to start her own biz. “Setting up my own cafe was always a retirement goal, but it was brought forward many years because the opportunity came up,” Diane says.

She quit her job in 2020 and found her current cafe premises in Tanglin, dropping about $100,000 to take over a space on the first floor of special needs school The Guild International College.

Tucked deep in a campus of semi-detached offices, Diane’s cafe benefits from the charm of Phoenix Park’s conserved colonial facade. On the breezy Wednesday morning we visited, families reclined on the lawn outside the cafe, while children sprawled on checkered picnic mats supplied by Flourish. Another time we visit, it’s dogs and their owners. (The cafe isn’t the most sheltered from the elements, so keep an eye out for wet weather.)

The astroturf is enveloped by shady trees, a couple of potted plants, and flowering frangipani. The whole setup’s terribly photogenic: soon, two young women arrive toting bunches of dried flowers to style what can only be a shoot for the ’gram. “People even bring their own picnic baskets,” Diane laughs. No wonder it’s an Instagrammer’s heaven.

Inside, a small glass counter of bakes sits at the far end of a clean and simple space. Beside it is a big window that opens out into the lawn, from which staff pass orders to picnickers. Flourish sells about 300 bakes a day, and by 11am when we visit, a quarter of the options are already sold out.

A stream of people, including two middle-aged aunties, drop by to takeaway brown boxes of bakes, or dine at the handful of tables in the spacious open air area beyond the counter. It’s vigorously cooled by powerful ceiling fans, so though there’s no air-con, it’s breezy enough.

Apart from the quiet surrounds, the chill vibe of the cafe is greatly enhanced by its young staff, who feel tangibly happy to be doing their jobs. The team, including several part-timers, is all good cheer: Diane and cafe manager Debbie Ann Heng (far left in pic), 27, greet regulars and introduce the bakes with much perkiness, while barista Danial Kamaru (far right in pic), 25, takes orders as warmly as a surfer bro. Katy Perry's California Girls drifts over the radio.

It’s a relaxed environment, not unlike an Aussie cafe, that Diane's deliberately tried to create. “People unanimously comment that our service is great,” she says. “The guys at the psychology clinic down the road lived in Australia, and when they came in, they were like: ‘wow, this reminds us of Australia.’”

The Aussie influence extends to the rustic bakes. “Our bakes might not be the most polished,” Diane says. Australian bakes are quite rustic, and I think there's beauty in that.

She continues to supply items like sticky lemon muffins and berry oat muffins (which are not on the menu at Flourish) to Grace Espresso for continuity , but eventually, the bakes offered at both places will be the same.

Be warned: Flourish closes early at 2pm. Diane’s hoping to extend these hours once she can hire enough staff to take up a second shift. She’s also looking for a baker to replace her in the kitchen and spearhead the menu. “I’ll still get my hands into baking, but I need more headspace to run the business,’ she says.

This palm-sized kid’s favourite is savoury and yummy, with an eggy doughiness punctuated by salty bursts from morsels of blackforest ham. There’s a noticeable, but not unpleasant, sour tang that might be from sour cream or buttermilk, but Diane won’t reveal what it is.

This vegetarian quiche always sells out, Diane says. Based off her mum’s recipe, it’s a decent rendition, with a pretty cross-section of daffodil yellow custard, bright orange pumpkin chunks, and deep green ribbons of cooked spinach. The light filling tastes mild rather than rich and savoury — the latter is how we prefer our quiche. But we do adore the soft pumpkin embedded within the custard, which dissolves in waves of sweetness.

A golden-hued muffin that’s spongy and light, yet moist and buttery. The sweet corn kernels taste like they come from a can, though that’s all forgiven by the addictive savouriness of the mix, featuring roasted garlic, butter and fresh parsley. Delish.

The size of a typical bread bun. Though kissed with herby notes from the leaves, this tastes quite plain - primarily of potatoes and pastry. The Italian buffalo mozzarella adds a faint creaminess. Diane says customers have asked for more cheese on top; we agree. It could do with more salt, too.

Another of mummy Ong's recipes, this is a soft, fluffy bread that’s rich with mashed bananas. Chunky walnut bits and little pearls of melty chocolate chips make this a perfect pairing with coffee. Comforting.

A generously portioned slice. Though the thin layer of lemon syrup on the crust positively sings of citrus – almost like sherbet lemon sweets – the rest of the tight-crumbed cake tastes rather muted. The cornmeal imparts a gritty texture that can be polarising.

We like the assertive tartness and ruby colour of the juicy raspberry bits embedded in this palm-sized, Christmassy-looking bake, which is also topped with pale green pistachios for texture. The moist crumb is packed with almond flavour, and it's not too sweet.

The coffee glaze on this little spiced loaf cake brims with java fragrance and refined bitterness, but also suffers from too much sugar. Walnuts stirred through the dough add a lovely dull crunch in each bite. Pity it’s drier than the raspberry version.

Flourish’s beans are courtesy of local roaster Tiong Hoe Specialty Coffee. This double ristretto shot mini latte has a strong, dark flavour profile that’s only gently tamed by the competently frothed milk. It’s potent stuff, but we prefer this to the slightly too milky Flat White ($5.50).

Photo: Florence Fong

The bakes at Flourish taste homemade and are generally pleasant, though some of the savoury stuff could be more robustly seasoned. In any case, the chill vibes, good energy and garden setting form the bulk of the experience at this cafe. Spend a lovely morning here on the lawn with a book and a muffin.

Flourish Bakehouse is at 318 Tanglin Rd, Blk A, S247979. Open Tues - Sun 9am - 2pm (coffee available from 8.30am). More info via

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Photos: Alvin Teo