1 year birthday Celebration

[ethel]

its a terrible feeling to hv a cake not up to yr expectations..
i think i paid $20 for the artistic fees. wonder y they charge more for lousy work..maybe diff chef baker. 2 unhappy customers in a day?? hmmmm.. mummies tat are goin to order from them, make sure u give them a exact picture of wat u want, or give a detailed explanination of the design u want, or jus stick to their ondeh ondeh..

 

[adora]

Hi Mummies
Oh dear, I am still thinking of ordering a 2 tier cake from PG for my gal bday this Dec. Looks like I have to source for others now.

Maybe I shld go back to ecreative...at least their service is better.

 

[snowpooher]

ethel,
No, I din ask them to weigh, was in rush and mad.
Will post the pics when I download from camera, no time yet.
Give me another cake for wat? Party already over, I dun need cake lor. Anyway, I already made up my mind NOT to order anymore cake from PG. My mum was disappointed with the cake design too.
I have no choice but to buy another cake off shelf, I have no time to argue with them. So, in the end, I have a total of 4kg cake, which was just nice for the guests (some guests left early for wedding dinner). If not, I can't imagine what to do, so pai say leh.
I dun think it helps even if mummy has their email/design. I even drafted out my design and emailed to them. They have all the emails/designs on hand, yet the cake was totally out from my design. I asked them to do a pooh garden picnic on the tier where the letter "1" is and leave the 2nd tier "free" with just some flowers. They even said they will do a river and asked me to provide the bridge. I gave them and ended? A stupid bridge with nothing.
I think they are just thinking of earning more $ than to put in effort to do the cake design which they used to be. Let me go dig out my elder gal's cake and show you.

cookieoreo,
Sorry to hear your happiness too. Chan Yun explained to me they had too many orders yday. In my heart, I was thinking if you couldn't do so much order, dun be greedy to accept more orders! I made my order at end Aug hor.
Precisely right? The plain design need us to pay artistic charge of $25??!! Isn't it too much? In fact, I dun see why they need to charge for mine cos it's only a 2 tier plain design with my gal's name made in icing only. The rest are all figurines which I provided, which I can simply put onto the cake myself. Even a 5 years old kid can do that!
I think the lady you spoke to is Chan Yun. Let me know what's their explaination to you. She said she would revert to me too.

I think we can start a thread on "disappointment with PG" lor. So many unhappy customers...

 

[snowpooher]

Smiling Orchid Pooh Garden Picnic.

I asked PG if they can do this design on the letter "1" before I ordered. Chan Yun told me YES when she called me. Ended? Where's the design? I really regretted and should have sticked to my order with Smiling Orchid, and no need to worry abt the cake design and figurines cos Smiling Orchid provides EVERYTHING.

See my 2nd gal's cake, no river, put a stupid bridge there for wat?? Luckily I have a big candle to cover it.

And this is my elder gal's 3kg 3 tier cake from PG last year. I liased with Li Keow for this cake design totally thr phone. And she did exactly to the design I want.

The end product, totally a different design. Will you accept this kind of job done and yet charged you $25 artistic charge? They only do the icing sugar for name and the rest of the figurines are provided by me. Anyone can put these figurines onto the cake isn't?

 

[coralmarine]

Jenny,agree with you,they did a bad job for Jas's cake.Am really disappointed with them. Now I'm so worried for Char's cake next Sat. But they did tell me every kg of cake can only feed 10-15 pax, so 3kg for 40-45 pax, think they did not inform you on this...

 

[ethel]

jenny,
after seeing yr original pic, the PG cake looks bad.. If they cannot CREATE, they shld jus COPY! it looks better without the bridge. cannot see the nbr 1. think jedd's cake was same size as yrs.. they told me top layer 1kg, bottom layer 2kg. Jolene cake looks gd!

coral,
keep yr fingers n toes crossed.. if yr cake turn out a disaster, we will start a "PG disappointments" thread..

think the trick is not to hv very high expectations of the cake.. now their motto shld be can eat, can do, can liao.. haa haa

 

[babe_ong]

Jenny
Jaslyn and Jolene's cake really looked different even though both are 3 kg. i was also informed that every Kg can feed 10-15 pax like coral.
maybe the only way to know is to weigh the cake
i am starting to freak out by the negative comments and wondering if i shld start sourcing for another alternative since i still hve 2 wk plus to play with. at the most forfeit my $50 deposit with them
i wonder if any more mummies have unpleasant experience with them but not posted here only

 

[delphine]

Carebear birthday cake from pine garden(though now quite a no of unpleasent remarks for them. Mine still up to my expectation)

Carebear Agar Agar

Care Bear cake cutting table setting

 

[ethel]

bebe ong
yr cake will be fine la.. jus dun ask them to folo designs from other cake shops.. stick to their own cake designs..eg those they email u.. dun give fancy ideas.. cant be they cannot even folo their own cake designs right.. :S if they still fail, then it will be case close for PG..

 

[silvery]

Hi All

Was wondering has anyone hired balloon maker for the party? He will use balloon to make things like "dog", "hat" etc.. if yes, can i have the contact and how much to hire him/her. Thanks

 

[snowpooher]

coral,
Like what I said, if you dun expect too much, the cake will turn out to be good. But I really disappointed with what they promised. To think I spent so much time drafting out my design and emailed them my draft.

ethel.
copy? I think they dun even know how to. If not, what happened to all my pics with different angle that I emailed them? What's happened to my draft design that I emailed them?

babe,
How come you pay deposit? They never ask me to pay any deposit despite I've ordered a few times with them since Jolene's time.

delphine,
If ask PG to put the figurines onto the cake, is ok. The prob is the theme design they din do lor.
In fact hor, I think any bakery can do the same cake, then one can just put the figurines onto the cake ourselves. No need to pay artistic charge to ask PG to put for us lor.

 

[snowpooher]

This is my draft to PG leh, isn't the instructions clear?

 

[estben]

PG
======
Their customer service really make me scared now..... i have yet to order / confirm with them after looking at Jaslyn cake i start to ponder should i or should i not go to PG..

ethel
Well said cannot let them follow our design in mind, confirm will not get what is expected!!

Delphine
Your carebear cake look so sweet...<font color="0000ff">Happy Belated Birthday to desiree</font>

Jenny
I never knew that 3kg was so small until i saw it during Jaslyn's birthday!!!!! As compared to Jolene's hor i think its really heaven and earth lor..How come their standard drop till it suckssss..If i were to receive the cake on that day for Jovan hor i will "Suan" them lor was it flour, sugar or eggs price went up? How come my 3kg looks like 1.5kg.....

But lucky you bought another cake to standby else how to feed so many guest..

 

[cynlim]

Hi Des Del Desiree,

I like the Carebear Agar Agar. Where do you purchase it? How big it is? What flavour is it? Hehehe...So sorry to ask so many questions. Cos i am preparing for my gal's birthday this mth.

 

[gemini]

hi jenny,

i have also collected my cake from PG on sat pm. overall, it's quite ok, it's only that i find that not worth the artistic charge of $15. though mine is also a pooh theme, the design was quite sparsely done, the top of the cake is quite empty actually.
my hb was the one who collected the cake, so he just tell me over the phone that got the 3 pooh friends figurines on top.
yah, i know i only pass 3 figurines to them & did not really specifically tell them how to design, but the lady did tell me that they will help to design the cake. in the end, they only add in some balloons.

will upload the pic, hopefully, by tonite.

as for the deposit, got, the lady did tell me to put a deposit but that day (2 wks ago), i paid in full.

hi delphine,

the cake is v nice!

 

[snowpooher]

Esther,
Like I told you, either you increase the kg for the cake, if not do a "1" shape in 1 tier lor. My intented design was a 1 tier "1" shape lor. Really regretted kekeke.. but what's over is over

Maybe to give mummies a picture of how big Jaslyn's 3kg cake size is. It is abt the size or maybe slightly smaller than the TODAY's newspaper. I dun have a ruler with me to measure, too bad.

 

[delphine]

Hi Jenny,

I can understand your frustration. I am actually first time ordering cake from pine garden, just wanna to try their unique favours which normal bakery do not have. so didnt expect a lot from the design so long it suit my theme. But for your case, you have already try before pine garden diff cake favours, so expect higher on their design which i believe pine garden did not and could not do it at all cos when i saw the pic they emailed me, it's the same across just that diff theme & figurines.

Hi Cynthia,

I order from James(Hp:97887807). think it's a couple biz. Can ask hm to email you some pic for reference. It's rainbow agar agar and not so sweet.

 

[snowpooher]

Ok side track a bit... this one I got to PRAISE PG hor. Their oneh oneh is really good. My relatives all love them and asked can tabao home or not. Even my bro who dun eat such stuff said is very nice.

But hor, they omitted my oneh oneh order leh... they ended searching abt for my oneh oneh... Luckily found in the end haha..

 

[delphine]

HI Jenny,

Just to check with you, what favour did you order this time from pine garden?

 

[cynlim]

Hi Des Del Desiree,

Thanks so much for the info. Really apprecaite.....

Thanks

 

[jaline]

Jenny,
After seeing so many bad experiences with PG, maybe i should look for other alternative...
Do u have Smiling Orchid contact no.? any website which i can refer?
TIA!!

 

[snowpooher]

delphine,
This round is orange zest with chocolate.

jaline,
http://www.smilingorchid.com.sg/
But they are revamping the kids cake website, so it's down.
Actually PG not bad lah, just dun expect them to do fanciful cake design.
Let me show you Smiling Orchid Cake which I ordered early, just to take pics and taste the cake before my gal's birthday.

 

[snowpooher]

Smiling Orchid puts in a lot of effort in doing the design lor. Just see the cream color, different shades of color on the skirting.
The ingredients they used, all kinds of sweets, wang wang xiao man tou, jelly, ribbon, yogurt...
But I spoiled the wordings "happy" on my way home.

 

[delphine]

Hi Jenny,

Ya i think it's becos of the favour that the cake looks small then it's is suppose to be. cos heard from Haze, orange zest have a layer of chocolate instead of cream, which may take up quite a no of kg liao.

 

[snowpooher]

Delphine,
Actually there's orange cream in between also, though there's a layer of chocolate.
Jolene's one is chocolate leh, which supposed to be heavier. Anyway, I'm not upset with the weight but rather the design.

 

[minnie_gal16]

Hi Jenny,

We ordered from PGC a few times and so far, its been ok. Sometimes, the cake may be heavier cos of the flavour choosen but looks smaller cos we do encounter this in a few other places as well. But I do agree that the cake design can be further improved on.

Anyway, most impt is your gal had a gd party so hope you are feeling better now.

 

[jaline]

Jenny,
Smiling Orchid cake look quite good, how heavy is the cake n how much u paid for it (including the figurines)?

 

[snowpooher]

Minnie,
yes agreed. But anyway, the whole cake design was wrong. But what's wrong is wrong lor. If I want to be nasty, I will reject the cake like sillycow and get them to redo and ask them to delivery to my party.

Jaline,
That cake is only 1kg and it costs $60, everything included.

 

[ethel]

jenny
which cake do u think taste better? PG or SO ?

My aunt comented tat the PG added colouring to the choc.. cos i ordered triple choc.. the col n texture looks yummy but tasted like choc.. so she say they use colouring.. the choc is not rich like wat u expect from the word triple choc.. PG say its air flown belgian choc.. etc.. i told her she cant expect the pattisier choc standard if my cake was only $35/kg..

 

[ethel]

for those who are searching for alternatives besides PG, heres the list again which i complied when organising for my son's bd

Strawberry Shortcake Bakery
http://www.e-shop.com.sg/index.php?cPath=54_45&osCsid=ed40bba7879f9ad58c6f56f58219cc37

Glad Cake
http://gladcake.blogspot.com/

Ecreative
http://www.ecreative.com.sg/index.asp

Emi Cakes
http://www.emicakes.com.sg/

7th Manna
http://www.7thmanna.com/

Room for Desserts
http://www.roomfordessert.com.sg/

Hotfuchsia.
http://www.hotfuchsia.com

Sweet Secrets
http://www.sweetsecrets.com.sg/cake.htm

Pine Garden
www.pgcakes.com
(artistic charge is $20, they sometimes charge $25)

Smiling Orchids
http://www.smilingorchid.com.sg/

cherylshuen
http://www.cherylshuen.com

Cake Avenue
www.cakeavenue.com

The Patissier
http://www.thepatissier.com/

Cedele
www.cedeledepot.com

vivian cakes
http://www.freewebs.com/vivcakes/

BALLOONS:
http://www.twinkleballoons.com/
http://www.bezballoons.com
http://www.grefio.com.sg

 

[snowpooher]

ethel,
Cake wise, of cos PG is better cos more flavours to choose from.
SO only have orange, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavour lor.

Cream wise, SO one is not that sweet as compared to PG. Dunno how to describe, it's like a mixture of fresh + butter cream and it can melt in mouth. Of cos too much will be sick lah. PG one is more creamy.

Cream Color, SO one is definately better. They can use different shades for a color, eg. the grass. Got dark and light color to do a 3D effect.

Overall, PG can do simple and nice cake, but not a theme cake. SO definately has the skills there for the cake design but it loses out on the cake flavour as compared to PG.

My personal view - Order from PG, I will have heart attack until I see the real cake, and if they lost my figurines etc, waste time going all the way to AMK to hand them the figurines, also need time to find figurines and candle. Order from SO, just order and wait for the cake cos SO provides figurines, no need to headache where to buy lor. I'm not sure if SO sells nice candles, din see in their shop though. But buying a new candle is much easier than finding the figurines.

For kids, I believe most kids will go wow wow when they see SO cakes. I was there once and happened to see them doing the deco on the cake. Very nice.

 

[snowpooher]

Room For Dessert is nice too! Both design and cake flavour are nice.

 

[minnie_gal16]

Hi Jenny,

My son will be celebrating his bday this weekend and I ordered his cake from PGC cos my parents like their cakes.. I asked them to email me their recent designs, seems quite ok and I think this is quite cute:

However, I decided to customise something for him instead and I hope it turns out well....

 

[estben]

Hi
Just to amend Pine Garden website should be
www.pgcake.com instead of www.pgcakes.com

just went down personally to confirm the cake for my baby cross my fingers and toes real hard that everything will turn out right...

 

[tamarind]

For those who love cupcakes, take a look at this.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgcupcake_momma/

Her cupcakes are lovely !

 

[iceystarz]

esthermummy,
sorry... i came back n juz realised tat day i was telling u e wrong price for grefio's charges...
normal latex balloon = $1 correct
18" mylars = $2.50 instead of $1.50!!!

 

[snowpooher]

tamarind,
her cupcakes are nice in web only... the real thing is not leh... I ordered for my friend's bday b4 and is sweet.

 

[estben]

another recommendation for cupcakes, this lady by the name of Lyn she customised mini cupcakes so cute, i attended my friend's daughter's full month celebration and was amazed her mini cupcakes..taste not so sweet just nice...
www.cupcakedivinity.blogspot.com

starz
no problem

 

[shinebride]

Hello Mummies,

Can anyone share with me where did you purchase the individual alphabets that you collate together to form your child's name on the wall for decorative purposes?

Eeyore, i just sent you a PM asking where did you get the alphabets to form your gal's name on the wall?

Thanks!

 

[cookieoreo]

jenny
jolene's 3kg cake was really big, no wonder you got so upset this time round. Your comments on the bridge was very funny too! SO's cake looks nice & cheery, how about their sponge, are they soft?

received a call from PG, i supposed he is the boss & he sincerely apologised for my mis-handled case. He said it is the miscommunication between his bakers & operations as information gets distorted down the line when the company grows.
He explains further that many of his bakers do not understand English. Therefore, with many orders on hand, they will just look at the sketch provided. I think he mentioned about you leh, saying this mummy sent pixs in powerpoint but they still get it wrong..

told him dun think i have any courage to order cakes from them again as there are too much uncertainties & i dun like surprises. haha, dun think my hubby want it too coz he stormed out of the shop as we are also in a mad rush.

 

[snowpooher]

shinebride,
PG did the icing alphabets, they charge artistic charge for them.

cookieoreo,
haha... ya, I recovered from heart attack le kekeke...
Actually, SO is like PG, normal neighbourhood bakery shop. Their sponge cake is soft. But if you are fan of PG, you may not like SO sponge cake cos it is just too normal.
Chan Wei called me yday evening too. Ya lor, he was telling he was wow wow when he saw my detailed emails with my draft design, so clear liao and his staff still can get them wrong. Miscommunication channel from top to bottom lah. Anyway we had a long chat, I can sense his sincere apology. He said he would personally look into my case and give me a "jiao dai". I dun need his "jiao dai" lah, but I told him I have recommended many friends and mummies to PG, I dun want them to have heart attack like me. He promised me he will look into my friends' cases personally. I hope my friends one will turn out to be good. Anyway I feedback a lot to Chan Wei, from customer service to cake design etc etc... He noted them and he said he will look into them, especially the customer service issue.
Well, he said give him a few more days, he will get back to me again. Also told me if I think Li Keow can serve me well and knows what I want for my cake design, I can ask to speak to Li Keow directly for future orders.
Actually I told Chan Wei, the end product (Jaslyn's cake) is ok, but I'm very disappointed with them for not telling me of the change in design lor. Cake size wise, I can solve it by buying another cake off self, but not for cake design. We mummies, dun pay the artist charge, though not a big sum, for nothing lor.

 

[celyw]

jenny, i just placed an order with PG for my son 2 years old bday. NOw i am very very worry

should i change to smiling orchid...since I did not place any deposit with PG yet???

 

[snowpooher]

celyw,
Worried with what? PG is still good, but if you are talking abt customizing, they may not do exactly the same to what you want. Dun worry lah.
I believed after my and some mummies feedback to Chan Wei, there should be some sort of QC bah.
Pls dun let my experience frightened you.

 

[snowpooher]

celyw,
Worried with what? PG is still good, but if you are talking abt customizing, they may not do exactly the same to what you want. Dun worry lah.
I believed after my and some mummies feedback to Chan Wei, there should be some sort of QC bah.
Pls dun let my experience frightened you.

 

[celyw]

worried my 2 tier cake of thomas the train design dun turn out well! I dun want to disappoint my DS leh!

 

[snowpooher]

celyw,
Worried with what? PG is still good, but if you are talking abt customizing, they may not do exactly the same to what you want. Dun worry lah.
I believed after my and some mummies feedback to Chan Wei, there should be some sort of QC bah.
Pls dun let my experience frightened you.

 

[cookieoreo]

jenny
yah, think he is sincere too or else he would have just brushed all our displeased aside instead of calling us personally. likewise, im also angry with them for not informing me the OOS decor when i called them a day before. hee, now u got yourself a 'personal' order taker.. did he tell u he is sorry that we are 1 of the 'victims', dunno whether to laugh or cry..

celyw
what jenny say is true.. we are not here to tear down their shop. but the person who took the order is impt.. he mentioned his team is seriously looking into this matter & they are working something out. perhaps you can look at their draft again to ease your mind.

 

[ppp]

Hi Jenny,

PG cake which flavour is nice?.

 

[minnie_gal16]

Agree with Jenny. No one is perfect and I guess as long as service recovery is done, we should all move on and continue to give your support to Pine Garden's cake if you really like their products.

Personally in my course of work, I have encountered established names giving me rubbish and horrendous service. Yet, we do not blacklist them but instead we give them a chance to redeem themselves in our future projects if they are truly sincere.

Anyway, will try and post a pic of my boy's cake after Sat.

 

[plng]

Hi Shinebride,

I think I replied u already anyway, actually I made it myself, using powerpoint, print it, cut the alphabets then laminate, finally cut again... if u want i can make for u too then u can print and laminate it...