Lana Cakes

I'm really sad to hear that Lana's cake shop has gone down the tubes. After not having had the legendary chocolate cake for ages, I thought I would pick one up for a dinner party this Sat knowing that it would bring lots of appreciative sighs from all who had known of this treat! Now after all the above posts I'm certainly re-considering. If Violet Kwan is reading this, pls look into the complaints above & respond. These people must have been so badly treated that they have taken their time to write about their awful experience. You are a well known Icon in Singapore - well loved & your cooking revered. Would you allow this to go on up-checked & really allow us all to give up on the chocolate cake which is legendary for those of us who grew up looking forward to this treat? I hope not as the next generation will not know what they missed out on.

Posted on Thu 04 Feb 2010 12:45:35

I heard that Lana cake shop specializes in chocolate cake with fudge icing. But I don't understand why people in Singapore would buy chocolate fudge cakes when they can bake their own, cheaper and with better ingredients. There is a great recipe from Nigella Lawson that is so much better. If you are too rich and don't have the time to bake, get your maids to do it.

Posted on Sun 31 Jan 2010 22:01:01

I had these bad experience myself too...never saw smiles on their faces every time i visit them before chinese...matbe you are right cause i was driving a Toyota and not a BMW...HA...anyway i found myself a chocolate fudge by Familie Oven which i think taste so much better than Lana's...Familie Oven's was soft and moist while Lana's is dry. At least Lana's is not the only options for choco fudge cake lover.

Posted on Sat 09 Jan 2010 09:05:48

I've had birthday cakes from Lana cake shop since I was a child and fondly remember the lemon coconut swan cake that I had one year. Over the years, I tended towards their chocolate fudge cake and would have it maybe 2 or 3 times a year. But the cake shop has been on the decline. About 3 years ago when I was in the shop to collect a cake that I had ordered, there were a few customers in there and one of the staff, in a very loud and snobby tone said: "Today's cake no more." The friend I was with was shocked at her tone! The several times I had called, my calls were either unanswered (yes, they are closed on certain days) or the woman who answered it was totally surly and unhelpful. My last visit last year was non-discript and the quality of the cake has gone down. The chocolate fudge taste distinctively artificial and grainy, and the top layer slide off the botton layer after a short ride in my car. This has never happened before so I suspect that someone has tempered with the recipe. I swore that was the last time I was going to buy a cake from that shop again. I am now a fan of their competitor - Vicky's.

Posted on Tue 22 Dec 2009 11:52:09

I've heard about the lack of good service at this LANA cake shop as well. That's why I've never bothered to try although there have been so many good reviews about their cakes. Singapore has many other good cake shops to choose from. LANA will certainly lose their customer base if they don't change their attitude.

Posted on Fri 04 Sep 2009 08:26:53

Much ado about a fair tasting cake. Despite Lana cake's long standing reputation for 'fantastic tasting' cakes, their solidarity towards a pleasant experience is sorely lacking. I was recently looking for a pink cake for a themed birthday party and eventually found one with LANA. I was unable to order it the day before the intended date of collection, despite reassurance that I was good for the money. I was firmly instructed to call back at 10am the next day. The (rude) service staff also claimed NOT to know the dimensions of a 500g cake - extremely unhelpful, given the fact that their cakes are not featured online. When I called at 11am the next morning (unknown to Lana, some people actually have work in the mornings), i was informed by the same lady who had served me the day before that all the pink cakes were sold out! Naturally, i was extremely displeased, to which she said 'i thought i told you to call at 10'. Clearly, the customer is never right in this shop. She finally went to enquire with the kitchen and rather interestingly, she then said that the cake could be prepared and i could collect it later (in all likelihood, if i had not pressed for it, she would not have checked, and that cake was definitely available since they could prepare it for me in 3 hours!!). 500g cakes apparently cannot be pre-ordered and may only be reserved via phone on the same day – the logic of that escapes me. Upon collection, I was treated rather rudely, with the 'rude lady' wrapping up the cake in an abrupt manner. Another customer (perhaps a regular, but clearly very well-to-do) came by at the same time and the rude lady went from frowns to smiles! This then made me realise that she was selective in her attitude towards her customers. The final crunch came with the candles. All i wanted were 3 candles - in pink with pink holders. As 2 of the candles were of different colors, I had politely requested for a change (i noted that the candles were kept in a container behind the counter and had plenty of pink candles!). She actually refused to oblige. I could not believe it. I doubt any cake shop in the country or the world would ever have done the same in the presence of stock! She said it was policy and that it could not be changed. She then asked a much older lady (I think LANA herself) who happened to be sitting outside - and at her agreement, the candles were changed. All in all this was a horrendous experience. I would have kept my money and walked out if not for the spirit of the party that we were organizing and the lack of time to get another cake. All in all, Lana's cake shop is: 1) Rude, obnoxious 2) has an elevated ego about a tiny cake shop that is after all ONLY island famous 3) selective in their service - so only BMWs get treated well? 4) intentionally unhelpful - hence ruining a perfectly happy day's celebration - would i really want a cake from such a nasty shop for a happy occasion - NO WAY! it just ain't a happy cake and could never fill the belly the way it should. 5) And to top it all off, the cake was dry and extremely average. The cream was made of butter rather than fresh cream! Clearly not worth the effort and angst. Awfully chocolate, sweet secrets, baker's inn and many other cake shops certainly have better tasting cakes. I too work in a 'service industry' - healthcare as a matter of fact. And truly if I can be kind/polite to ALL my patients (regardless of class, race, language, appearance, education levels), I wonder why it's so difficult for a cake shop to treat its patrons in a fair and pleasant manner. Though our service industry suffers from an increasing number of non-English speaking staff, at least they are not as rude as our own Singaporeans. There are plenty of cake shops out there and certainly, this shop needs a wake-up call. They are ultimately just a single small time shop in a tiny island and delusion of grandiose should be replaced by basic courtesy.

Posted on Sun 23 Aug 2009 12:50:31