Another food outlet that was on my must-try list during my 36-hour trip to Singapore was a bakery chain called Breadtalk.
Started in Singapore, Breadtalk is one of the few bakery chains that managed to expand across Asia including the tough-to-crack China market. I first learned about Breadtalk when it opened its first store in Hong Kong several years ago, but I’ve never tried it. I was curious to find out what the buzz was about at Breadtalk’s home base.
I need excuses to eat my favorite baked goods too.
Breadtalk has many branches in Singapore and the one I stumbled upon is in the underground food mall at Bugis Junction. My first impression was that the store looked Japanese with its modern and airy design. The buns felt Japanese too – they were small and soft with interesting fillings from adzuki bean paste to cream cheese. Some items had a Singaporean/Chinese touch, such as the use of pork floss (shredded dried pork).
I bought several buns among the dozens on sale, then I saw another bakery as I wandered around the mall. I couldn’t remember the bakery’s name, but it follows the same Japanese style as Breadtalk. The sight of display cases overflowing with buns got the better of me. I picked up a couple from this bakery too.
Once I returned to the hotel, it’s time for a taste test. Some items in contention (you can see them in the photo album) included: Breadtalk’s flaky pastry filled with banana and cream cheese; Mr. Hakkaido, a long bun spread with adzuki and white kidney beans; the other bakery’s brioche cube with cream cheese filling and pumpkin seeds bun, among others.
Considering their taste and texture, Breadtalk won easily.
But my Singaporean friends told me later that Breadtalk is no longer considered among the best bakeries in Singapore. At least it’s better than the Japanese bakeries in the US though!
I don’t want to bore you with more details of my food adventures in Singapore, so I’m going to stop here. Other memorable bits from the trip that had to do with food:
- traditional Singaporean breakfast of kaya (coconut jam) toast and kopi (coffee with condensed milk) in a hawker center, and you actually use a spoon to drink the coffee
- curry puff with potato filling and spicy sambar from another hawker center
- vegetarian laksa (though I didn’t try) and other Chinese vegetarian food stalls near the Kwan Im Temple
- endless shopping malls with large food courts and emporiums in major commercial areas (people probably need to stay indoors whenever possible because of the hot and humid weather)
- I brought my running shorts but quickly gave up exercising once I realized how much food there was to check out in Singapore
And finally, thanks to Gina and Siyin for having dinner with me and helping me buy kaya to bring back home. I’m still using it to spread my breakfast toasts…
Note: Yay, this is my 50th post, a mini-milestone for this blog that I should have reached two months ago. THANKS for reading!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment