Showing posts with label patisserie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patisserie. Show all posts
Bread and Hearth: Bread and Butter letters
Labels:
boulangerie. bakery,
Bread,
chinatown singapore,
croissant,
keong saik,
media event,
outram,
patisserie,
tart
·
Butter. there was butter dredged all over the walls, it enveloped me, luring me into its warm embrace. If you cringe at the smell of this yellow villain, then avoid Bread and Hearth by all means. However, my love-hate relationship with it (referring strictly to my days in the kitchen spent tackling a 25kg block of butter with a really blunt knife) draws me one step closer.
Bread and Hearth is the newest artisanal bakery to open amongst the playground of F&B riches in the Ann Siang/ Keong Saik neighborhood. Dedicated to using the best quality ingredients to set it apart from its competitors, I was keen to taste a difference.
And I did.
Working within the constantly cool realms of the fastidiously packed kitchen, staff laminate the croissant doughs from scratch. Plowing the natural levain dough, hiding sheets of French butter within, through the dough-break, book-turn after book-turn till the cross-section reveals some mind-blowing layers of alternating dough and butter. Once proofed, these babies enter the mouth of the blazing hot German oven and the water content in the butter blisters, swelling causing the pastry to puff up. There you have it, crisp, flaky pastry, the hinterland of every butter worshipper.
Here at Bread and Hearth, they take their coffee seriously. One sip of my cappuccino and my coffee nerd consensus attained a quizzical standstill, unable to establish a familiarity with the blend. The owner explains that the coffee beans used for their coffee have been 'blended' in house, a fixed ratio of arabica and robusta beans in order to balance out the tannins, acidity and nuttiness of it. The end result, a smooth, medium bodied coffee which leans ever so slightly to the more nutty side of life. Adding to the pageantry of the fancy coffee art is the subtle fairy dusting of nutmeg powder over the top that works miracles with its rich woody spice.
With a spread of goodies to conquer, we nibble our way around the table. For me, the real strengths are in the Croissant, the Raisin roll and Pain au Chocolat; shedding some light on the dark and depressing state of such boulangerie items in Singapore. Retaining a crisp crust even after the relentless shootings, the butter taste was profound, deliciously rich and salty. The chocolate batons from cocoa barry spilling its hot fudge like melty innards within those flaky layers. Frankly, though, the Matcha Orange soft roll and White Chocolate bun are not particularly tempting with a strange doughy texture.
Part and parcel of any boulangerie spread are tarts. Here at Bread and Hearth, the tart shells are made from scratch, another applaud worthy moment for the hard working folks here. That aside, the result is this strange cookie like crust that screams it's tormenting experience under the hands of an overcompulsive dough maker. The Lemon Meringue Tart, your usual suspect has a lovely bright citrusy note, let down only by the biscuit like dense tart base; whilst the Salted Caramel Tart shows up sweet with sticky caramel, jazzed up with a wee bit of sea salt (could use a lot more in there to warrant the use of the descriptive word 'salty') and nuanced by the simple addition of roasted hazelnuts speckled over the top. With a bit of fine-tuning, this combination has a lot of potential to be the unique selling point of the cafe.
Like every new kid on the block, Bread and Hearth uncovers a mixture of hits and misses throughout its menu. However, with a concise business plan and niche products on offer, this place is set to conquer the hearts and stomachs of croissant lovers with a couple of tweaks.
For now, I vouch for that Pain au Chocolat. Why not give it a go?
Fundamentally-flawed dined as a guest of Bread and Hearth. However, opinions are strictly her own. Thank you Mapwerkz for the invite.
Bread and Hearth
18 Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089215
T: 6534 7800
Website: www.breadandhearth.com
Carpenter and Cook: sweet treats for the afternoon
Labels:
bakery,
bukit timah,
cafe,
hidden finds,
patisserie
·
Carpenter and Cook has been on my radar for the longest time. Funnily, having live so close by, I've not found the chance to stop by despite my incessant visits to other similar cafes on the opposite corners of the island.
Finally on a quiet placid off day, I scooted over to the cafe patisserie. Dressed to the nines in vintage pieces and mismatched prints, we instantly hit it off.
Cocooned within its cool, softly lit interiors with warm friendly staff, there was no lingering signs of interruption from the bustle of the city outside. Just a delightfully warm resonating vibe afloat despite my unaccompanied visit. Lunch there was a treat of hidden gems. Starting with the Bacon and Egg Quiche ($7), this treat of warmed eggy custard between two delicate walls of pastry, comes stuffed with all manner of good things. Perfect touch of seasoning, with the bacon bits providing hints of quintessential savouriness throughout, I devoured this one like a hungry ghost along with accompanying mixed salad on the side.
For dessert, I stuck to the comforts of the Apple Cobbler Loaf Cake ($5), personally, I feel that the cake itself could have been a little moister, perhaps the use of applesauce could have enhanced the mix; however, I loved how the crumble toppings were so beautifully crisp. The thin slices of apple interspersed within the cake doing nothing for the overall flavor.
rounding off the experience with a Cappuccino ($5) which was decent, if not one of the better cups that you can find in the west. Only for the lack of better choice.
At 3pm in the afternoon on a Thursday, a modest trade was running in a lazy Sunday kind of way. And I'm thinking to myself, 'don't these people need to work?'
In it's defense, Carpenter and Cook pretty much sells a lifestyle, a quaint joint filled with hand-picked vintage furniture which you could use to set your arse on during your stay there; an advocate of a state of happy-go-lucky that is so evident from it's ever-changing menu and home styled bakes. Most, would feel at home here, hence the tight following. Don't believe me, go check it out yourself!
19 Lorong Kilat #01-06
Tel: 64633648
Patisserie G: sweets for snobs
Labels:
cafe,
cakes,
desserts,
Milennia Walk,
pastry,
patisserie
·
I admit that I may be a snob at times. Turning my nose at the lesser known chocolates brands and enjoying eye widening moments when the music as I hear it in the form of Valrhona, Amedei and Askinosie strums close to ear. Michel Cluziel is one example of this harmonic range of sweet sounds. Upon enquiring the service staff and hearing that the chef owner takes pride in using only this chocolate in her confectioneries; my interests were piqued.
Patisserie G in Milennia Walk draws customers in with their simplistic Japanese decor and très chic spread of viennoiseries and petite gateaux on display. My favourite design detail would have to be the unique individual serving trays each carrying a different fabric or impressionistic pattern.
After much deliberation, the boyfriend and I settled down to a single petite gateaux and 2 macarons to share. The Douceur Chocolate ($8.50/slice) was a safe combination of milk chocolate mousse, milk chocolate hazelnut praline crunch on hazelnut dacquoise. Despite my familiarity and slight boredom instilled by this classic combination (we serve an identical version of this at my previous workplace in Sydney); I must say that this rendition was executed perfectly albeit for the lack of crunch in the lower depths of the dacquoise layer. Otherwise, the Michel Cluziel milk chocolate added a perfect touch of bittersweet in the cloudy wisps of mousse. The quality of the ingredients itself speaking volumes.
The two macarons ($3 a pop), the Salted Caramel and Pistachio were picture perfect with sexy feet and smooth unwrinkled shells. Taste wise, these were matured for the right amount of time, soft and chewy in the centres. The pistachio was my preferred choice out of the two given the salted caramel lacked depth and smokiness. Still, a very decent effort given the large masses of disappointment I've acquired over the past few months while hunting down macarons in Singapore.
Pastry Chef Gwen Lim's desire to promote the artistry of fine ingredients in pastry is definitely inspiring, her passion transcending with immediate effect into her pastries. With such fine quality and clean execution, I'm sure (and hopeful!) that this young Patisserie will see much success in the near future.
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-40 Millenia Walk Singapore 039596
Website: http://patisserieg.com/
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