1. Bread and Hearth
18 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089125, Tel: 6534 7800, Opening Hours: 8am – 9:30pm
Somewhere near Outram Park MRT (and a stone’s throw away from Cake Spade) lies Bread and Hearth – a small but quaint artisan bakery that offers freshly-made European-style bread, pastries and desserts. Their products are baked fresh daily (as all good artisan bakeries should), and in small batches to ensure freshness – it’s really more about quality than quantity here.
Although Bread and Hearth is located in the hipster Keong Saik area, the store itself has a rather down-t0-earth and humble vibe. Let’s put it this way – you’re not going to find any fancy macarons or overly-Instagrammed cupcakes here, just honest-to-goodness bread and pastries done well.
Praline Croissant
If you’ve only got space for one item on the menu though, go for the Pain Au Chocolat or Almond Croissant. The buttery pastries are dense but soft on the inside, and slightly crispy and flaky on the outside. Bread and Hearth also offers their in-house blend of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans – worth a try if you like nutty and chocolatey notes in your coffee.
All in all, Bread and Hearth is an ideal location for brunch or just catching up with friends over a cup of coffee and some good bread. The bakery also has free Wi-Fi, so you can also hang out with your Kindle/iPad all afternoon if you want to.
2. Baker and Cook
77 Hillcrest Road, Greenwood, Singapore 288951, Tel: 6469 8834 | 44 Jalan Merah Saga, #01-56, Chip Bee Gardens, Singapore 278116, Tel: 6472 0998, Opening Hours: 7am – 8pm (Sun to Thurs) & 7am – 10pm (Fri to Sat) | InterContinental Singapore, 80 Middle Rd, Singapore 188966, Tel: 6825 1502, Opening Hours: 8am – 7pm
Along with Bread and Hearth, Baker and Cook is another one of my favourite spots for getting my bread and pastry fix. Although it is quite similar in concept to Bread and Hearth, Baker and Cook does offer a wider variety of products. Besides bread, they also do cookies, granola bars, tarts and even savoury items like quiche, sandwiches and salads.
Founder and co-owner Chef Dean Brettschneider is an experienced baker and patissier to say the least – so it’s no surprise that the bread and pastries here have a certain finesse to them.
Some of the products may be somewhat unfamiliar to most of us though – such as Lamingtons (an Australian dessert consisting of sponge cake with chocolate and coconut) or Bombolone Doughnuts (Italian doughnuts filled with a sweet filling) – but that’s not to say that they aren’t worth a try.
With all the fancy pastries available at Baker and Cook, it’s easy to gloss over the fact that the bakery also does gourmet bread. The selection of bread is a bit more traditional though – think Olive Bread, Walnut Loaf and Brioche. They also have gluten-free bread, but apparently it’s not available everyday so you should probably call ahead to check.
3. Asanoya Bakery
15 Queen Street, #01-03, Singapore 188537, Tel: 6703 8703, Opening Hours: 9am – 9pm Daily
(Source: Asanoya Bakery)
When people mention artisan or gourmet bakeries, we often think of European-style bread and pastries. However, Asanoya Bakery has successfully managed to integrate Japanese flavours with traditional European recipes, which no doubt distinguishes it from other bakeries.
Originally from Karuizawa, Japan, Asanoya Bakery first started out by selling gourmet Japanese bread to the noble class in Japan. They soon adapted their menu to suit the tastes of their growing expat customer base in Japan, and incorporated European-style bread into their offerings.
Menu highlights include the bakery’s signature Royal Milk Tea Bread – soft and fluffy bread infused with Earl Grey tea leaves for a strong tea flavour. They also have an interesting selection of Cube Bread, which is similar to a Lava Cake but with bread (instead of cake) encasing a molten center. The Cube Bread comes in Chocolate, Yuzu, Caramel Apple, Green Tea and Blueberry.
Royal Milk Tea Bread (Source: Asanoya Bakery)
If you prefer savoury food, try the Pari Pari Yaki Curry bread – soft bread with Japanese curry, melted cheese and a crispy crust. Sinful? Yes. Worth the calories? Definitely.
Pari Pari Yaki Curry (Source: Asanoya Bakery)
The bakery is spacious with a generous seating area, so it’s no surprise that they also do lunch and dinner sets, with mains like Beef Bourguignon and Chicken Fricassee.
(Source: Asanoya Bakery)
4. Nick Vina Artisan Bakery
Icon Village, 12 Gopeng St, #01-54/55, Singapore 078877, Tel: 6224 7848, Opening Hours: 7:30am – 8pm (Mon to Sat) & 7:30am – 6pm (Sun)
Nick Vina Artisan Bakery is the brainchild of Chef Nick Chua and Pastry Chef Vina Wang (hence the name) – both of whom have a passion for wholesome, handcrafted gourmet bread.
The selection of bread and cakes at the bakery have a distinct European flair to them – think Panettone, French Baguettes and Focaccia. They also have sandwiches, if you’re looking for something more substantial.
Nick Vina Artisan Bakery is located at Icon Village in Tanjong Pagar – a fairly new mall that also houses Whips Cupcakes and Patisserie Glace – so the place is quite popular among business-types who work in the CBD. The style of the bakery seems to be quite similar to Tiong Bahru Bakery, but prices are a fair bit cheaper (read: you’re not going to be paying $11 for a tart).
5. DONQ Boulangerie
Takashimaya Shopping Centre, 391 Orchard Road, #B2 Food Hall, Singapore 238873, Tel: 6737 4150, Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm
DONQ Bakery is nestled at the back of Takashimaya’s food hall, along with other well-known gourmet brands like Laurent Bernard and Flor Patisserie. The Japanese bakery first attracted crowds of eager foodies when it first opened in April 2012, and 3 years later, still remains as popular.
Besides standard Japanese favourites like Melon Pan, DONQ Bakery also has interesting fusion-type bread like their Sausage Croissant (yes, it’s as delicious as it sounds) and Mentaiko France (baguette with spicy roe spread).
Mentaiko and Corn Burn (centre), Cheese Cookie (left), Strawberry Mochi (left, bottom)
The Mentaiko and Corn Bun, in particular, is definitely worth a try. The spicy cod roe is more salty than spicy, but the bread is soft, buttery and cheesy – and if that’s not the perfect combination for any savoury bread, then I don’t know what is. The corn bits also add nice hints of sweetness and texture to the bread.
On the other end of Takashimaya’s food hall (near the entrance) is Mini One by DONQ, which specialises in – what else? – mini pastries. While the selection is not as wide as the original DONQ Bakery, they do have some pretty good croissants. And hey, since they’re bite-sized, it won’t kill your diet to have just one mini croissant right?
Mini Croissants
