Alice Boulangerie is one cafe-cum-bakery that really left a deep impression on us. In recent times when everyone is trying to outdo one another with trends and patterns, Alice Boulangerie chose to stay classy with honest bakes – ironically, this is what we are lacking in the current climate when everyone is so caught up with fanciful and Instagrammable-everything.

Conveniently located in the Tanjong Pagar, Alice Boulangerie is a space which we would consider to be relatively Nordic and minimalistic, with simple wooden and rattan furniture and classy pendant lamps. No frills about its decor, but most definitely cosy enough for some quiet me-time, a simple lunch meeting, a date and a wonderful spot to simply lay back and relax.

With an impressive culinary and baking team, you are set for great food and bakes. We tried quite a few items and nothing actually disappointed us; how impressive! It is most definitely a spot we would return to again and again – whether it is for their hearty mains or stellar bakes.

Sitting within Icon Village, Alice Boulangerie is a comfortable spot in Tanjong Pagar to grab a cup of coffee alongside your favourite pastry or to have a simple lunch.

They may be well known for its beautiful pastries and croissants, but not many people know that they have a savoury food menu to cater to the working crowd in the CBD and they dish out a selection of all-day breakfast, mains and pastas.

Tiger Prawn Capellini

Out of the main courses that we tried, The Tiger Prawn Capellini (S$28++) was definitely our top pick. Plump and juicy tiger prawns, angel hair pasta cooked in a flavoursome and robust prawn stock, cherry tomatoes – this was so satisfying and we found ourselves salivating at the very thought of it.

Fourth of July Cheese Burger

Another main course that we enjoyed was the Classic cheeseburger (S$26++). Alice Boulangerie uses USDA Homemade beef patty served with soft brioche buns—that are freshly baked in their own kitchen daily—streaky bacon, chipotle coleslaw, and fries. A simple and no-frills burger that hits the spot, we’d say.

The Steak Shack

Next up was the 200g Australian grass-fed striploin (S$35++), which was accompanied with Australian asparagus, sautéed mixed mushroom, creamy buttery mash potato, and roasted garlic bulb. You can choose between herb butter or red wine mushroom sauce for the steak. Toothsome in every bite, and definitely super filling.

Remember to save some room for desserts and pastries, because everything that comes out from Alice’s pastry team is AMAZING! You will probably need to visit Alice Boulangerie several times to try everything on the menu, but we are telling you it is very well worth the trips.

Grab a counter seat by the kitchen and watch the talented bakers & chefs prepare the croissants and pastries; it is so therapeutic to watch them in action.

From the classic plain Croissant, to Pain Au Chocolat, and their iconic bi-coloured croissants, it goes without saying that everyone comes to Alice Boulangerie for their famous croissants. You’d be sorry to leave without trying one!

Alice Boulangerie’s croissants come with the most gorgeous and on-point honeycomb structure. Absolutely stunning, flaky and buttery with every bite.

The chefs at Alice Boulangerie have years of experience and are passionate and obsessed with perfecting the recipes for their food and bakes. Fun fact: they supply to a lot of events and parties, too!

Pistachio Chocolate Croissant

The signature Pistachio Chocolate Croissant (S$7++) is filled pistachio crème patisserie house praline and hazelnut ganache. This is a croissant of our dreams; decadent with a well-balanced sweetness and absolutely gratifying – definitely a must-order when you are at Alice Boulangerie.

Strawberry Cheese Croissant

Filled with freshly made strawberry jam, smooth luscious cream cheese, and garnished with strawberry chocolate shavings, the Strawberry Cheese Croissant (S$7++) is a crowd favourite. It is both pretty and yummy, and we would gladly have one anytime.

Do note that the bi-coloured croissants are available in limited quantities from 11am until they are sold out. The early bird gets the pretty croissants because honestly, nobody wants worms.

Mushroom

If you love cream puffs, you’ll love the new Mushroom (S$9++). Alice Boulangerie has reinvented the classic cream puff and they present their rendition in the shape of a mushroom. What you get is a classic choux puff piped with gula Melaka Chantilly cream, coconut pastry cream as well as gula Melaka caramel. Such a decadent and thoughtful creation!

Acorn

In line with Alice Boulangerie’s branding and its squirrel mascot, the team has recently introduced the beautiful Acorn (S$13++)—a chocolate acorn shell made with 70% dark chocolate that is made up of layers of chocolate mousse, yuzu crémeux, almond dacquoise, and almond walnut praline with salted caramel mousse.

It took the chef months of research to perfect the recipe and baking techniques to produce this seemingly-simple dessert. What you get is a crisp outer layer of dark chocolate that holds the shape of the acorn really well, while keeping the interior soft yet firm so that it doesn’t crumble nor do the layers get mashed up.

Alice’s Christmas Log Cake

This is probably going to be the cutest log cake you’ll see for Christmas this year.

Launching in early November 2022, Alice’s Christmas Log Cake (S$85++) is a beautifully constructed moist chocolate flourless sponge layered with chocolate mud biscuit, an exotic fruit crémeux, caramelized banana, and hazelnut praline crunch, then topped with a 3D squirrel made from orange dark chocolate mousse. The kids will definitely love this!

Alice Boulangerie
12 Gopeng St, #01-05/11 Icon Village, Singapore 078877
Tel: 8874 3300
Daily: 8am – 6pm
Online Delivery: https://aliceboulangerie.cococart.co/

This post was brought to you by Alice Boulangerie.

Bread & Butter by XY started out as a home-based bakery in 2020 and it has officially opened a new pink bakery cafe at Oxley Tower in the central business district (CBD).

The small cafe is located on the ground floor of Oxley Tower along 138 Robinson Road and there are three small tables for dine-in.

Good news for the early risers who are working in the CBD. On weekdays, Bread & Butter by XY opens their cafe early and you can enjoy a cup of coffee and some fresh bakes by 6am.

Photos credit: Bread & Butter by XY

All the bakes at Bread & Butter by XY are inspired by the owner’s loved ones and some of the best sellers include:

• Cinnamon Sticky Buns
• Honey Butter Biscuits
• Truffle Cheese Bread Roll
• Matcha Financier
• Breakfast Banana Loaf

Drop by Bread & Butter for a coffee or pick up some fresh bakes to bring back to your office.

Bread & Butter by XY
138 Robinson Rd, #01-04 Oxley Tower
Singapore 068906
Monday to Friday: 6am to 3pm
Saturday: 7am-2pm

The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie is a new French bakery which specialises in viennoiserie—the ‘bridge’ between pâtisserie and French bread.

Located at 16 Hamilton Road, The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie joins the growing list of cafes and bakeries in the Lavender and Jalan Besar neighbourhoods. It will officially open to the public on 8 May 2022 at 11am.

The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie’s executive baker & owner, Elaine graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Tokyo and she worked in a French-Japanese bakery in Singapore before starting out The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie on her own.

The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie is a takeaway-only bakery without any dine-in area and they will be offering up to 13 types of Viennoiserie every day.

The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie’s Classic French Croissant is excellent. It is light and airy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Definitely one of the best croissants we’ve had in Singapore. We also love their Almond Croissant and Kouign-amann.

Other than the classics viennoiseries, The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie has also created some creative and unique pastries including the Fleur De Framboise (Raspberry Flower), Trio of C (comprises of cookie, cheesecake and croissant), La Brioche Macaronade, and Chocolate Crumble.

Prices range from S$3.80 for the classic croissant to S$6.50 for the Trio of C.

For those of you who cannot decide on what to order, The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie has two sets with their most popular offerings.

The Classic set features the most classic and popular viennoiserie such as:

• Plain croissant
• Almond Croissant
• Kouign Anman
• Escargot Au Raisin
• Pain Au Choc

The Maverick set, on the other hand, comes with The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie’s unique pastries including:

• Fleur De Framboise
• Trio of C
• La Brioche Macaronade
• Chocolate Crumble
• Quiche

The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie
16 Hamilton Road, #01-02
Singapore 209186
Tue to Sun: 8.30am to 5pm

Artisanal French Bakery Maison Kayser has opened its 6th Outlet at Stars of Kovan in the Kovan neighbourhood.

Maison Kayser is Eric Kayser’s eponymous bakery chain from France with sweet and savoury bakes and it has been named by Paris’ Figaro newspaper to be the best.

Besides their famous croissants, they also serve a selection of classic French breads, viennoiseries, sandwiches, soups, and salads.

The new outlet is located at Stars of Kovan and it has taken over the former premise of Sugartree Gelato—an ice cream shop by the same team behind Two Bakers—which has moved to Daily Ground in Bukit Timah.

Look forward to Maison Kayser’s popular French-style eclairs, breads, tarts and a whole plethora of sweet treats.

There are a few seats in the small bakery cafe and you can enjoy a cup of coffee/tea with your bread and pastries.

Maison Kayser
988 Upper Serangoon Rd
#01-28 Stars of Kovan
Singapore 534733
+65 9010 7389
Daily: 7.30am – 5.30pm

Read our guide on the cafes in the Kovan and Lorong Ah Soo neighbourhood.

Located at 23 Hamilton Road near Jalan Besar and Lavender, La Levain is a new bakery cafe by pastry chef, Wythe Ng who used to work at Keong Saik Bakery & Bakery Brera.

The Lavender neighbourhood is home to many wonderful cafes and some of the recent openings include Habitat Coffee, Pacto by Parchmen and Glacier.

Pasty chef Wythe Ng had co-founded Keong Saik Bakery with another partner before leaving in 2019. He last worked at Bakery Brera as the head chef and he had also worked at Japanese bakery chain Boulangerie Asanoya and Baker & Cook.

La Levain has officially opened to the public on 11 Dec 2021.

There are over 20 bread and pastries on La Levain’s menu and some of the items are:

• Brown Sugar Kouign Amann (S$4.50)
• Croissants (S$3.50 – S$7)
• Pain Au Chocolat (S$4.50)
• Cruffins (start from S$4.60)
• Baked Sandwiches (start from S$5.50)

Other than the classic bakes, La Levain also has an array of Double Baked Croissants such as Hojicha Mochi Croissant (S$6.8), Burnt Cheese Croissant (S$7) as well as its signature Bo Bo Cha Cha Croissant (S$6.50).

If you cannot decide on what to get, you can opt for the Classics Box (S$32.80 for six items) which comes with their signature bakes including French Butter Croissant, Pain Au Chocolat, and Kouign Aman.

And to celebrate Christmas, you can get the Panettone (S$48, 500g)—a traditional sweet cake-like bread. It requires a 3 days process of fermentation, proofing and mixing and it is freshly baked at La Levain.

La Levain
23 Hamilton Road
Singapore 209193

Read our guide on the best croissants in Singapore.

Helmed by Chef Mohamed Al-Matin who has previously worked at Noma, Restaurant Andre, Black Star Pastry, Zumbo, Le Matin Patisserie first started as an online pastry shop during Circuit Breaker last year, and it has since opened a physical shop at Raeburn Park earlier this year.

Other than the Le Matin Basics which featured 5 pastries, we also tried the Savoury Box: Assemblag that came with 4 savoury pastries including the new Lamb & Red Wine Pie and Wagyu & Bone Marrow Sausage Roll.

Each pastry box from Le Matin Patisserie comes with 4 or 6 pastries and each drop can vary in accordance to the technique and seasonal supplies.

Le Matin Basics (S$34)

• Kouign Amann
• Pain Au Chocolat
• Lacto-fermented Plum Galette
• Brioche Feuilette
• Bread and Butter Pudding

Out of the five pastries from Le Matin Basics box, we loved the Kouign Amann, Pain Au Chocolat and Brioche Feuilette.

Laminated with lots of butter, the Brioche Feuilette—a croissant-brioche hybrid—was truly outstanding with an extremely buttery and crispy pastry. The signature Kouign Amann was equally buttery, flaky and had subtle hints of vanilla.

Chocolate lovers will love the Pain Au Chocolat which was stuffed with Valrhona dark chocolate and came with a molten chocolatey center.

Savoury Box: Assemblage (S$58)

• Lamb & Red Wine Pie
• Wagyu & Bone Marrow Sausage Roll
• Escargot Escargot
• Beef Tongue and Cheese Croissant Panini

The Savoury Box that comes with 4 savoury pastries including the new Lamb & Red Wine Pie and Wagyu & Bone Marrow Sausage Roll. The savoury pastry that stood out the most was the Beef Tongue and Cheese Croissant Panini. The croissant was layered with Beef Tongue and Wagyu Bresaola, a mix of 4 different cheeses, as well as pickled rose petals, butternut and horseradish.

How about escargot in a pastry? Le Matin Patisserie shaped the traditional croissant like a snail and filled it with escargots from France. This was the perfect balance of savoury and sweet.

You can also add on cold brews to your pastry boxes and they include Black Coffee (S$5), White Coffee (S$5), Oat Milk Coffee (S$7) and Chocolate (S$7).

Le Matin Patisserie offers Island-wide courier delivery at a flat-rate fee of S$10 for a single location on the same date. Enjoy free delivery with a minimun order of S$80.

Le Matin Patisserie
10, Block B Raeburn Park, #01-25
Singapore 088702
Website: www.lematinpatisserie.com

The Bread Rack is an artisan bakery cafe near Serangoon and Kovan which specialises in freshly-baked sourdough, croissants and baguette.

It opened earlier in January this year and it has already garnered a following amongst residents in the neighbourhood for its delicious croissants and pastries.

The Bread Rack is located at Space@Kovan which also has other food places including Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee, PokPok Keh and P.Osh brownies.

They bake everything on premise daily and you can be assured of the freshness of their bakes.

Other than a selection of croissants, sourdough, baguette and country loaf, you can also get croissant sandwiches as well as breakfast platter.

We had the Butter Croissant (S$3.8) and Almond Croissant (S$4.8). The crisp layers flaked away nicely as you bit into the super buttery and airy croissants.

The Bread Rack certainly has one of the best croissants you can get in Singapore.

The Bread Rack is a fantastic addition to the Serangoon and Kovan neighbourhoods and gone are the days where you have to travel all the way to town in order to get a good croissant from the more popular artisan bakeries.

They are currently offering a 10% off on every purchase and an additional 5% off on hot food & beverage set during this period. The promotion is valid for both takeaways and deliveries and you can Whatsapp them at 88755407 to place your order.

The Bread Rack
9 Yio Chu Kang Rd
#01-55, Space@Kovan 545523
Tel: +65 8875 5407

Opened by the same team behind Glyph Supply Co, Dough Coffee is a new Korean-inspired bakery & coffee shop at CHIJMES. It is quite easily one of the nicest cafes in Singapore right now, and long queues can be seen daily.

We paid Dough Coffee a visit and it made us miss Seoul a little more than ever.

Dough Coffee makes their own bread, pastries and pasta in-house.

Other than the bread and pastries, it has a small and concise selection of All-Day Breakfast, Pasta and Mains including Breakfast Platter (S$28), Spicy Kimchi & Tomato Pasta (S$22), and Wagyu Burger (S$26).

Matcha Mochi (S$5) is a popular option and it is baked using premium ingredients including ceremonial-grade matcha, milk mochi, azuki, Japanese flour and AOP butter. Sadly, it sounds a lot better than it tasted.

The Kouign Amann (S$5), on the other hand, was totally worth the price tag. The buttery pastry that is lavishly sprinkled with powdered sugar was beautifully layered on the inside.

We can’t do without our Iced White (S$$6), especially when the weather has been so merciless. The espresso shot was nutty and had a nice bitter aftertaste to it, and we would definitely pick up another cup if we were in the vicinity.

Dough Coffee
30 Victoria St, #01-30, Singapore 187996

The quieter sister of Keong Saik Road, Bukit Pasoh Road deserves equal credit for being a foodie’s lane. Lined with hip bars and charming cafes, this preserved street has won our hearts over with its laidback, rustic aura.

And, if you haven’t heard, this stretch has received another addition to its family of establishments.

Meet Bakery’s Bench Bakery — a new artisanal neighbourhood bakery that churns out stellar bakes and gourmet sandwiches. From cranberry scones to croque monsieur, they’ve got everything you need for a dignified brunch. Caffeine junkies, not to worry, they also have a respectable selection of coffee brews and tea beverages.

Their interior brags of elegant Scandinavian vibes, replete with muted greens and lush plants. The granite floor and walls lend a subdued industrial touch to the whole space.

We especially adore the aesthetic of the main counter, which sees dangling lamps and hanging pastries.

The server shared that all their bread and croissant pastries are made with a sourdough base, which endows them with a tarter, deeper flavour.

Starting off with the Savory Swirl (S$4.50), this spiral danish pastry is stuffed with pesto and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. While the pastry itself was gorgeously flaky, it could have used more pesto filling and cheese.

One of their signature pastries is The Sticky Bun (S$5), a cinnamon bun glazed with caramel and toasted pecans. Resembling a gooey caramelised block of gold, it set our expectations pretty high for how it was going to taste.

And, trust us, it was every bit as good as it looked. The dough itself was fluffy with a soft, buttery chewiness. And when accompanied with the sticky caramel and crunchy pecans, it made for a dreamy indulgence.

We also tried the Hazelnut Twice-Baked Croissant (S$5.50). Speckled with hazelnut bits and icing sugar, the croissant had a deliciously crisp exterior.

However, we wished they were more generous with the hazelnut-infused frangipane filling, which was merely concentrated in the middle. Also, they could work on the overall flakiness of the croissant, which was slightly lacking.

Although Baker’s Bench Bakery’s pastries aren’t out-of-this-world amazing, they speak of incredible thoughtfulness and soul. We can’t get enough of their alluring atmosphere and warm service.

We can see this place getting really packed soon, so you might want to head there soon before this place gets big.

6 Bukit Pasoh Rd
Singapore 089820
Wed – Mon: 8.30am – 5pm
Nearest Station: Outram Park

When it comes to artisanal bread and pastries baked fresh, very few do it better than the good folks over at Enjoué Bakery. Specialising in a vast array of quality European-style artisanal bread, pastries and cakes, each and every one of this humble bakery’s authentic bakes come with sturdy crusts imbued with the natural flavours of fermentation and a robust mouthfeel that is quite unlike any other.

All their products are hand-made, freshly-baked daily and free from any preservatives and other unnatural ingredients. In essence, what you are likely to get is real-deal, healthy loaves that boast spectacular flavour profiles and textures—something you probably will not be able to find at commercial bread shops.

Artisanal bread is all-natural and do not come laden with preservative, additives and chemicals—not to mention they taste so much better. It may take a bit of getting used to, but the pros of switching over to artisanal bread truly outweigh the cons, and Enjoué Bakery is perhaps one of the few in sunny Singapore that guarantees superior quality, wholesome loaves that come with the promise of unbeatable flavour.

Enjoué Bakery is having a special promotion of S$1 butter croissant (limited to 3 pieces per customer, daily) from now until 8 August 2018.

THE ORIGINAL ENJOUÉ BAKERY

Mention the name Enjoué and you’d probably get eye rolls and cynical remarks. But here’s the thing—Enjoué Bakery is the original Enjoué, but in recent times, it has been misrepresented and more often than not misunderstood for being the infamous cakes and dessert table company.

That Enjoué is now operating and known as Euphorique Bakery, but there is still a confusion between the two. The distinguishment is simple: Enjoué Bakery is a properly registered company with a proper shopfront, and they specialise in quality European artisanal bakes; while Euphorique Bakery is… Euphorique Bakery.

The latter leaves much to be desired with their endless scandals and sagas. We’ll leave you to decide if Euphorique Bakery is worth the time, but for us, we’d very much prefer to stick to the original Enjoué Bakery who is, by no means, affiliated to Euphorique at all.

BREAD THAT’S ALL-NATURAL

Enjoué Bakery works with numerous high-end restaurants and F&B brands across the country with notable names including the likes of Black Hole Group—the ones behind Working Title, The Mad Sailors, The Great Mischief & Santap—Bayswater Kitchen by Privé, Redtail by Zouk,  Burgernomics and more.

The secret behind their bakes lies in organic flour and their starter dough, which for the uninitiated, is what many bakers rely on to make incredible naturally leavened bread. It is a fermented substance that consists of flour, water, salt and a lot of patience and is what’s responsible for kickstarting the fermentation process necessary for preparing tasty bread.

No preservatives, unnatural ingredients, or artificial enhancers and food colourings are used in any of their bakery offerings. Granted that the average shelf life of their products is shortened without preservatives, what you can expect is a much healthier (and tastier) option to regular store-bought bread.

You can look forward to classic breads including rye, pain aux céréales, Flaxseed Rye as well as gluten-free breads which are diabetic friendly and low in GI.

Enjoué Bakery prides themselves with using their own house-cultivated starter dough that has been with them for several years now.

Bread made from natural sourdough starter has a distinctive aroma and subtle sour tinge at the end of the palate. The result of using a start dough instead of conventional yeast? A much chewier, crustier and more flavourful loaf—perfect as a meal-time accompaniment or even as a snack on its own.

Besides artisanal sourdough and rye bread, they also specialise in a wide array of sweet buns. We particularly like their Apple Cinnamon Brioche that boasts a sugary glazed apple atop a sweet, buttery brioche.

ARTISANAL TARTS & CAKES

A great accompaniment to an afternoon tea or coffee and an irresistible treat for those with a sweet tooth, Enjoué’s range of sweet bakes are sure to delight the palate as well.

From luscious tarts to decadent cakes, their premium flavours are highly profiled and guaranteed to hit the right spot. Who needs a fancy patisserie when you can get just as indulgent a treat from this humble bakery?

HOME-MADE GOURMET SANDWICHES

A sandwich is only as good as the bread that holds everything together, which makes us all the more thankful that Enjoué Bakery also makes their own sandwiches. Perfect as a quick and hassle-free meal on-the-go, their gourmet sandwiches come packed with quality meat fillings and an abundance of fresh greens.

These gourmet sandwiches are available in Cold Storage at One-North (1 Fusionpolis Way #B2-03 Cold Storage @ One-North). Other than the gourmet sandwiches, the One-North outlet also has a selection of breads and viennoiseries.

VIENNOISERIES TO-DIE-FOR

For the love of all things flaky, buttery and golden, there are few things in the spectrum of artisanal bakes that can beat a good viennoiserie pastry. From the puff pastry itself that requires the careful manipulation of technique and time by a master baker to the filling that can neither be too profoundly flavoured nor excessively added, the work that goes into making just one is painstaking.

Their viennoiserie pastries are all hand rolled daily, using only French sheet butter which has a higher butter content, resulting in a unique flakiness, and just like all their bakery offerings, no preservatives, unnatural ingredients, or artificial food colourings are used.

Enjoué undoubtedly takes the cake (or in this case, bake) when it comes to croissants. Buttery and crunchy with a lovely hint of sweetness, these bad boys are a surefire way to put you in the right mood in the morning.

Their croissants are made of a layered leavened dough they repeatedly layer with butter. The dough is then rolled, folded and rested several times until a multi-layered structure of dough and butter is formed—a tedious process nonetheless, but one that yields superb results.

Light, airy, flaky and buttery all at the same, there are only so many places we know of that execute the humble croissant just right.

Enjoué Bakery
29 International Business Park Road #01-2a&2b
ACER Building, 609923
Tel: +65 9191 6145
Mon to Thu: 9am – 2am
Nearest Station: Singapore Expo

This post is brought to you by Enjoué Bakery.