An institution in Paris, Angelina Tea Room and Patisserie is opening in Singapore at the newly revamped Capitol Galleria. Famous for its signature Mont Blanc and the World’s Best Hot Chocolate, Angelina will be bringing a little part of Paris to Singapore come end May.

Angelina Singapore will be a two-storey tea salon that can accommodate 60 guests. It will be offering all day dining options, as well as a dessert boutique for takeaway of pastries.

Besides France, Angelina currently has outlets across the world in the following cities: Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. The Singapore outpost is its first South-East Asia outlet.

Angelina Tea Room And Patisserie
Capitol Galleria #01-82
15 Stamford Road
Nearest Station: City Hall

I am a fan of the Spa Esprit group. To me, they are one of the best F&B groups in Singapore. From their first food outlet Barracks Cafe, to the crowd’s favourites Forty Hands Cafe, and Open Door Policy at Yong Siak Street – every concept that they have created become popular almost instantly. One of their latest ventures, Tiong Bahru Bakery is no exception.

Tiong Bahru Bakery is opened in collaboration with celebrity baker, Gontran Cherrier. It started with much fanfare in the now-hip Tiong Bahru neighbourhood (Eng Hoon Street), and added a second shop at Raffles City shortly after.

During a recent tasting at the artisan bakery, we tried most of the signature items on the menu. Below are some of the highlights from Tiong Bahru Bakery.

We started with Tiong Bahru Bakery’s Croissant ($3.20), which has been getting lots of attention. Some people go to the extent of calling it the best croissant in Singapore, while there are others who beg to differ. Does Tiong Bahru Bakery’s croissant really live up to the hype?

To me, a good croissant is light, flaky and buttery. While the croissants here are tasty, I thought they were not so great. I’ve had much better ones in France before. That said, it is still one of the better versions you can find in Singapore. Moreover, taste is subjective, so it all boils down to personal preferences.

In all fairness, I am not against their croissants. I’ve had mixed experiences (having tried them on several occasions), hence undecided about them being the best.

The Almond Croissant ($3.20), on the other hand, won me overly completely. Unlike the normal croissants, these were dense and moist, and tasted slightly more like a cake than a bread. But what I loved most was the hint of almond in the bread. I am not sure if purists would like it, but I loved it.

One of the show-stoppers at Tiong Bahru Bakery is the Kouign Amann ($3.50), which is a Breton cake with similar characteristics to that of a puff pastry. It is a round crusty cake, made with bread dough, containing layers of butter and sugar. Lots of butter, sugar and caramel. Sinful, but so damn good. I didn’t manage to get a picture of it, but trust me when I say you must not leave Tiong Bahru Bakery without trying this. This is my favourite item and I will go back again and again for it.

The Pain Au Chocolat ($3.20), while good, could have done with a more generous amount of chocolate.

Much has been raved about Tiong Bahru Bakery’s Squid Ink Sandwich ($8.50). In my opinion, it was nothing fantastic, as the squid ink taste was not as distinct as I had hoped it would be. If you have never had it before, it is worth trying once, but I’d suggest saving room for the other sandwiches.

Tiong Bahru Bakery also has pretty decent brioche (available in plain, sugar, almond and chocolate). It’s something that I would have for afternoon tea everyday.

After having the savoury bites, we moved on to the sweet stuff.

The Pandan Flan ($6) is like a giant egg tart, only that the chef chose to use pandan instead of the usual custard filling. I wasn’t too keen on this, but go ahead and order it if you have a thing for pandan.

The Mixed Berry Crumble ($6) was also decent, but it would have been perfect if they had served it with a scoop of ice cream.

Tarte au citron is one of my favourite desserts, so I was really looking forward to trying Tiong Bahru Bakery’s rendition. The Round Lemon Tart ($6) was good, but not what I had in mind. It was more like a short bread than a butter tart. If you love the usual tarte au citron like me, this is probably not for you.

Also worth mentioning is the Pineapple Coconut Cake ($6), which is rustic, and tastes somewhat nostalgic – exactly the kind that you would find in your grandma’s kitchen. It was enough to gain my adoration.

We also had a Chocolate Tart ($6), which had layers of fruits (orange, apricot and fig) in between. It was sticky and chewy, and again, quite unlike the standard chocolate tarts.

Most of the creations at Tiong Bahru bakery are infused with Asian flavours and ingredients like curry, pandan, pineapple and tamarind skin. In other words, you either love or hate the unique flavors.

Not everyone will love Tiong Bahru Bakery on their first visit, but if you get the chance to sample more of their offerings, you will discover more favourites along the way that will then keep you coming back for more.

Tiong Bahru Bakery
56 Eng Hoon Street
#01-70 Singapore 160056
Tel: +65 6220 3430
Daily: 8am – 8pm

252 North Bridge Road
#B1-11/12 Raffles City Shopping Centre
Singapore 179103
Tel: +65 6333 4160
Daily: 9am – 10pm

Note: This was an invited media tasting.

Note: Jean-Philippe Darcis is now closed.

I have been on a mission to try all the afternoon high tea places in Singapore. One would imagine that there are plenty of nice dessert places to go for a leisure afternoon tea. But the problem is, I have been to most of them, and sometimes, I end up going to the usual ones because there are only that few high tea places in town.

After having dim sum at Paradise Pavilion, my partner-in-crime and I were greedy for more food, and we I suddenly thought of the macarons at Jean-Philippe Darcis, Marina Bay Sands. Life is good when you have desserts after dim sum.

I have heard of the chocolatier before, but it was only when I did a quick search online, then I knew that he holds the prestigious title of Belgian Chocolate Ambassador along with other awards.

Anyway, back to Jean-Philippe Darcis at MBS. The chocolate cafe sells pralines, Belgian Waffles, Cupcakes, and an assortment of macarons (around 14 flavours to be precise).

At $3 per piece, the macarons are not exactly cheap. But still, no one can resist macarons. Death by macarons! Death by macarons!

We were debating if we should get a dozen macarons, but our common sense told us otherwise. We ended up getting 5 macaron (Almond Milk, Passion-fruit chocolate, Pistachio, Vanilla, Hazelnut) and a passion-fruit cupcake (a little dry).

Among the ones that we had, my favourite was the vanilla and hazelnut. We thought that the Pistachio was lacking in the nutty flavour, while the Almond Milk and Passion-fruit chocolate were decent, but not life-changing.

Do they have the best macarons in Singapore? Well, the macarons at Jean-Philippe Darcis are definitely some of the better ones that I’ve had. But I am not sure if it is the best. There are after all, so many patisseries and cake shops in Singapore. This gives me the perfect excuse of doing a taste-test of all the macarons in Singapore, but that’s a separate story.

All in all, Jean-Philippe Darcis at Marina Bay Sands is a nice place to have Belgian waffle, macarons and a cup of tea. It is not as popular as the chichi TWG Salon (yet), so I will definitely go back and try the other macarons.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Jean-Philippe Darcis
10 Bayfront Avenue, #01-38
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
Tel: +65 6688 7202

For more recommendations, read my list of afternoon high tea places in Singapore