Category: Bakeries
There aren’t many bakeries as iconic in the local cafe scene as Bakery Brera, a stalwart fixture at Farrer Road that operates out of a compact shophouse unit, almost like a polished “HDB-downstairs bakery”, strikingly diminutive for an establishment of its stature and popularity.
The craft of a patissier is an artful calling where even the most understated pieces demand finesse. If fastidious ratios and intricate plating are points of appeal, then Tigerlily Patisserie’s resplendent creations will certainly make your heart skip a beat.
Unsurprisingly, we’ve seen a growing stable of chefs venturing out into their own cafes and F&B operations of late. Singapore’s pastries and cafe scenes are thriving after all, maybe growing even more robustly than the restaurant ecosystem. Inserting itself into the ranks of personally headed projects is Mooi Patisserie by Chef Gail Ho, a pastry chef who’d previously earned a Michelin star at Meta.
The narrative of Singapore’s F&B’s previous two years had been noticeably dominated by home-based concepts and celebrity chef debuts. Even after reaching what can only be described as a critical mass of trendy new openings though, there’s still no cafe in Singapore that embodies the dining paradigm as profoundly as Sourbombe Bakery.
Boat Quay is a rather curious place that is bustling with lunch hour spots and after-work drink spots but the cafe ecosystem here is rather weak, as cafes come and go fleetingly — even the local sandwich titans had some trouble with keeping their Cubano shop Onda afloat for long. Though a few cafes have seemingly taken root in the area, one of the promising ones is the new Pomme.
Trends are ruthlessly fleeting in the cafe scene. One moment, the flavour of the month lures in the most enthusiastic crowds, the next, it’s left vacant and lifeless on a sunny Saturday brunch. Still, if there’s one thing that has stood the weathering of fickle cafe fads, it’s the timelessness of bakes and Madu the Bakery is a solid case study for blending trends with the classics.
It’s an indelible fact that sourdough has generated an incredible amount of buzz in the cafe scene in recent years. Even with the deluge of scrumptious bakes, pastries, and pizzas, I don’t think any other establishment has been able to utilise wild yeast fermentation as holistically in Singapore as the newly opened Anna’s Sourdough.
Dreams don’t have to stay dreams, something perfectly encapsulated by the rise of Whiskdom from a home-based business to the conception of their third concept, Ooze, smack dab in the heart of town at Orchard Central.
There’s undoubtedly a glamorous allure to global trademarks who find their way to Singapore. Global recognition can generate a ton of fanfare and that was doubly true for Mr Holmes Bakehouse when it was announced that their world-famous cruffins were landing in Singapore.
A sleek black glass monolith protrudes out of the ground, fenced in by an outer area populated with sleek white marble fittings and two dainty trees that extended skyward undeviatingly. Only a cryptic logo of Waga Waga Den is emblazoned onto the facade of the enigmatic glass enclosure as a hint of what’s inside.
The interior is yet another striking minimalist marvel — svelte black tables are welded to the metallic structural skeleton while zen garden pebbles lined the perimeter to give it a distinct cyberpunk edge.
What ties Waga Waga Den’s futurist aesthetic together succinctly is a cluster of overhanging geometric lights which flicker and snake vividly, like you’re sitting in a futuristic Tokyo district or something out of Westworld.
Waga Waga Den’s lavish sense of aesthetic is unrivalled by even the chicest brunch spots in Singapore — that said, it’s not designed as a mere cafe for coffee runs.
Conceived by the Black Cow team, this new spot at South Beach is envisioned as a tranquil unwinding hangout and lifestyle concept for CBD denizens.
While still figuring out operation nuances currently, they will progressively modify and eventually roll out after-work luxuries such as Sake that come straight from Black Cow itself.
It is with that vision in mind that all the intricacies are planned out and crafted into the space, especially the picturesque garden featuring oblique marble benches that actually draw out their insignia when viewed from above.
Ultimately, Waga Waga Den is meant to be a holistic hybrid that will allow customers to lounge in its vogueish premises round the clock — so even the shadows in the bar area will evolve based on the Sun’s position of the day and how daylight trickles in through their ceiling-height glass panes.
As with Black Cow, their new concept places a lot of pride in procuring premium ingredients to ensure pristine quality is translated into their offerings.
Provenance is assiduously planned for at Waga Waga Den, where premium ingredients like Japanese red sugar and some of the best quality Kyoto Matcha are sourced for.
At this fledgling phase, the main focus is funnelled into fine-tuning their coffee for the vicinity’s daytime crowd. In the long run, offerings will change with the seasons, as is the norm with speciality coffee, but the espresso blend will persist as a Brazilian-Guatamelan blend to ensure quality control.
The menu at Waga Waga Den is considerably varied but the unique creations that will probably capture your attention are their unique “cloud” drinks.
Extremely unique in presentation, the Cloud ($9) is a coffee that’s adorned with luscious mounds of chocolate-dusted clouds at the brim. A rare sight of the unique cloud as the progenitor of the style, Omotesando, had already ceased operations in Singapore.
Being milk-based, Waga Waga Den’s speciality is blessed with a soft creamy body to match the medium roast profile of the espresso. The overall profile is balanced, robust, and enriched by a beautiful dose of fragrant chocolate. No artificial sweetener, just good quality chocolate.
Atop their drinks, Waga Waga Den also has a few food items on the menu —mainly Japanese in scope— and their Warabi Mochi ($10) was what jumped out at me. Mochi is a simple tidbit but that also means deficiencies are made even more glaring.
Suffice to say, the Warabi Mochi here is executed to perfection. To the teeth, they are fluffy, light, and delightfully chewy while to the tongue, the coating and syrup imparted a brand of toasted sweetness that was bright but elegant.
Aesthetics-wise, Waga Waga Den blows most of its Singapore competition away — very few cafes are given this elaborate attention to detail. In a way, it’s a small enclave in the CBD area where you’d feel spirited away to a futuristic Japan or Korean suburb.
Operations are still in process of fine-tuning, so this isn’t the finished product yet. But if they remain steadfast in their devotion to fine quality, I can’t wait to see what the future will bring.
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