Mr Holmes Bakehouse’s Famous Cruffins Find Second Singapore Home at MYP Centre
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.
Fast forward to almost a year later and Mr Holmes Bakehouse has found a second home in the busy, flourishing heart of Singapore — Raffles Place.
They are here to teach all the antsy suits to unwind with their vibrant colours, sharp neon lights, and irreverence in pastry making. Prepare to tell people “I got baked in CBD.”
Many recognise croissants as one of the magnum opuses of French pastry making, with the most pristine folds imaginable. But Mr Holmes Bakehouse are rebels known for popularising the cruffins
Basically endearing bastardisations where the rich laminated dough is moulded into flaky “muffins”. Needless to say, the anticipation was sky high when they announced their incursion onto our island.
Located at MYP Centre, this new Mr Holmes Bakery has received a bit of refinement to suit the prim and proper Raffles Place vicinity.
Hot pink neon lights illuminate the spacy cafe where leather lounge seats provide the office crowd with the cosy respite they need from their screens. Their signature white tile textures are juxtaposed against sleek metal arches that glisten with chic, effulgent purple hues.
Savour the Savoury
The magic of Mr Holmes Bakehouse is the lack of constraints, where imagination allows for some quirky twists on unexpected things. Contrary to popular belief, that also extends to the savoury and hot food section too.
There are some hits and misses in this department but the ideas are never too contrived. For example, hedging on the Korean infatuation, their Spam & Egg with Kimchi Croissant ($13) is a simple shake-up that just works.
Leveraging on the Korean classic of spam and kimchi, Mr Holmes Bakehouse assembles a hearty combo where the slightly flaky viennoiserie sandwich is given some extra oomph.
Similarly, they also gave the Mexican classic of Chicken Fajita ($13) a playful makeover. Instead of your usual tortillas, the usual ingredients are repackaged in Mr Holmes Bakehouse’s ciabatta bread.
It entails the same flavoursome fajita-seasoned chicken, bell peppers, and onions but with the gratuitous crunch of ciabatta.
Finished off with a furtive heat from a healthy splatter of habanero mayo, this was undoubtedly a great twist that Mexican food aficionados could get aboard with.
Of course, Mr Holmes Bakehouse also churns out regular breakfast classics for the convenience of grab-and-go breakfasts in the buzzing CBD.
There’s not much to say about the stripped-down Egg Mayo & Candied Bacon ($10) except that the wholesome overload of flavours is the perfect invigoration in the early morning. You can’t go wrong with this array of quintessential breakfast ingredients.
Alas, the Roasted Hummus & Veggie ($10) didn’t fare as well in its simple breakfast bite duties. Even though the flavours were still there, the textures arrived as a messy spate of overly chewy sourdough, slightly grainy hummus and a tad too much moisture in the veggies.
Sweet Sweet Dreams
To visit Mr Holmes Bakehouse undoubtedly has to include their iconic cruffins, which you can’t claim to have visited without tasting. While the textures aren’t immaculately flaky, they do carry a gentle airy crunch with a soft chew.
My favourite from the current line-up of Seasonal Cruffins (all at $6.50) is one that’s crammed full of silky Pistachio Cream. The cream oozes an exuberant nutty fragrance, a tad sweet and a tad toasty — a perfect foil for its cruffin casing.
In Mr Holmes Bakehouse’s display case, you can also find other two seasonal flavours — Coconut Cream and Raspberry Mocha.
While I didn’t quite appreciate the blend of coffee with raspberry, the rich aroma of the coconut worked in tandem with the buttery cruffin.
Besides the cruffins, another perennial favourite for Mr Holmes Bakehouse’s regulars is their luscious Brioche Donut ($5.80). We all know how Singaporeans go gaga over artisan donuts.
I found the Rose Lychee endearingly refreshing, despite it not being my usual profile — the dainty lychee notes and rose water just melded together seamlessly.
A hot flavour that would perk up your eyes is the Bannoffee but my palate skewed more towards the Strawberry Lemonade which was a piquant motley of lemonade and strawberry fruity supremacy.
There’s no doubt Mr Holmes Bakehouse does their sweets well. you can find fun, platable and IG-worthy bakes all throughout their menu. But perhaps what surprised me more was their savoury line-up — don’t sleep on their grab-and-go sandwiches if your day job leaves you stuck in the CBD.
You can also shop their pastries and sandwiches online here.
Mr Holmes Bakehouse
- Address: 9 Battery Rd, #01-01 MYP Centre, Singapore 049910
- Hours: (Mon–Fri) 8am–6:30pm
*This was an invited tasting.