The newly opened Crown Bakery is drawing hoards of people to the otherwise totally random location in Crown Centre, on Bukit Timah Road.

Proudly showcasing their artisanal breads and sweet items, they use no artificial food flavouring, colouring or preservatives.  Did I also mention the bakery smells fantastic?

 

Go early, or expect many of the breads to be sold out. Everything is made by hand, with some of the breads taking 12 hours to rise, so once it’s gone – it’s gone.

Their signature bread is the Hainanese Chicken Bread ($4.50 for a loaf). I forgot to take a photo, but if you appreciate your chicken rice, you’ll go nuts over this one. Boasting ingredients consisting of chicken soup, skinless chicken thigh, and herbs and spices like garlic, ginger, shallots and lemongrass, this lovely loaf is absolutely delicious. It uses French milled wheat flour, and is best eaten warm. I had mine straight out of their oven and….. ooh la la!!

The Red Wine and Fig Ekmek ($5.50) is worth a shot. The fluffy yet spongy texture of the bread was delicious when we lightly toasted it, then slathered the slices with salted butter.

The Early Grey and Orange Brioche ($3.80) comes in an interesting cylindrical shape and tastes distinctly of both ingredients – very intriguiging!

If you prefer a more ‘normal’ loaf, gt the Honey Ekmek ($3.80), a beautiful round and golden loaf of fluffy bread with a very subtle honey taste. Again, this was amazing served warm with salted butter.

 

Where the magic happens. Half of their floor space is the baking area – they’re serious about this.

 

I also enjoyed their Sourdough ($4.50 for a loaf). Their prices are excellent for what you get, and the bakers are obviously proud of their work – happy to discuss and provide information about the breads that are being carried out of the baking area on large trays.

 

I had their The Queen’s Eggs Ben ($18) which, compared to their breads, is pretty pricey. The portion is quite petite, so don’t expect to share.

 

I enjoyed my Flat White ($4.50), which I could drink with zero sugar (I can only stomach coffee with zero sugar if it’s a REALLY good coffee).

 

But THIS takes the cake. Crown’s Sourdough Buttermilk Waffle ($6 with maple syrup & butter) took pleasure to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

Yes, it looks completely uninteresting in the photo. But just take one bite and you’ll see.

 

I have NEVER had a waffle as good as this one in Singapore. Dad said the same. Chris said the same. Hunter said the same. Carter said the same. We FREAKED.

The waffle has the perfect blend of a crisp exterior and moist interior, but it was the flavour and texture that was stunning. It had a very subtle sourdough flavour that cut through the sweetness of a traditional waffle, and had a slightly chewy texture that was, simply, AWESOME.

I ate the whole waffle by myself, and could easily eat two. It’s sublime! Don’t try and order this to share!

 

My kids loved theirs so much, I had to order another waffle for them..

 

Some other small breads/pastries we had were the Mentaiko Mayo Garlic Crisp ($2.80). I’d skip it. It was very chewy and tough, and the mentaiko making it way way way too salty.

The Croissant, however, was sublime. Layer upon layer of flaky pastry, it was best eaten fresh out of the oven.

 

I was completely impressed with Crown Bakery and Cafe, and am eager to go back again for more of their Sourdough Buttermilk Waffles and to bring home a bunch of their breads!