Tiong Bahru Bakery

After a dissatisfying dinner at NamNam Noodle Bar, I was in need of some nice and fulfilling desserts. Walking past Tiong Bahru Bakery at the corner of the basement of the Raffles Shopping Centre, I had my attention captured by their wonderful display of sandwiches, bread and pastries. Unable to resist the temptation, we sat down for some desserts.

Lemon Calamansi Tart was recommended by their staff as a best seller. The buttery pasty was filled with lemon custard, topped with a piece of white chocolate and some meringue sticks. The tangy lemon curd was smooth and gooey and had the right balance between sweet and sour. The tart, however, did not have enough crunch and could have done with a bit more time in the oven.

My love affairs with crumble started when I was in boarding school and it is definitely one of my favourite sweet treats. They had both apple and berry crumble and I chose the latter. To make it possible for takeaway, they had put the berry mixture on a layer of pastry, which was so buttery that it had overpowered the rest of the dessert. There was not enough fruits in the berry sauce and the crumble on the top was not crunchy enough. Overall the pastry tasted too heavy and needed more freshness from the berries. It would probably have tasted better if served warm rather than room temperature.

With a menu including coffee, sandwiches and soups, Tiong Bahru Bakery is more of a café than a bakery. Seating is very comfortably spaced with very cute pencil-legged tables that you can see in the picture above. Even though their desserts were not the best I'd still like to return to try the coffee and danishes.

Tiong Bahru Bakery
#B1-11/12, 252 North Bridge Road
Raffles City Shopping Centre

NamNam Noodle Bar

NamNam Noodle Bar is a casual Vietnamese eatery that has recently gained some good reviews. The long queue that can be seen at their outlets all the time seems to be a prove of their growing popularity. I decided to give it a try while I was at the Raffles Shopping Centre one night for dinner.

Their simple menu focuses on baguettes and some soup and dry noodles. Pho is available with different type of beef of choice, including steak slices, Wagyu beef slices and beef balls. Other noodles bowls are served with chicken, pork or seafood such as prawn and fish cake. They obviously try to cater for the health-conscious and the baguette, noodle bowl and salad are all available as vegetarian. 

The seating was a bit cramped and we only managed to get the bar seats. The design of the restaurant was quite quirky with walls covered by old newspaper in Vietnamese. On each table was an assortment of sauces, including the Vietnamese staple fish sauce and chilli.

The signature Pho with beef steak slices was rather disappointing. The broth lacked the rich flavour and aroma from the various spices and herbs and there were not enough bean sprouts and Thai basil. The beef slices were too thick and tough to bite. 

Banh Mi with caramalised 5-spice pork belly and pork pate were served warm and the bread was lightly toasted for a crispy crust. The pork belly was attached with quite a bit of fat but the chopped carrots and cucumber and the tangy mayo dressing took the greasiness away. It was far from the authentic baguette which I had in Ho Chi Minh City, which had way more pickles, chilli and vegetables, but was still enjoyable. 

For a restaurant that claims itself a noodle bar, NamNam did not live up to my expectations with its Pho. There are other restaurants in Singapore offering much more authentic and tastier Vietnamese cuisine (such as Long Phung on Joo Chiat Road) with a more extensive menu. Their Banh Mi is worth a try for a quick lunch but I would not count on it for an authentic Vietnamese treat.

NamNam Noodle Bar
#B1-46/47, 252 North Bridge Road
Raffles City Shopping Centre

Yonehachi

The basement of Takashimaya is good for quick bites. There are stalls selling Japanese donuts, Korean pancakes, salads, smoothies, pastries and sandwiches on-the-go. And there are Indian, Thai and Vietnamese food in the food court, apart from the usual (and quite boring) fairs.
The other side of the basement has a few casual Japanese dining options, Yonehachi being one of them. Setting itself apart from the other stalls selling ramen and udons, Yonehachi specialises in the traditional Okowa rice. The steamed short-grained glutinous rice is available with different mix-ins of your choice, including red bean, chestnut, scallop or salmon.

My red bean Okowa with deep-fried prawn. The side dishes, including a miso soup, a salad with Japanese mayonnaise, steamed vegetables, green beans and seaweed, gave a great variety of different flavours and texture. The steamed slices of daikon, mushroom, pumpkin and lotus root were not overcooked and lightly seasoned with soy sauce. The sweet glutinous rice was slightly chewy and extremely filling. The crunchy red bean and the roasted black sesame had a nice contrasting texture. The prawns were, however, too dry and covered by too much batter. It was the least impressive component in the set.

Scallop and seaweed Okowa with deep-fried chicken and hot soba. This Okowa was more salty but equally tasty. My companion was not a fan of hot soba and would have preferred the cold version. Again the chicken was over-fried and a bit dry for me.

Despite being in a food court, seating was still arranged by staff who would also bring the meals to the tables. Although the service was a bit slow, the food was overall quite nice. Given their affordable price range, I would be interested in coming back to try their other sets.

Yonehachi
#B2-04-1/2, 391 Orchard Road
Takashimaya Food Hall
Ngee Ann City