Bread Butter Bakehouse

Got to learn about Bread Butter Bakehouse’s move from Kensington Square to Flora Vista fairly recently — for those whom haven’t heard of the Flora Vista development, this is a mixed-use development that is located near the area around Ang Mo Kio Industrial Estate; the same building also houses other F&B establishments such as that of NAYANA Kpop Cafe & Restaurant and an outlet of Lazy Lizard. Bread Butter Bakehouse shouldn’t be too difficult to locate; the shop is visible from both Yio Chu Kang Road as well as Ang Mo Kio Street 66 — the premises at their Flora Vista location is smaller than that of their Kensington Square shop unit. That being said, the Flora Vista location still bears the same homely look as their Kensington Square; the interior seeing the use of white walls and floors and wooden accents for its furniture and fittings — all coming to replicate some sort of a Japanese-style, zen vibe just like it has been at Kensington Square but albeit cosier. Whilst the tables within the establishment caters to both patrons that come in pairs as well as in groups of fours (4), there are also dining tables set-up outside that caters to groups of fours (4) pax. There is actually an All Day Brunch menu that Bread Butter Bakehouse is serving up, though the main offerings at Bread Butter Bakehouse would be the lineup of buns, cakes and muffins which are being displayed prominently at the counter; they also do retail entire loaves of bread as well. Beverages available at Bread Butter Bakehouse includes espresso-based specialty coffee, tea, drinking chocolate, house-made concoctions of soda and other soft drinks.

We recalled being pretty impressed with their Red Bean Bun when we had dropped by Bread Butter Bakehouse for the very first time when we made our visit to their Kensington Square location; perhaps this was also the same exact reason how we found ourselves going straight for the Red Bean Bun during our visit to their Flora Vista location this time round despite the other breads that they have to offer. The folks did offer to warm up our order of the Red Bean Bun; something which we also gladly went for as well. The Red Bean Bun turned out to be as good as remembered it to be; one thing we really liked about the Red Bean Bun at Bread Butter Bakehouse was how the bread is done a little bit in the style of a Shio Pan where the insides of the bun is layered — alternating between the red bean paste and the bread until it reaches the core. The layering of the bread does seem to also help provide the bread a bit of a firmer texture when one chews into it; allows the bun to still remain its shape while between the layers would be a generous amount of red bean paste within — the bun also comes with a glossy sheen on its exterior as well. The red bean paste does seem to be made in-house; we liked how it is sufficiently dense without being overly greasy; focused more on the earthiness of the red beans and not too sweet at the same time.

We also managed to try their Chocolate Mousse Cake during our visit to their Flora Vista location — we aren’t big fans of chocolate though this was the very first cake that had caught our attention whilst we were skimming through the display fridge at the counter. Whilst the description card does not provide a list of elements that is featured within the Chocolate Mousse Cake, we did like that there were varying textures within the cake that helped to break the monotony of a typical mousse cake; there was a layer when we found to be a little crunchy, while chocolate pearls also helped to also give a contrast of textures from the chocolate mousse beneath it. There is also a very thin layer of chocolate sponge cake that sits at the bottom of the cake as well. Considering how the Chocolate Mousse Cake was especially rich and decadent with deep notes of chocolate through and through, we liked how the chocolate didn’t cause our throat to itch — quite unlike some of the chocolate desserts that we have had in the past from some establishments; one that would definitely captivate the hearts of chocolate lovers to say the least. We also went for the Coffee — White (Hot) as well; there seems to be attempts on creating latte art and the microfoam does seem to be pretty well-executed to say the least. The cuppa does come with a medium body; a little nutty with a fruity finish — whilst not the best cup of coffee out there, this was still a particularly good attempt by an establishment with a focus on their bakes rather than specialty coffee.

Whilst the operations of Bread Butter Bakehouse seems to have been downsized with its moved from Kensington Square to Flora Vista; that being said, it does seem like these folks hadn’t forgotten about how they had set the business up to be when they had first started. They still feel like the friendly neighbourhood bakery with an added dine-in operations, serving up buns that one would find some familiarity in but with premium ingredients — the quality and consistency in their offerings does showcase this pretty well. There is also a rather neighbourhood-ly vibe going on here as well, with the folks manning the store engaging in small talk with their patrons they creates a friendly atmosphere that is rarely seen at most establishments these days. No doubt its All Day Brunch menu may come across as basic for some; that being said, perhaps this is the way that they had intended things to be — not to be basic, but offering a sense of familiarity by offering simple and comforting brunch fare through the use of their bakes to serve up something that all can relate to. Flora Vista might be a little difficult to get to, but we would probably be returning again if we were to crave for their stellar Red Bean Bun; a location that we likely would find ourselves at if we want to hide ourselves from the typical hustle and bustle in the buzzy heartlands on a weekend whilst watching the day go by.