Fine Dining Bakery By Akira M

This is a popular bakery in this neighbourhood, which you would see people constantly walking in to grab their freshly baked pastries from the shelf.

Their handcrafted breads are using Hokkaido flour. I do enjoy the texture of their croissants.

Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. isn’t a new name to the F&B scene in Singapore — in fact, we had visited Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. sometime back in 2019 for the very first time giving their Sourdough Sandwiches a go. Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. had for a while pivoted into a takeaway-only establishment after dining restrictions have been implemented as part of the safe management measures imposed in accordance to the COVID-19 situation back then. It has been quite a while since we had walked past UE Square; having past the mall fairly recently, it seems that Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. has since revamped its space to re-introduce dine-in operations yet again. While the counter displaying the various breads available for the day still remains in the same position, the space had been revamped such that most of the dine-in seating within the establishment are wall-facing seats by the wall — there is also space that around the shop that is dedicated to retailing handicraft / souvenirs and tableware as well. Being a Japanese bakery at heart, Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. serves up a variety of bread — this includes quite a number of sourdough breads, French viennoiserie as well as loaves available for takeaway. Those who are looking for something more substantial, Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. also serves up a limited variety of sandwiches — includes that of Egg Salad, Tuna Salad and Prawn Salad. Those looking for a beverage can opt between a selection of coffee or hot tea.

Making an unexpected visit to Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M., we were looking for something that wasn’t too heavy and hence ended up settling for the Melty French Toast — the item being displayed in the display case in a box with two pieces of toast within. The Melty French Toast does require some waiting time involved — the item is prepared upon order. Arriving the table piping hot, the Melty French Toast is nothing fancy when it comes to the physical appearance of the dish — simply just two squares of toast, the Melty French Toast doesn’t come with fancy embellishments such as that of fruits or even with a drizzle of maple syrup; it is simply just what it is. Taking a bite into the Melty French Toast, the item just simply shines on its own — the Melty French Toast might come dense, but all of that is being soaked in the egg wash before being toasted. This results in the Melty French Toast to carry quite a substantial bite; one could definitely feel the heft of the french toast with every bite, but yet is pillowy-soft — sufficiently eggy and could even be said as lightly jiggly considering how it has been soaked in the egg wash through and through. The texture is consistent throughout the french toast, though this wasn’t it for the Melty French Toast here. Since the item does not come with any form of syrup on the side, it seems that the folks at Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. had spread a very thin layer of clear fruit jam (apple jam?) on top so as to bring some form of sweetness to the dish. Sneaky move? For sure it is, but a very genius one that gives a surprise element to it.

Having been the Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. a number of times before it pivoted into takeaway operations, we had always felt that the conversion of Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. into a takeaway-only establishment to be a little bit of a shame — their dine-in element compliments their takeaway loaves for the most part, where one would be able to give their smaller items a try before committing to buying an entire loaf home. The dine-in menu could also serve as a form of inspiration for some folks as well, where one could easily see what they are serving up to reference what they could also do by themselves at home whilst using the selection of bread which they have to offer at Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M.. Nonetheless, we are glad that Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. had since reinstated their dine-in operations after such a long while; definitely could see the expats and other residents residing in the River Valley neighbourhood making Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. a spot to catch-up or have a leisurely breakfast or tea-time treat over coffee, as well as a spot to grab some bread to stock up on the pantry at home — this is especially given how Fine Ding Bakery by Akira M. has got a decent variety of pretty stellar breads to offer. For those who were looking forward to giving their sandwiches a go, or those whom are into Japanese sandwiches especially — Fine Dining Bakery by Akira M. is somewhere to add to the list!

Having tried and fallen in love with the sourdough at other well-known bakeries, I had high expectations for Fine Dining Bakery. Unfortunately, they were not met.

The bread is kinda chewy and very dense. It's really moist in the center as well. Which is fine, but it just didn't have that airy crumb which I expected sourdough to have. Nor did it have that classic fermented sourdough taste which I was hoping for.

I did like the sweet pop of the raisins and the crunchiness of the pumpkin seeds. But it tasted kinda like a roll form of Gardenia raisin bread. Which is delicious, but not worth $4.50 😅

5/10

Look at the cross section of that egg mayo soaking into the bread! This was the epitome of Japanese taitai indulgence; two super fluffy bread slices with egg mayo jam-packed between them. ($8.50 ala carte)

I love how the egg is not evenly smashed...there are still large chunks of egg yolk and the egg white chunks is chopped into uneven chunks which give it such a homemade feel and taste. The bread isn't soggy and the egg mayo to bread ratio is generous yet proportionate. It's just so comforting biting into one of these super fluffy babies.

9/10

The cinnamon butter sugar toast is rich in butter and crisp on the outside while fluffy inside. The cinnamon was fragrant, going very well with the butter too.

Finally tried the Fluffy Shokupan from Fine Dining Bakery! The bread was fluffy indeed while being slightly chewy with generous chunks of egg mayo sandwiched in between them. We got set meals which included a salad and a soup too! 😋