Cafe Creatures: SINGAPORE: Breakfast at Hediard

Monday, August 8, 2011

SINGAPORE: Breakfast at Hediard

There's something alluring about the silent stillness of the night that draws me in, away from the abyss of sleep. As a result, I sleep late and rarely wake up to meet friends for breakfast. This time however, the food and, of course, company at Hediard was definitely worth having to drag myself out of bed at normal waking hours.

I ordered the Hediard Breakfast set with brioche, a soft boiled egg and coffee, $19

Straight off the menu:

Hediard breakfast set

- Madeleine blend coffee, chocolate or hediard blend tea

- orange juice freshly squeezed

- choice of either croissant, brioche or pain au chocolat

- hediard country style toasted bread and butter

- One 30 gr jar of home made jam and one 30 gr jar of honey

What surprised me the most was the authenticity of the place. Stepping into Hediard along Tanglin Road was like stepping into a bakery-cafe in Paris - except this one is 20 minutes from home, air-conditioned and doesn't have Paris' charismatic peach coloured buildings and cobblestoned paths outside.

The brioche here was startlingly fresh, soft and warm. It was a hundred times better than any I'd had at La Pain Quotidien in London and a close match to the one I had once from the Harrods bakery.

Madeleine blend coffee

Spoiled by the espresso machine at home and papapahelta cappuccinos, I didn't appreciate the Madeleine blend coffee here. Carmen-the-coffee-guru, however, assured me that this was exactly how coffee all over Paris tasted like and she much preferred Ya Kun Kaya Toast's coffee. Either way, you can't deny that the place is an honest to goodness paris bakery-cafe.