Was scrolling through social media the other day and found out about the new Beans Factory which had recently opened its doors at the ground floor of 100AM mall along Tras Street — the dessert establishment being located just right beside the Henri Charpentier outpost within the same mall just right across the So Good Bakery there. Being a brand that had its roots in Malaysia, they have since expanded their operations within ten (10) outlets located just right across the border; their 100AM mall outlet being their very first one that is located in Singapore. Occupying a space that is somewhat situated in the middle of the walkway of the mall, Beans Factory does have a small space that is dedicated to dine-in seating; the dine-in space consists of four (4) tables that are good for four (4) pax each. Being known for their soy bean products, their signature offerings would be the items being listed in the Tau Fu Fah (i.e. soya beancurd) section of the menu — other notable offerings include their Shaved Ice series, as well as their Grass Jelly offerings. Patrons would get to opt for their choice of sugar base — Beans Factory offers Brown Sugar, Sugar and Bentong Ginger Syrup for patrons to choose from; also available would be a list of toppings that one may add to their bowl of dessert. This would include items like red bean, black pearl, taro ball and Snow Nest (i.e. snow bird nest) which are all priced individually.
Skimming through the menu being served at Beans Factory, we found ourselves being drawn towards their Taro Family Tau Fu Fah — the item comes features their signature Tau Fu Fah, as well as elements such as taro ball, mini taro ball, and taro paste. Served chilled, our order also comes with an additional topping of the Snow Nest — the topping being a free add-on in line with their opening promotion. For our choice of sugar base, we opted for the Bentong Ginger Syrup — this came in a tiny jug alongside another tiny jug of what seems to be unsweetened soy milk. Digging straight into the Taro Family Tau Fu Fah, we were really impressed by how the entire package went — the Tau Fu Fah itself being especially silken, yet lightly sweetened enough that enhanced it’s pretty fragrant, bean-y notes that it carried on its own. The addition of the Bentong Ginger Syrup further adds on to to the flavour of the entire bowl; it is almost akin to that slight “spiciness” amidst the sweetness that one would expect in the ginger soup that is typically served with Tangyuan (i.e. Chinese glutinous rice balls) — a flavour which we found to be particularly uplifting considering the load of taro balls that it came with. Moving along to the other elements in the bowl, the yam paste was aptly dense; creamy and smooth with it being overly sweetened. Instead, it carried a pretty evident note of earthiness typical of yam paste, which gels really well with the soya beancurd and the Bentong Ginger syrup. The taro balls and the mini taro balls were more of a mix of sweet potato balls and taro balls. These were incredibly chewy despite being pretty firm; the sweet potato balls being particularly enticing considering how they carried a hint of earthy sweetness typical of the root vegetable that provided much contrast to the dessert. Meanwhile, the inclusion of the unsweetened soya milk was not quite necessary in our opinion; seemingly diluted the dessert somewhat, though we could see why some would prefer to add it in — nothing that the Bentong Ginger syrup could not fix however.
While our experience at Beans Factory is heavily based on a single item in their menu, we were pretty convinced by the item which we have had — the Taro Family Tau Fu Fah being a very satisfying item in more ways than one. Not only did the signature Tau Fu Fah managed to deliver and even exceeded our expectations of it; we were also satiated by the quality of the taro balls, the taro paste and even the Bentong Ginger syrup that we have went for — each element being pretty well-executed individually to be enjoyed on their very own. We would say that we are pretty intrigued on various items that they have to offer — this would include some of their Shaved Ice items such as that of the Black & White Soya Ice Family, as well as the Signature Durian Shave Ice. Prices for their dessert bowls can be said as pretty competitive amongst that of other similar establishments — the cheapest being the Signature Tau Fu Fah which is priced at $4.50, while the priciest would be the Signature Durian Shave Ice listed at $12.50; most items are priced in the range of $7.90 to $9.50. We would most certainly give a thought about having dessert at Beans Factory again if looking for some Taiwanese-style Tau Fu Fah around Tanjong Pagar — a spot that is worthy to make a trip to check out!
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