Pistachio with Pistachio Filling Croissant Was scrolling through social media earlier this week and came across a post mentioning about a new bakery that had recently opened its doors in Shaw Plaza — while it has only been not too long that the revamped Shaw Plaza had been opened to public, there isn’t much additions to its tenant listing for quite a while in the past few months. The new bakery in question turns out to be Pan Fresco, which occupies a unit in the second level of the shopping mall — Pan Fresco should be quite an easy find considering how near it is to the only set of escalators connected to the first level of the shopping mall — the space is decked in a contemporary style with grey walls and floors; all matched with furniture and fittings with wooden accents. It is noted that Pan Fresco is a little bit of a neighbourhood bakery, though one with a slightly more upmarket vibe — the bakery offers a wide range of local-style buns and breads that are displayed in the display case where patrons can grab whatever that they desire on a tray, and make payment at the counter for their purchased; this is much like any other traditional mom-and-pop bakery that is situated in most neighbourhood areas. That being said, there is another display case that is located around the cashier; that display case consists of European-style breads — think loaves of Focaccia, croissants and danishes. In the display chiller located beside the counter, there are a range of cream horns and dessert tarts that one can go for as well. Given how they are attempting to differentiate themselves from the usual mom-and-pop style neighbourhood bakery, there is a small dine-in space dedicating for those whom are intending to have their pastries on the spot — most seats catering to groups of two to four pax per group. Beverages available at Pan Fresco includes espresso-based specialty coffee, drinking chocolate, and a variety of tea sourced from Gryphon Tea Company.
Given how we had seen only a small selection of what they have to offer through social media posts from those whom had visited Pan Fresco before we did so, we were pretty spoilt for choice after seeing the big variety of breads, pastries and danishes which they offer at the shop itself. After much contemplation, we decided to go for two of their bakes; one being the Pistachio with Pistachio Filling Croissant — one of the items that was being displayed in the display case nearer to the counter. We were being told by the staff behind the counter that the Pistachio with Pistachio Filling Croissant was best to be had after being heated up. With the pastry being warmed up, we liked how the croissant itself was actually pretty flaky and buttery with clear lamination of layers within — the pastry also came with a tension as one chews into the pastry. While the Pistachio with Pistachio Filling Croissant already comes with pistachio pastry cream being piped in the top of the pastry with crushed pistachio nuts being lined across the piped cream, the Pistachio with Pistachio Filling Croissant was also filled with pistachio cream within — not quite a surprise though considering the namesake of the pastry. That being said, we felt that this item would do well with those who love pistachio in general — the pistachio filling was rich and creamy; much akin to that of a pistachio spread that carried evident nutty notes that was further enhanced by the pistachio pastry cream that is being piped on the top of the pastry. The crushed pistachio helps to provide a contrast of textures, creating a crunch that gives yet another dimension to the crisp nature of the croissant. We do agree with the staff about how the croissant was better had warm — the pastry did carry a better texture when heated up as compared to subsequently when it has cooled down.
Since we had already gotten ourselves a pastry and wanted to go for yet another item to try at Pan Fresco, we decided to go for one of the tarts instead of the various breads and danishes which they had to offer. With the variety of tarts that they have stocked up in the display freezer, it was also pretty much a hard call to make on which of the tarts to go for — we ultimately settled for the Green Grape Fruit Tart. Overall, we did feel that the range of tarts is probably not their forte especially when compared against the Pistachio with Pistachio Filling Croissant that we have had — for one, the tart came with a rather soft shell that breaks fairly easily. Case-in-point, one of the tarts was destroyed while the staff behind the counter was serving us our order — the tart shell started to break apart whilst she was picking it up to plate it. The Green Grape Fruit Tart also did feel a tad cheap when compared against the Pistachio with Pistachio Filling Croissant — the gelatinous mirror glazing created a jelly-like layer on the top over the fruits that we were not quite fond of; we also did not quite like how the tart was filled up with fresh cream almost akin to that of cakes with an icing that is typically served at mom-and-pop bakery shops all around the island. While the fresh cream here wasn’t particularly dense and was actually rather light and fluffy — quite easy to finish, we just felt that it fell short of the usual custard cream that we are more accustomed to having at more artisanal bakeries that specialises in tarts in general. The fruits used were however pretty fresh — possibly the most enjoyable part of the tart overall. It wouldn’t be quite fair for us to make a comment on the quality of their offerings in general; they do have a wide range of items available, and whatever that we had try is just a small selection of that. That being said, we do feel that the staff are still getting used to the operations, so do expect some teething issues which we hope they can resolve in the long run. A spot that is worth checking out for their danishes if in the Balestier area.