Wheathead

Got to learn about the opening of Wheathead Bread & Pastry’s brick and mortar store whilst scrolling through social media recently — having previously been an online-based business that was based in the East side of the island, these folks have found themselves a new home in the West; located in a mixed-use development named One-North Eden, the building itself is also a fairly new addition to the area. Being located at 10 Slim Barracks Rise, the building is within the vicinity of NTU Alumni Club and can be considered as walking distance away from Buona Vista MRT Station. Occupying a corner shop unit at One-North Eden, the space is decked with a contemporary vibe with the use of terracotta elements amidst the open concept kitchen. The ordering counter is located just towards the right of the entrance, with the bakes available for the day being displayed prominently in a baking shelf at the far corner of the counter. Daily specials available are also being named on the chalkboard towards the left of the entrance as well. Considering size of the space and also the amount of space that is allocated to their bakery operations and counter, there are limited dine-in seating located within the space that comprises of bar counter seating intended for fast turnover of patrons. As with most bakeshops/ bakehouses in Singapore, the availability of certain items are staggered throughout the day — apart from the range of Focaccia, Galettes, dessert pies, scones etc. that are prominently displayed on the baking shelf near the counter, there is also Focaccia sandwiches available for lunch from 11am onwards. Beverages available would include batch brew coffee brewed using beans roasted by Smitten Coffee Roasters, as well as a Cold Brew Rooibos Tea.

There has been quite a fair bit of mention about Wheathead Bread & Pastry’s Banana Cream Pie even despite how the establishment had only opened its brick-and-mortar store fairly recently. Turns out, the Banana Cream Pie is one of the offerings on the Daily Specials menu for the day — whilst there is no description of the item indicating the elements that went into the making of the Banana Cream Pie, the Banana Cream Pie can be likened to what some would refer to as a Banoffee Pie especially since it comes with a pastry cream layer atop the banana cream mousse — a layer of salted caramel can be found at the base sitting atop a pie pastry layer. A pie that was sinfully good, we did feel like this could also be shared amongst two (2) pax which would make it less jelak to have given the amount of cream that came long with it; the pastry cream over the top does give the dessert pie a smooth and creamy texture that went well against that slightly more dense banana mousse layer beneath it — the banana mousse layer also coming with chunks of sliced banana that is just ripe enough to provide a chunky bite and that extra dimension of sweetness that further enhances the notes of the banana mousse cream as well. The salted caramel hits strong in the with its intense sweetness and saltishness that rounds off the entire pie. Meanwhile, the pie pastry at the bottom is sufficiently firm to hold up all the elements above it without turning particularly soggy from the elements above, yet flaky enough to give a good texture.

During our visit, we also had the Slow-Roasted Shallot Galette; this seems to have featured the same pie pastry that came together with the Banana Cream Pie; the pastry comes topped with caramalised onions over the top and some mustard seeds that lines the base of the pie pastry. We did find the pie pastry which somewhat resembles that of a puff pastry to be a little bit on the drier side of things; that being said, the caramalised onions does come a little juicy and provides a bit of moisture apart from the sweetness that gave it most of its flavour — the mustard seeds gave it an extra touch of earthiness which adds onto the flavoural contrast of the dish. The toasted sesame on the exterior of the pie pastry also gives a fragrant aroma to the Slow-Roasted Onion Shallot Opting for the Iced Batch Brew, we found this to be pretty decent as a perk-me-up; a rather comfortable cuppa to have with a medium body and a fruity flavour profile that rounds off nicely with a clean finish. Wheathead Bread & Pastry joins the ever-growing list of artisanal bakeries that had sprouted all across the island in recent years; it comes without a doubt that their offerings are pretty competent to that of similar establishments around where the focus is on their freshly-made, small-batch pastries that are big on flavour — food that has been lovingly made by folks whom have passion for the craft that would only serve their very best to their patrons. Considering the lack of options around the area in between Buona Vista and one-north outside of the areas linking up Fusionopolis and Metropolis, Wheathead Bread & Pastry is a spot that is likely to turn into an institution which not only folks would make a special trip down for, but also one that is appreciated by the community around it!