Singapore Expats

Hi everyone

I'm french. did settle in Singapore 3 years ago and really like it. However I did notice that it is impossible to find a good baguette (can find quite a few good breads but not this) and same for croissant and chocolate roll. Was wondering why ? On a lot of things what you get here is really impressive (like Street Hawker : for 3$ this is really value for money) but for those 3 products never find anything really good. really wondering why.

Most of what I'm seeing is industrial quality product. I'm considering buying a existing bakery. At the moment I'm trying to get informations.

Quick on the side question, if you are interested in buying a small business like a bakery, where do you see the ads ?
Other question : if you are interested in more information on bakery (or even better talk to someone that runs it) any idea how to do it ?

Thanks in advance.

:)I don't have the answers to all your questions but I know there's a place called 'Bread' at the Rochor Centre (postal code 911834), opposite Sim Lim Square. They specialize in bread. Perhaps, that's a start.

Also, Mustafa Centre has a bakery where they make and sell baguettes.

You're right, I haven't seen some good pain au chocolat (chocolate horn, for les Americains) like I used to have at Au Bon Pain in Old Town Pasadena, California and I have been craving it!

Open your bakery fast, mon ami, and I'll be the first in line!:) Yum!

For the same reason you cannot find a pizza with authentic dough in SG. In my opinion it all comes down to the flour.

I think there may be no significant market for it. I am not French but I like good bread products. There is nothing around that actually satisfies my taste to what I am used to eat but there are some products that are acceptable. Example: Swiss Bake, I can buy their bread in every CS. I rate it something like 6-7/10 but unlikely I would bother to put some additional effort (if required) if there would be a bakery offering 9-10/10. And I am an expat. I bet for the local people the differences are indistinguishable if they are interested at all. You would be probably aiming at a group of French that do care as the rest of the expats may not see the difference (i.e. between yours and the Swiss Bake) or they are used to some country specific flavor products of the same type. My $S0.02.

Hi, well, according to your question, it is because it takes skills to make the baguettes and croissant. Also, Because in Singapore, the market is not that big although it is famous.

I am a business and marketing consultant focus on F&B industry. I have met a lot of pastry shops that always wanted to try out baguettes and croissant but end up the sales outcome is not that ideal.

I guess it's for the same reason that there is almost no good German bread in Singapore:
- Very few people can tell a good bread from a so-so one.
- Of those who can (predominantly German expats), most get used to the mediocre kind and would not get out of the way to buy good bread.
I, for example, have been to Werner's Oven (Eunos) only once in my 12 years in Singapore. Others must be more determined, otherwise they would have closed down.

Have you never tried some of the breads in Bread Talk, they have many outlets, the owner was trained in Taiwan and setup in Singapore. They also do some European style breads and whole grain buns with sunflour seeds, which are great.

Though I do agree there is much to be improved on the bakery scene, and you don't have to be a baker, just import one for your Bizz! With 300,000 expats in high income jobs it's a no brainer.

In fact you can have them made here to your requirements, Singapore is a food hub that supplies millions and millions of meals to the airport on a daily basis, and retail sector as required.

So place your order for french bread on contract baked to how you want it! You need to create the demand first for your bakery products or contact baker outlets and sell through them. Delivering each day!

That way you can build your demand up! You could also contact me as we have industrial factory kitchen with capacity no bread oven.

ksl wrote: In fact you can have them made here to your requirements, Singapore is a food hub that supplies millions and millions of meals to the airport on a daily basis, and retail sector as required.

Which given Changi has 42m passengers a year is a pretty remarkable statistic!

GGV wrote:Hi, well, according to your question, it is because it takes skills to make the baguettes and croissant. Also, Because in Singapore, the market is not that big although it is famous.

I am a business and marketing consultant focus on F&B industry. I have met a lot of pastry shops that always wanted to try out baguettes and croissant but end up the sales outcome is not that ideal.

Your obviously targeting the wrong people, or you lack the experience as a marketing consultant to introduce new product to the local market. I don't mean to offend but bringing in European overseas products needs knowledge, and planning before execution, even at the local food Asia events.

If you are a consultant you would know that there are 300K expats from USA to Europe that would bite your fingers off, if they had the right ingredients on them. Singaporeans that travel wide and far, also know if they enjoy or not, most do!

Singaporeans that never travel never know what they are missing and stick to their local made bakery! Research, evaluation, planning and execution is needed.

Take the new product called Sesame Seed Toast Spread by Foodpeople made to suit both Asian and Western tastebuds!

ksl wrote:Have you never tried some of the breads in Bread Talk, they have many outlets, the owner was trained in Taiwan and setup in Singapore. They also do some European style breads and whole grain buns with sunflour seeds, which are great.

Though I do agree there is much to be improved on the bakery scene, and you don't have to be a baker, just import one for your Bizz! With 300,000 expats in high income jobs it's a no brainer.

In fact you can have them made here to your requirements, Singapore is a food hub that supplies millions and millions of meals to the airport on a daily basis, and retail sector as required.

So place your order for french bread on contract baked to how you want it! You need to create the demand first for your bakery products or contact baker outlets and sell through them. Delivering each day!

That way you can build your demand up! You could also contact me as we have industrial factory kitchen with capacity no bread oven.

KSL is obviously one of the people I DIDN'T mean by "can tell a good bread from a so-so one."

Seriously: I have been at Bread Talk and their ilk numerous times, hoping that they have improved, just to turn around frustrated and eat at the next hawker centre instead (that's what Asians do well and should probably stick to).

beppi wrote:

ksl wrote:Have you never tried some of the breads in Bread Talk, they have many outlets, the owner was trained in Taiwan and setup in Singapore. They also do some European style breads and whole grain buns with sunflour seeds, which are great.

Though I do agree there is much to be improved on the bakery scene, and you don't have to be a baker, just import one for your Bizz! With 300,000 expats in high income jobs it's a no brainer.

In fact you can have them made here to your requirements, Singapore is a food hub that supplies millions and millions of meals to the airport on a daily basis, and retail sector as required.

So place your order for french bread on contract baked to how you want it! You need to create the demand first for your bakery products or contact baker outlets and sell through them. Delivering each day!

That way you can build your demand up! You could also contact me as we have industrial factory kitchen with capacity no bread oven.

KSL is obviously one of the people I DIDN'T mean by "can tell a good bread from a so-so one."

Seriously: I have been at Bread Talk and their ilk numerous times, hoping that they have improved, just to turn around frustrated and eat at the next hawker centre instead (that's what Asians do well and should probably stick to).

I've had French sticks from BreadTalk before. The dough lacks the elasticity of the real thing, i.e. it is stiff and crumbly in comparison, in the same way the bread is at Subway. It also lacks the flavour and 'perfume' of the genuine article.

Plus the shop has a damned stupid name (as does Cake History and the rest!)

Yes got to agree with JR8 on Bread Talk & Subway! Subway is an anti climax too unfortunately with a permanent semi hard 6 inch honey oat pecker stick that is also difficult to eat and requires a dose of viagratarian sauce
What is it with franchises that cannot deliver the goods!

For original Danish wholegrain dark bread (Pumpernickel), you can get at the Danish store in South Bouna Vista, the next best thing to German dark bread! They also do pastries but most have gone by midday.

I can make Danish Smorebrod open sandwich (English keyboard)Smørrebrød open sandwiches on dark or white bread yummy

JR8 wrote:

ksl wrote: In fact you can have them made here to your requirements, Singapore is a food hub that supplies millions and millions of meals to the airport on a daily basis, and retail sector as required.

Which given Changi has 42m passengers a year is a pretty remarkable statistic!

Should have been airports SATS Ltd supply over 40 airports with ready made meals daily not just Changi, though you are quite right, my enthusiasm got the better of me and i should have said yearly, see how enterprising team work is, I would have missed my own error thank god its you and not SMS! I can be a silly twit sometimes without the Barons

Yeah, but you do even better when ON the Barons. The silly twit part that is...

morn'n ksl! If you weren't on the Baron's on the last post, what in the devil were you doin' up at that hour in the morning?

For those staying in the east, there is a nice Swiss bakery at Frankel Ave.

Singapore is a bread eating nation. I am sure you notice the proliferation of bakeries at every shopping centre, HDB estate, MRT station. Consumers are spoilt for choice with Subway, Yakun, Breaktalk, Four leaves, Prima, Japanese bakery, etc. Most of these chains have central bakery in some corner in Singapore. By the time the bread is delivered to the shop, it is no longer fresh.

If you want to buy a bakery, one suggestion is to call up Prima. They supply flour and also have a franchising arm for their Deli. They may know people who wants to let go of their bakery. Just my guess.

Having said that, if you do exactly what Prima and bakers in Singapore tell you, your product will be no different from theirs. May be a good idea to sign up for cooking classes in Le Cordon Bleu cookery school.