HEYTEA, China’s contemporary tea connoisseur and original inventor of the Cheezo Tea, has added baked goods to its menu for pairing with their signature teas. HEYTEA Food Lab is making its debut with four pastries – the Golden Croissant (S$3.60), the Chocolate Croissant (S$4.20), the Double Chocolate Chip Cookie (S$2) and the Butterscotch Chip Muffin (S$3.20).
When I told a friend that I was going to try and review these pastries, she burst out laughing, “Your standard of a croissant is Tiong Bahru Bakery!!” Um…yeah…but I will explain my benchmark, lest you think I’m a complete croissant-snob. But before we go into the taste test, let me tell you a little bit about my experience collecting said pastries.
I went to their outlet at ION Orchard, B4 and I was surprised to see that there was a queue for their drinks. When I told them that I was collecting the media tasting kit, I was surprised that they didn’t have them ready to go…especially when I saw the list of names and the pastries in the display cabinet next to the cashier. Guess how long I waited for the four pastries?
A whopping 15 minutes long.
And I wasn’t alone. All the other customers who ordered drinks waited just as long as I did. I was ready to give up but I went down to Orchard just for this so I had to fulfil my ‘mission’ in giving you, dear reader, an honest review. Ok…now…onto the taste test!
The croissants
As mentioned, lest I sound like a croissant-snob, let me explain how I review croissants.
Excellent | A decent croissant should be crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and flaky. Upon cutting it or taking a bite, it should still hold its shape to a decent extent. You’ll need to be able to see the layers. As for the taste, it should be buttery but not very oily.
Best example: Tiong Bahru Bakery’s croissants |
Pass | Decently flaky and buttery, with a slight crisp on the outside. May or may not hold its shape after cutting or taking a bite but still tastes buttery without it being too oily. Layers can still be seen.
Best example: Delifrance’s croissants |
Fail | Anything that doesn’t fulfil the ‘pass’ category.
Best example: Provence’s mini croissant. Those aren’t croissants. Those are bread rolls masquerading as croissants. |
Croissants are not the easiest make. Which is why they cost a pretty penny each. But it is worth the pretty penny you pay once you’ve tasted a really good one. So how do HEYTEA’s Golden Croissant and Chocolate Croissant fare?
Fail.
I’m sorry HEYTEA. While your croissants were crispy on the outside and I could see some layers, the bite was a bit chewy. Moreover, it tasted very oily as an aftertaste. This oily aftertaste was masked in the chocolate version (and the chocolate itself was ok). Alas, decent croissants they are not. I’d rather you walk over to Tangs with your HEYTEA drink and get a croissant from Tiong Bahru Bakery which costs only S$3.50 (psst…their Pain Au Chocolat is only S$4!).
Double Chocolate Chip Cookie
This is a classic and HEYTEA’s version is pretty good! You can taste that they used good chocolate and the dark and the milk chocolate were well balanced. I do recommend eating this fresh or slightly warm. As for pairing, you might want to eat this with the Strawberry Cheezo to get “chocolate coated strawberries” – slightly tart, bitter and sweet as well as creamy.
Butterscotch Chip Muffin
I found this a bit of a misnomer because it is more of a butterscotch centre rather than a chip. I was afraid of it being too sweet but I think they got the right balance of sweet and a bit of savoury from the butter. Because this may get too sweet, you will want to pair it with something fruity such as the Very Grape Cheezo. Out of the four pastries, I think that this muffin will be my top choice.
Where to get them
These freshly baked goods are exclusively at the ION Orchard and Westgate outlets, but customers can also order via the HEYTEA GO Mobile app (available on iOS), Foodpanda or on GrabFood.
Website: www.heytea.com
Weibo 微博:@喜茶 HEYTEA #喜茶海外首店#,#喜茶新加坡#
Facebook: @heytea
Instagram: @heyteasg
Twitter: @heyteaofficial
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