Brutally Honest Review Of 10 Sausage Buns, From Cheapest To Priciest

According to a spokesperson from BreadTalk, Singapore’s biggest retail bakery, sausage buns are a consistent bestseller for the brand, with “more than 3,000 sold daily”. Multiply that by the chain’s roughly 80 outlets in Singapore and you get almost a quarter of a million buns – which works out to nearly four percent of Singapore’s population consuming sausage buns every day from one bakery brand alone.

Just because it’s a meal of convenience, though, doesn’t mean you should grab the nearest one. The fact that we eat them so often is all the more reason to get a version that brings you joy. So in the name of duty, we trekked to 10 of the most popular chain bakeries, from neighbourhood favourites to CBD crowd-pullers, to find out which one offers the best bang(er) for your buck. Here they are, starting from the lowest-priced first.

1. DJ Bakery – Chicken Sausage Roll, $1.40

From the outside, DJ’s hulking version looks like it could be very filling, but the bread is riddled with air pockets and collapses easily when bitten into, making every bite somewhat unsatisfactory.

The mid-pink sausage sits low in the bun, like a pair of ’90s jeans clinging for dear life to the wearer’s hips, and tastes like one of those cocktail sausages that were so popular in the ’90s too, with a slightly limp texture that’s speckled with bits of bone or cartilage (at least, we hope it’s that and not something less edible).

Verdict: 5/10

This is one of the cheapest hotdog buns out there, and the quality reflects it. Personally, we’re a bit disappointed because some of DJ’s other offerings are great, like the red bean buns which come with a solid filling in pillowy, chewy bread. 

https://www.djbakery.com.sg/ 

2. Bakery Cuisine – Chicken Sausage Bun, $1.50

Bakery Cuisine’s bun appears puffy but has just the right amount of heft when we munch on it. It’s also less sweet than most of the other versions we tried.

But we’re not a fan of the heavy glaze slapped across the top, which makes for a stiff bite. The sausage comes off as too salty as well, perhaps because the bread isn’t sweet enough to counter the savouriness.

Verdict: 6/10

The combination of okay bread, so-so sausage and low price makes this a passable option if you’re someone who just eats to live. But if you don’t mind forking out a bit more for something tastier, read on…

https://bakerycuisine.com.sg/

3. Swee Heng Bakery – Chicken Sausage Roll, $1.60 (8 DAYS Pick!)

This is one plain Jane, a simple mound of dough swaddling a sausage with no pleats or tucks as decoration. Taste-wise, we like how dense the bread is, even if it’s the teeniest bit dry.

The dark pink colour and meatier taste of the sausage made us think this was a beef sausage at first, until we looked at our store photo again and realised it’s called a “chicken sausage roll”. We’re not sure what goes into this briny banger, but it’s flavourful and maybe we don’t want to know.

Verdict: 7/10

This is one of our top picks because it’s affordable, filling and tasty. What more could you want? 

https://www.sweeheng.com.sg/

4. Four Leaves – Chicken Sausage Roll, $1.90

Picking this up surprised us – it weighed virtually nothing. Eating it was a nothing experience too, the light, dry bun collapsing into the slightly shrivelled, pale orange sausage.

The saving grace here was that the chicken-flavoured wiener was nice and firm, a slightly posher version than the cocktail variety.

Verdict: 5.5/10

We’re usually huge fans of Four Leaves (their cheese bread, dorayaki and strawberry shortcake are some of our fave snacks) so we feel personally let down by this afterthought of a bun. C’mon Four Leaves, you can do better!

https://fourleaves.com.sg/

5. BreadTalk – Sausage Standard, $2.10 (8 DAYS Pick!)

BreadTalk’s chicken sausage bun is one of the most attractive – a voluptuous golden braid cradling a plump, firm coral-hued sausage that tasted like it had been kissed by Maggi seasoning. 

It also has a great bun-to-banger ratio. That said, the bread stuck to the teeth slightly and had a light powdery finish.

Verdict: 6.5/10

An accessible, good-enough version for the days when you don’t want to go out of your way.

https://www.breadtalk.com.sg/

6. Lavender Bakery – Chicken Sausage Bun, $2.20

The scoring on the bun of this popular Malaysian bakery’s version lends it an upmarket look, although the bread – on the tough and rough side – gives off gangster vibes.

We quite like the sausage though, which has a slightly beefy taste and is rather peppery. 

Verdict: 6/10

Based on taste alone, less if you take the price into consideration. It’s okay – but you can get “okay” for cheaper.

https://lavenderbakery.com.my/

7. Pullman Bakery – Chicken Sausage Bun, $2.60 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Pullman hails from Hokkaido, and makes its bakes using Hokkaido flour and homemade yeast. This is evident in the bun here, which is soft, dense and chewy but doesn’t cling to our fangs – just the way we like it. The tasty sausage is one of the highest-quality in our review, with a firm bite and a consistent texture.

There’s a dab of Japanese mayo on top of the bun, along with what tastes like tangy takoyaki sauce. If we had to nitpick, we’d say it’s on the oily side and the bun has a faint vanilla scent, which is odd for a savoury snack.

Verdict: 8/10

Considering the sub-$3 price, the quality of the bread and the sausage, and the flavour boost from the condiments, this is the best-value version we’ve tried.

https://www.pullmanbakery.com/

8. Gokoku Japanese Bakery – Arabiki Sausage Pan, $3.30 (Yummiest!)

While a few other bakeries offer sausage bun alternatives filled with arabiki sausages – a Japanese-style smoked sausage with coarsely ground meat (usually pork, like in this case) – for a higher price, Gokoku’s regular sausage bun comes with the gourmet wiener.

And what a difference it makes – the sausage has a lovely snap to it and a delicious smoky flavour. The bun, baked with Japanese flour (Gokoku is from Kobe) and flecked with cheesy dough bits and what tastes like grains, is pretty good too, if a tad starchy and a bit much for the sausage.

Verdict: 8.5/10

Taste-wise, this is the hands-down winner of all the sausage buns we’ve tried. But it’s also the second-most expensive of the bunch, which makes it more of a treat than an everyday snack.

https://gokoku.com.sg/

9. Donq Editer – Sausage Roll, $4

We did a double-take when we placed the sausage buns from Donq and Johan side by side: they look exactly the same. They also have the same product name and price. As it turns out, the same parent company owns both French-inspired Japanese bakeries. But the baking is done separately at each outlet, which explains the difference in taste. Sadly, the one at Donq was stiff and dry, like a day-old Johan version left to shrivel in the air-con.

The chicken sausage was equally parched but had decent flavour. For the record, the bun we bought was from the Donq Editer branch at ION Orchard, where for some reason the quality isn’t as consistent as the flagship Donq Boulangerie branch at Takashimaya.

Verdict: 5/10

The $4 price tag is unconscionable considering how uninspiring this bun is. You’re much better off getting a cheaper version elsewhere, or walking to the flagship Donq for far better quality (bonus: you can also pick up Singapore’s best mentaiko bread and shio pan there).

https://donq.co.jp/

10. Johan Paris – Sausage Roll, $4

Johan’s bun was pleasantly soft, and its firm, chicken-flavoured sausage decently tasty, if somewhat dry.

The squiggle of ketchup down the middle was a nice visual touch and gave each bite some tang. All in all it was…ok lor.

Verdict: 6/10

There’s nothing seriously wrong with this sausage bun, except for the seriously high price.

http://www.johan.co.jp/

Photos: Audrey Phoon

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