Head Baker From Famed Tartine Bakery In Seoul Opens S’pore Cafe Serving Croissants & Sourdough Bread
For close to 10 years, Hong Ui Chang, 34, had been working as a baker in Seoul. His impressive CV includes being head baker at the Korean outpost of renowned San Francisco bakery, Tartine, and most recently, the executive baker at Figments, a hip bakeshop in Seoul. But just two months ago, the South Korean baker made the big move to Singapore to set up his own bakery-cafe — the curiously named Lean & Rich Bakery — with his sister and brother-in-law.
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Lean & Rich Bakery opened at UE Square shopping mall at Clemenceau Avenue on 17 August 2024. Compared to Tartine’s chic kinfolk-worthy decor at their Hannam-dong flagship outlet in Seoul, Lean & Rich looks far simpler with its cement floors, exposed ceiling and an industrial vibe. In fact, walk past this cafe-bakery and you’ll probably think it's another generic coffee joint. Even this modest space cost $400K to set up, $100K of which was spent on ovens and coffee equipment alone.
Korean baker convinced by sister to set up shop in S’pore
The idea to set up the shop actually came from Hong Ui’s sister, Sarah Jang, 37. The full-time data analyst, who moved to Singapore for work eight years ago, tells us she has always wanted Hong Ui to set up shop in Singapore.
“I wanted him to come and set up a shop here ’cos I know he’s very good. In Singapore, I find it difficult to find a good bakery with good coffee - some places have very good bakes, but the coffee is not as good, and vice versa. So I managed to convince him this year,” she says. She pitched the same idea to her Italian coffee-loving hubby, Marco Perillo, 52, who helped with the coffee selection here.
On his move to Singapore
Prior to his move, Hong Ui spent three years at Tartine’s central kitchen in Seoul, and two years at Figments, a two-year-old bakery specialising in sourdough bakes, pastries and coffee in Seoul. Why did he give up his successful career back home to relocate to Singapore? According to Sarah, he almost didn’t: “Initially, he didn’t want to come,” she laughs, noting that it took her a full six months to convince him to move.
More fluent in mandarin than English
The 34-year-old baker eventually conceded. “I was motivated by the story where the former Tartine head baker in San Francisco, Richard Hart, moved to Copenhagen and combined [his skills learned from Tartine] with European-style bakes”. Hong Ui is referring to Richard Hart’s bakery called Hart Bageri in Denmark, famous for its sourdough bakes (in fact, many credit Richard for popularising sourdough at Tartine as well). He adds: “I also wanted to expand beyond the Korean market, and because I visited Singapore from time to time to see Sarah, I saw the potential here,” Hong Ui explains.
“I’m sad to leave friends and family behind, but very excited about this new chapter of my life,” he says. If you wanna chat with the Seoul native at his shop, know that he’s more fluent in mandarin than English (his girlfriend is from China).
Why Lean & Rich?
And thus, Lean & Rich was born. According to the owners, ‘lean’ here refers to lean dough - which “contains basic ingredients only, like flour, salt and yeast”, while ‘rich’ dough is made with “additional ingredients like eggs, butter, sugar and milk”. In a nutshell, lean dough is typically used for simpler breads, while rich dough is used to make pastries. Hong Ui preps all the dough here from scratch, and arrives at the store at 5am daily to bake. All his bakes are made with Elle & Vire butter from France. His sis and bro-in-law pop by from time to time after their day jobs to help out.
Croissants and sourdough inspired by Tartine’s
Can we expect any Tartine-inspired pastries here? “The pastries are definitely inspired from his experience in Tartine, which is known for making the best croissants in San Francisco,” Sarah says. Here, you can expect to find croissants with an assortment of homemade fillings.
Hong Ui’s sourdough bread recipe is inspired by Tartine’s, plus a recipe he’d gotten from a chef who used to work at the now-defunct Restaurant 108, a restaurant in Copenhagen opened by Noma’s co-owner, chef René Redzepi. “I mix four types of flour and also control the bread’s acidity and texture,” he shares.
The menu
Lean & Rich Bakery has a fuss-free menu of ‘lean’ breads and ‘rich’ pastries. Bread offerings include Sourdough (from $8 for half a loaf), Olive (from $6.50 for half a loaf) and Rye (from $10 for half a loaf), plus platters of Plain ($7), Quinoa or Walnut ($7.50) bread, which come with whipped butter and honey on the side. If you’re looking for lunch, there’s just one sandwich served here for now: the Gorgonzola Pecan Sandwich ($8).
If you’re wondering about the quality of the cups of Joe here, Hong Ui oversees the coffee-making. After all, besides baking, the man has had experience as a barista back in Seoul. He uses a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans from Italian roastery Caffè Vergnano. A cuppa starts at $3.50 for Espresso Italiano, while Black and White coffee costs $4.50 and $5.70 respectively.
Lean & Rich Bakery is at #01-14 UE Square, 81 Clemenceau Ave, S239917. Open daily 8.30am - 4.30pm. Tel: 9778 3431. More info via Instagram.
Photos: Lean & Rich Bakery
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