Killer Kaya Brioche Doughnuts & Salted Egg ‘Tau Kee’ Chips For National Day Snacking

We’ll be the first to admit that we’re no huge fans of doughnuts. We only eat them when they’re good. And these are very, very good. They come from, of all places, the rather obscure Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar at Tanglin Road. The rotund cuties are made with buttery brioche dough that’s at once light, pillowy, plush, flavourful and not greasy. Be careful when you bite into one, it squirts kaya enthusiastically. Squirtability is one of the hallmarks of a good filled doughnut, we suppose. But you wouldn’t want any of the silky, creamy kaya voluptuous with lemak pandan, gula melaka and coconut to land anywhere else besides your mouth. It’s too shiok to waste even a drop. Also worth nibbling on: the Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Sea Salt ($1.80 each; $10 for six), crisp-chewy discs cradling gooey chunks of bittersweet Valrhona choc dappled with briny pops of salt.

Order online at least a day in advance at https://www.order.nassimhill.com.sg. Or walk in (call to check availability) at Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar, #01-03, 56 Tanglin Rd, S247964 (in Tanglin Post Office building). Open daily except Mon, 8am to 10pm.

Photo: Nassim Hill Bakery

We know, we know. You’re tired of salted egg chips. But hear us out — these aren’t your usual potato chips or fish skin crisps (which local brand Crusty’s also sells). They’re airily crunchy, super fragrant fried beancurd skins that taste amazingly like the freshly fried tau kee you’ll find on a plate of Ampang yong tau foo. The texture and flavour are impressive for an off-the-shelf tidbit. And the salted egg seasoning — which boasts “whole salted egg yolks”, chilli padi and curry leaves — tastes closer to a zi char dish’s versus most packaged salted egg snacks. This is crazy addictive so don’t open a packet unless you’re prepared to wolf down almost the entire thing in one sitting (we speak from experience). The newer seaweed wasabi flavour is yummy too, if a little bit too sweet.

Available at NTUC FairPrice, Watsons, Cheers & petrol stations. Or online at Shopee or Qoo10.

Photo: Crusty’s

While nothing beats eating durian neat, one cannot store the pongy fruit in one’s fridge at all times for emergency cravings — unless one appreciates the contents of said fridge reeking. Enter the more freezer-friendly Mao Shan Wang “gelato ice cream” (it can only be one or the other so we’re calling it ice cream because there are whipping cream and eggs in its ingredients list) from Spike Empire. It’s not the smoothest version of the frozen dessert we’ve had, but we like that the signature bittersweet flavour of MSW is clear and present in the slightly sticky ice cream. If you prefer 100% intensity of flavour, order the fruit itself (from $38 for 400g, dehusked) from this vendor. The two boxes we received had appropriately buttery, thick-fleshed fruit shot through with faintly boozy, caramelly notes.

Order via GrabFood (Grab’s distance-based delivery fees apply) here.

Photo: Florence Fong