Pie Face Bakery Cafe Singapore 313@Somerset

Before you start digging on the Christmas mince pie next month, you might want to get a savoury pie with uniquely cute identifying expression piped on pastry top from Sydney's meat pie purveyor Pie Face. This 11-year old micro bakery chain has more than 80 stores  all over the world. Much hype has been created prior to its opening at Somerset 313, so how do these handmade pies in Singapore fare in terms of pastry and filling? 

On the pie pastry: The puff pastry constructions here are similar to croissants, in which the dough is locked in with chilled butter and the repeatedly folded several times. Pie Face takes pride in its 48-layer pastry crust, which seems like a safe number of layers since some croissant purists suggest 32 is the perfect number while others say it's 81, 111 or even thousands.Boring numbers aside, the first batch (above) of savoury pies in uneven pale-yellowish tones had some crisp edges but revealed signs of under baking  through the somewhat stale, sinewy sub-layers; an issue that is especially pertinent in the mini pies which should not be mistaken as a result of sitting out for too long. The second batch fared much better; golden-brown brittle upper crust that has the potential to be flakier.

 

On the other hand, the sweet short crust pastry found in the dessert pies/tarts, turned out to be not their forte. Pliable and slightly cakey, the shell was at the mercy of the voluminous amount of mousse.

(top clockwise) creamy veg, steak and peppercorn, chilli chicken and corn, chunky steak

On the filling: Of all the 8 savoury flavours we've tried, the winning flavour has got to be Chicken & Mushroom; tender chunks of chicken, slippery pieces of mushroom, bound together in a thick, creamy and cheesy-tasting sauce.  Some rosemary and garlic could have spice the gravy up in the Chunky Steak Pie, whose chunky leaned beef, though cooked for a long time, require more chewing to break down than we liked.

The Thai Curry Chicken and Tandoori Vegetarian might pique the curiosity of Asian palates, though the latter was tad sweet. Vegetarian can consider the Mini Creamy Vegetable, a meatless version of the Chicken & Mushroom sweetened with carrots and peas. The Peppercorn series (chicken/steak) are also worth a whirl as the cracked peppercorns pounded into the sauce gave the pies a nice zing. 

On the sweets: The colourful mousse tarts in 8 different flavours (pecan pie/ green tea/ butterscotch/ coffee/ chocolate/lemon/apple crumble/raspberry--$3.30 each) delivered phenomenally smooth texture. However, the sweetness in every single piece, even the supposedly tart lemon tart, left me weak in my knees. Perhaps the folks had good intention to stand by the original recipe that was more suited to Westerners' palates. But I could no longer administer my courage to fight the sweet battle and gladly surrendered my fork. 

If you are really desperate for desserts, I'd suggest you go for the almond stick, which was more enjoyable after giving it a toast to activate the pastry molecules for that desired crunch and softened nutty filling. Alternatively, try the crumbly muesli cookie that goes wild on nuts and dried fruits. 

Beyond the pies and tarts, I was lucky to catch this Cheese Sausage Roll $3.80 not long after it came out from the in-house kitchen. This deserves mention as the butter-scented pastry tissues crackles at every bite; definitely a pleasure to pluck apart. 

The Cheese stick is unequivocally successful too. When pieces are torn off, the elastic interior remains fused to the crunchy outer layers; a sign of a transcendently good pastry redolent with cheese. 

Pulling back to the story of the modest pies which cost $4.90 for regular ones and $3 for mini ones, they are considerably value-for-money and fill you up easily. Stick to the savoury pies and you'll most likely be smiling like the smiley face on the pies.

 

Pie Face Bakery Café Singapore

313 Somerset B3-10 Singapore 238935
10am-10pm daily
(Opening soon) Bugis Village
249 Victoria St Singapore 188034
10am-10pm daily

https://www.facebook.com/piefacesingapore

 

Special thanks to Natasha for the invite