Having tried Bakerzin's Chinese New Year menu last year, we were looking forward to something different and new this year!
Unlike last year's set menu, this year's menu came in ala carte format and with more choices. It will be available from 25 January 2016 at all seven outlets islandwide. With the banning of freshwater raw fish incidence recently, it would be interesting to see what ingredients will the eateries substitute with for the yusheng dish.
Spring Salad | S$15.80++
Having created their own rendition of yusheng designed for two, it was a little bowl of joy for two to share and toss. As per the composition of traditional yusheng, it comprised shredded carrots, purple cabbage, crushed peanuts, pickled ginger, winter melon strips, sesame seeds and crispy golden puffs. In this bowl of goodie, poached shelled prawns were used to replace the raw fish, and lastly there's the homemade blood orange dressing to hold the dish together, giving it a sweet and sour finishing. While it's a simple dish, all the flavours were well married.
Personally, I feel that not all food can be paired easily. In this case, the revised Kong Bak Bao came weird with its combination of braised pork belly with hollandise sauce served in fried mantou. The mantou was a tad tough for my liking, the sauce was only good on its own and the salad on the side was a bit redundant. The whole dish just didn't amalgamate.
Verdict: 6.5/10
Seems like this's the hit out of all dishes with the highlight being the grilled salmon marinated and coated in white miso mayonnaise. It was a flavourful dish that was executed perfectly on all aspects, but how is this dish related to CNY?
Verdict: 7.5/10
Pasta Vongole | $17.80++
Perhaps this's the most disappointing dish of all with the pasta lacking in flavour and carrying a hint of strong fishy smell from the clams.
Verdict: 6.0/10
Chicken Mousseline with Curry Foam | $18.80++
Another fusion dish, the chicken roulade was seasoned with herbs on quinoa sautéed with peppers, and paired with curry foam. The chicken was cooked till tender perfection, but I was expecting a stronger curry taste to distinguish the dish.
Verdict: 7.0/10
Same as last year, traditional yuan bao pineapple tarts are available at S$29.80/21pcs.
Parmesan Cheese Pineapple Tarts | S$29.80/21pcs
This year, Bakerzin has introduced an all new pineapple tart flavour - the buttery pastry carried a subtle hint of Parmesan cheese which did not overpower the spiced pineapple filling.
It's the ideal gift for corporate clients and family during home visits with its graceful packaging design. Pre-orders for CNY goodies are available from now to 4 Feb.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Prosperity Lapis
More than 20 egg yolks are used to produce a whole 650g cake, given the two flavours - Vanilla & Coffee Cake (S$48/whole 650g; S$26/half 325g) and Vanilla & Chocolate Cake (S$52/whole 900g; S$28/half 450g), I fell in love with the latter. Loved the bold flavours from the double layers of vanilla and chocolate lapis Surabaya cake, complemented by the raspberry jam in between, it brought the cake to the next level. The cake was fluffy yet moist, superb!
Verdict: 8.0/10
Good Luck Cookies | nine cookies and each comes in 8 pcs for S$29.80/-
Ending the meal on a good note was their nine cookies with my favourite being the Lovely Lavvy cookie with a burst of lavender flavour and smell as well as the Perky Citrus Cookie which carried a hint of refreshing lemon. Comparatively, the size of the cookies was smaller than last year's, however, we unanimously agreed that the new recipe impressed our palates. Other seven flavours included: peanut choc-chip with sea salt, nutty cashew. rosey posie, mac-coconut, almond, long jing, choco-nutty oat.
Verdict: 8.0/10
Apparently, the chefs had put in so much efforts in crafting these dishes. I always have a belief in going simple as it helps to bring out the best side of any ingredients. That aside, I loved how the new CNY goodies were executed, don't forget there's an early bird discount of 10% for orders made between now and 22 Jan 2016, as well as 15% off for OCBC and HSBC cardholders!
Overall Verdict: 7.5/10
Bakerzin at Century Square
2 Tampines Central 5
#01-19/22
Singapore 529509
T: +65 6694 8584
