Croissants filled with molten salted egg yolk custard have become the talk of the town, after brunch cafe Flavour Flings in Hougang launched them about a week ago.
Now, French pastry chain Antoinette has come up with its own version and will launch it on Monday.
The croissant will be sold at its Penhas Road store and will then be introduced at its two other outlets, in Mandarin Gallery and Sofitel So Singapore, on Feb 10.
Each croissant will cost $6.50. About 300 croissants will be available daily for a start.
Antoinette's chef-owner Pang Kok Keong says that he has been exploring this idea since last year. In December, a friend sent him a photo of salted egg yolk croissants from Hong Kong that "triggered his research and development for the product".
Though he has not tried salted egg yolk croissants, the 40-year-old says: "Salted egg yolk-based products have a huge fan base. Pairing the yolk with croissant is not far-fetched. The flaky, buttery and slightly sweet croissant pairs perfectly with a salted egg yolk filling."
He adds that the filling is made with milk, sugar and hand-mashed salted egg yolks, instead of a powder mix. The croissants are made using the traditional French method of laminating dough with butter and keeping the dough at 12 deg C.
Salted egg yolk croissants burst onto the food scene when Urban Bakery Works, a European-style bakery in Hong Kong's The Landmark mall, launched them in 2014. Social media posts on the sweet- savoury pastry went viral and also created a buzz in Malaysia.
Bakeries such as Le Bread Days in Kuala Lumpur and Seven Oaks Bakery Cafe in Johor Baru have attracted queues for their salted egg yolk croissants.
It was no different when local cafe Flavour Flings started selling them here. Due to "very over- whelming demand", the salted egg yolk croissant is now available only for takeaway from 5.30pm daily, except on Tuesdays and Sundays. Each customer is limited to two croissants, which cost $7.50 each.
The halal-certified cafe's chef and co-owner, Mr Shawn Koh, 26, says that he has tripled production to up to 150 croissants on weekdays and about 300 on Saturdays. About 50 to 80 customers have been going to his cafe daily. The croissants sell out within an hour, he says.
"Due to a limited kitchen capacity, I have stopped serving dinners on most days so the oven can be used to bake croissants instead of other dishes on the menu."
He gets plain croissants from a supplier, pipes in custard that is made from a blend of salted egg yolk and salted egg yolk powder, custard powder, milk and sugar, and bakes them for 15 minutes before serving.
On more eateries selling this trendy confection here, he says: "It will help to spread the crowd. But we are at a disadvantage, as we are primarily a cafe and the scale of baking cannot be as big as a bakery's."
He hopes to focus on his core cafe business after the hype dies down.
Another bakery is considering rolling out salted egg yolk croissants in the middle of next month. Mr Frederic Deshayes, chef-owner of Do.Main Bakery in Tanjong Katong Road, says: "I have been living in Singapore for 20 years and have been challenged and inspired by customers here to create a local flavour for such an iconic French pastry."
