Singapore’s beloved croissants, kouign-amman now in Manila
A good croissant is hard to resist, huh?” said Tiong Bahru Bakery’s Jean-Marc Bernelin.
The chef was addressing journalists and content creators who had gathered for the launch of Tiong Bahru Bakery (TBB) at Verve Residences Tower 2 in Bonifacio Global City on Jan. 14.
Croissants had been handed out on beautiful blue and white plates for a special ceremony, but before it could start, guests had started tearing into the freshly baked French pastries. And who could blame them? Tiong Bahru Bakery’s croissants are so popular that people get up early and patiently line up for them in Singapore.
“The quality of the ingredients is very critical,” said Bernelin, who shared that Tiong Bahru uses flour, butter, and milk from France to make their croissants. “It’s very, very critical to use very good quality ingredients. That’s one of the key parts. And then, after that, you have the technique. That’s also critical.”
As a French pastry chef with decades of experience, Bernelin knew how to make a croissant, of course—”but not as technical as the TBB croissant.”
R&D teams from Singapore and the Philippines worked together to bring the artisanal French bakery’s rigorous process and standard here.
It takes three days to make a Tiong Bahru Bakery croissant. “There are no shortcuts,” said Bernelin.
Croissants are baked fresh every two hours.
“Visually, you need to see the layers and that golden color. What’s important is that it’s flaky. If you cut the croissant, you should see the honeycomb [structure] inside. And you should have that nice buttery flavor,” said Bernelin.
Finally, it was time to enjoy the croissant “the Tiong Bahru Bakery way.”
“All you have to do is gently twist your croissant to break it, pull it apart, and then dunk it into your coffee before you take a bite of that flaky, buttery goodness,” said event host Nicole Andersson.
Attendees did just that: twist, pull, dunk, bite, repeat.
First location
Tiong Bahru Bakery—not to be confused with the Hainanese boneless chicken rice joint that’s also a franchise from Singapore—was founded in 2012. It got its name from its first location, the hip neighborhood of Tiong Bahru.
Over the years, Tiong Bahru Bakery has grown—it now has 21 shops in Singapore.
When I returned to Singapore after the pandemic, Tiong Bahru Bakery was one of my first stops. “It’s croissant worth waking up early for,” I said back then. Now I’m glad I don’t have to fly to enjoy it.
It was Jollibee Foods Corporation that brought Singapore’s popular French bakery to the Philippines.
“Introducing Tiong Bahru Bakery to the Philippine market aligns with our commitment to providing Filipinos with exciting, world-class dining experiences,” Ernesto Tanmantiong, global president and CEO of the Jollibee Group, told Lifestyle. “This marks the first international branch of Tiong Bahru Bakery, and we are proud to open it here in the Philippines. We deeply appreciate the support of our exceptional partners—Titan Dining, Ayala Malls, and Bonifacio Global City—who have been instrumental in bringing this vision to life. We look forward to seeing this collaboration thrive, blending local and global culinary traditions, as we continue spreading the joy of eating.”
Croissants are just one of the many things the bakery has to offer. Their two other top bestsellers? Kouign-amman and pain au chocolat.
“Kouign-amman is from the west part of France, from Brittany. The name means butter cake in Breton,” said Bernelin. It’s a sweet, buttery, crispy, chewy, flaky, layered pastry with caramelized sugar.
Pain au chocolat, of course, gives you that same flaky, buttery goodness of a croissant with the bonus of chocolate hidden inside the pastry. “We are using premium dark chocolate from France so it’s very, very rich. You’ll get the rich, nice flavor of chocolate with the croissant dough. It’s beautiful,” said Bernelin.
Other offerings include more viennoiserie, breads (baguette, brioche, sourdough, and more), and pastries (canelè, chocolate eclair, lemon tart, apple pie). There are sandwiches, salads, and other savory delight as well. Popular at the event were the Brie & Roasted Mushroom Croissant, Egg Mayo & Smoked Salmon Croissant, Pulled Pork Bun and Quiche Lorraine.
We enjoyed the Croque Monsieur and the Chocolate Eclair, too.
Tiong Bahru Bakery serves coffee by Common Man Coffee Roasters. The signature blend features “notes of dark chocolate, roasted nuts, and cherries.”
They also serve tea (the Hojicha Latte and TBB Teh Tarik were a favorite at the event) and juices.
Diners can enjoy their food and drinks indoor or al fresco. Tiong Bahru Bakery has nice boxes for takeaway and gifting. There’s merch available as well—the croissant-themed tote bags are super cute.
Tiong Bahru Bakery is at Verve Residences Tower 2 in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
