Do.Main: The French bakery that has won hearts in Singapore
updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:34
Housed in an elegant black and white shophouse, the bakery was quick to draw crowds after a few weeks of opening. Clearly, you should make a trip down as well.
Located along Tanjong Katong Road, Do.Main is giving the neighbourhood a nice dose of Parisian flair. Pull up a chair in the cosy café, order the traditional coffee with croissant (SGD2.80) combination, and sit back as your mind gets whisked away to the romantic streets of France.
Helmed by Chef Frédéric Deshayes, the bakery’s ambition lies in offering the best of French breads, viennoiseries and pastries. To achieve this goal, Chef Deshayes only works with premium ingredients flown in directly from France, and produces freshly baked treats all day, everyday. Here, you are ultimately in an artisan bakery, hence you will not see any compromise on quality.
If you take a closer look at the name, Do.Main, it actually says it all. ‘Do’ stands for ‘dough’ and ‘Main’ refers to ‘hands’ in French.
Chef Deshayes’ unusual background is actually the reason for this unique and already popular bakery. Trained as a pastry chef in some of the most prestigious restaurants and pastry boutiques, he also had the opportunity to learn baking. Living in Asia for almost half of his life, he eventually moved to Singapore to create and develop the pastry and bakery program for the school, At-Sunrice, where he taught for 9 years.
While he may be an entrepreneur now, nurturing students still runs in his blood. His team at the bakery is made up of former students, which brings a nice homely atmosphere to the premises. Take a peek through the full-length window glass and you might just catch some tips as the bakers work their magic.
Do. Main’s offering caters to both savoury and sweet palates – essentially suiting any cravings you might have.
Here are some of our recommendations for the ideal Do.Main experience. Grab a pain au chocolat (SGD3.50) to start your morning. For lunch, get a cheesy slice of quiche Lorraine (SGD8/slice) along with some macarons (SGD2), paired with tea or coffee. For the 4pm snack, indulge in some chouquettes (SGD3 for 10 pcs), and obviously do not forget the baguette before you head back home!
The mouth-watering menu is completed by scrumptious tarts and cakes. Chef Deshayes’ favourite is the classic apple pie (SGD5/slice). However, to satiate our sweet tooth, we indulged in the white coffee cake (SGD8). It may seem pricey, but this cake requires no less than 5 different recipes! We loved the blend of different textures – creamy, crunchy, with a subtle note of white coffee.
Till 11th January, Do.Main is celebrating the “galette des rois” or king cake. Immerse in the beloved French tradition with this almond filling cake, and look out for the hidden charm inside (SGD26/6pp or SGD36/10pp).
The tradition goes as follows: the youngest person in the room will go under the table, and announce who gets the next slice. The person with the lucky charm then becomes ‘the king’ for the day and is supposed to wear the paper crown as a symbol of royalty. Don’t take it literally though, this tradition essentially focuses on celebrating the idea of coming together and sharing delicious pastries.
Do.Main is definitely raising the bar of French bakeries in Singapore – now this is where you need to be for a gastronomically heavenly slice of France.
Do.Main is located at 226 Tanjong Katong Road
Celine Manoukian
Celine is the Managing Editor of Gourmand Asia, a newly-launched online F&B magazine featuring food recipes, reviews and more. For more food-related content please visit www.gourmandasia.com
