Drips Bakery Cafe
by Ruby Wong
@ 30 Jun 2017
Co-owners Chef Alfred Chan and Jessica Tan recently celebrate the first anniversary of Drips Bakery Café which offers signature dishes of tarts and sandwiches. The café otherwise has no other hot food. However, drop by the weekends for a soup selection.
Chef Chan mentioned that the vicinity is becoming cooler as a ‘second Holland Village’ as it gains more exposure and more eateries open here. They see a mix of people but more youngsters on weekends and even occasional celebrities dropping in.
Chef Chan has been in the food and beverage industry for 20 years and is proud to share that all sandwiches are made from scratch. He favors using healthier ingredients in the sandwiches which offer a choice of multi-grain bread or croissant. The café gets ingredients fresh and thus allows for changes in the menu on a daily basis. This allows Chef Chan the freedom to make something different everyday and even venture into the unusual such as snapper fish sandwich. He uses a lot of vegetables as they are healthier, easily digested and enhance the sandwich. For some, he even adds fruits such as apple and avocado. All sandwiches come with a grilled tomato but can be substituted for additional vegetables instead.
A hot favorite is the apple ham sandwich. A fruit aroma wafts out from the slices of granny smith apples neatly lined up in the sandwich. Slices of ham are arranged in a layer just below, held in place by lettuce leaves.
For those who prefer a simpler version of the sandwich, try the smoked ham with mozzarella cheese for a classic combination. A savory alternative is the smoke salmon. The flavorful Norwegian salmon displays a buttery taste and is dressed with mustard grain which kills the bacteria of the raw salmon slices with the acidity.
The beef pepper pastrami croissant is a great example of a sandwich that has the right balance of flavors and textures. The beef is paired with green apple slices, a way of introducing more fruit into the meal. It may be paired with other fruits depending on availability and the fruits can counter the strong beef flavor.
The vegetarian croissant may sound simple but it is one of the most underrated dishes. The star ingredient is sautéed Portobello mushrooms (depending on availability), complemented by capsicum and eggplant for contrasting flavors and textures. Romaine lettuce is used as it stays crunchy even after baking and sometimes plums or pineapples are added for a refreshing twist.
Perfect for a growing appetite! RW
