Kwaa Song Bakeshop: Pink cafe at Boat Quay with flaky pastries and egg tarts

How do you pronounce “croissant”? Do you say “craw-sont” or do you butcher the French pronunciation with something like “kwaa-song”?

Many local pastry enthusiasts — me included — gravitate towards the second. We might struggle to elegantly enunciate the French “r” or almost-silent “t” but it’s good enough.

In fact, the local way of pronouncing can be rather endearing to some people — something that’s reflected in the name of the newest patisserie at Boat Quay, Kwaa Song Bakeshop.

Its eye-catching decor is a flood of vibrant baby pink, meant to bring a pop of colour to Boat Quay, a busy CBD area that shockingly lacks in stylish cafe options.

The takeaway-only concept does not have seating and is still in its soft launch period, having just opened in the final week of 2023.

Fun fact: The name Kwaa Song Bakeshop is actually a cheeky double entendre.

It can also be read as the homonymous Hokkien pronunciation of “看爽”  (roughly translated to “look until you’re satisfied”) — a phrase that’s part of a striking teal-and-white mural located right by the door.

Quirky take on viennoiseries

Most of Kwaa Song Bakeshop’s offerings mainly revolve around viennoiserie twists, at least during its current soft-launch phase, which has a more condensed menu. 

Everything is R&D-ed by the owners — who are passionate foodies with a penchant for experimenting with food — and the head baker, who used to head up the renowned Bakery Brera.

Needless to say, its namesake croissant (S$4.50) is done well — boasting a delightful butter aroma while still remaining flaky and airy, even without being heated up. 

All in all, it’s a good classic butter croissant that matches up to many of other popular patisseries in Singapore.

However, those who want to find out what’s truly unique about Kwaa Song Bakeshop should look at its crowd-favourite egg tart (S$5.50), served up in a unique, stretched-out form.

The best-seller is more similar to a Portuguese egg tart, as it marries the comforting dim sum with laminated viennoiserie-style dough, rather than the usual puff pastry.

Each of these comes with an eggy, silken and mildly sweet custard core that’s surrounded by a wall of light and airy dough, which crumbles into flakes with the gentlest bite.

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Another unique offering are the batons, Kwaa Song Bakeshop’s distinct reinterpretation of flavoured croissants. Shaped like batons, these pastries are split down the middle so that the filling can be inserted.

While we were there, the intriguing mentaiko sausage baton (S$7.50) was sold out by the afternoon, but the almond baton (S$5.50) was solid — the outer layer was crackling while the frangipane cream was fragrant without being cloying.

In case you’re curious about how the elongated shapes came to be, it’s an intentional tweak by Kwaa Song Bakeshop for a more ergonomic design and less messy eating.

For those who enjoy savoury viennoiseries, there are also choices of truffle taleggio fold (S$6.50) and bacon emmental fold (S$6.50), where the dough is folded upon the cheesy filling and embedded with strips of crunchy pastry.

These are probably better for bringing back to the office or home for a bit of heating since, while still rich, the filling needs a bit of heat to bring the cheese back to life. 

Pro tip: Before heading down, you can DM Kwaa Song Bakeshop on its Instagram page to reserve your desired pastries so you don’t miss out on them!

For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on Tiong Bahru’s best cafes and the best place to find good and affordable eats at Orchard.

Do explore the new GrabFood Dine-in service for awesome deals.

You can also book a ride to Kwaa Song Bakeshop at Boat Quay