Noci Bakehouse is a new cafe-bakery with well-loved Korean pastries and all-day brunch

There’s a new Korean cafe-bakery in town, and it does a little bit of everything, including the viral bakes from Korea you see on socials! 

Located at the former space of the Yoon Yeon Dang and Standard Bun pop-ups at Suntec City Tower 3 is Noci Bakehouse, which opens its doors officially to the public today (April 1).

Noci Bakehouse is the latest concept by Gold Moon Restaurant Group — who are also the ones behind popular brands such as Tonshou and Seoul Noodle Shop. 

This brand-new cafe-bakery also bears the same name as its sister concept, Noci Pasta Bar, which opened in the same mall, towards the end of last year.

While popular Korean bakes anchor the menu and draw you in from the Noci Bakehouse storefront, the concept itself is actually fashioned after European-style cottages, a little like the cottagecore aesthetic that’s been all the rage recently. 

You’ll see it in Noci Bakehouse’s warm wooden interiors and the homely embellishments scattered throughout the space.

In many ways, Noci Bakehouse feels very much like a product of Seoul’s trending cafe scene —  reminiscent of concepts such as Cafe Layered, London Bagel Museum, and Artist Bakery — with recognisable elements across both its interiors and offerings.

While there, we even caught a glimpse of Gold Moon Restaurant Group’s CEO Moon Jeon Ho, who was in the thick of on-the-ground operations on the cafe-bakery’s media day, which also happened to be its soft-opening period. 

He lets in that the breads are baked fresh daily, and even brought us behind the scenes so we could see for ourselves the laborious processes of getting those pretty bakes out from kitchen to shelf — suffice to say, it’s a lot of work. 

Trending Korean bakes & pastries

Noci Bakehouse’s spread is kept simple, with a focus on popular bakes and pastries you’d find in Korea, a compact all-day brunch menu with bigger places, and a selection of beverages. 

Off the bat, we noticed a viral crowd-puller on Noci Bakehouse’s menu — the chewy, mochi-like butter tteok, (S$2.50 for one piece, S$9.50 for four with condensed milk).

Also known as the Korean crispy butter mochi, this rice-cake-like bake has been trending on social media within and even outside of Korea recently. 

Noci’s version delivers right on texture, slightly crispy on the outside and adequately chewy within. The pastry also has the right amount of sweetness. Pair that with the satisfying condensed milk dip on the side and it turns into a combination that’s undeniably addictive.

If you’ve missed the salt breads from your Korea travels, good news: They’re available at Noci Bakehouse, too!

The well-loved salt breads come in a wide range of flavours, from crispy (S$5.50) and garlic (S$5.90), to milk cream (S$6.20) and orange almond (S$6.50). 

All of them are easy crowd-pleasers, with that familiar buttery, savoury profile, complete with a lightly-crisp, salty crust. 

Lest you think that’s all, there are also bagels in the mix at Noci Bakehouse. But they’re not your average bagel. They come loaded with ingredients, all tasty and oh-so-photoworthy. 

There are a few varieties, but we had the pepperoni cheese (S$6.50) and garlic cream cheese (S$7) bagels, which we were drawn to thanks to how vibrant they looked. 

The pepperoni cheese bagel, in particular, stood out — both visually and in flavour. 

My personal bias towards savoury bakes aside, there’s just something so indulgent about its slightly oily meat topping paired with a well-baked base. It’s just like a good slice of pizza, only less messy, more compact for on-the-go meals, and very cute-looking, too! 

The garlic cream cheese bagel is another good choice, especially if you’re a fan of garlic-forward flavours. The cream cheese, complemented by the bright notes of garlic, comes together well — relatively light and not overly cloying.

In case it isn’t obvious by now, Noci Bakehouse is really up-tp-date on what’s trending in Korea, and one item, in particular, that has been all the rage in the past year alone is the Dubai chocolate.

If you’re into something a little more indulgent, it has the viral flavour, albeit in the form of the Dubai chocolate Danish (S$12). It’s a buttery layered treat, taller than your average viennoiserie and more flaky and buttery — much like a croissant, with a good amount of chocolate tucked inside.

It also comes topped with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a mound of pistachio kunafa and pistachio nuts. 

It’s a rich and visually appealing dessert, we have to concede, but the overall size and amount of chocolate might feel a touch overwhelming for the average diner. 

That said, at S$12, it’s a generously sized pastry that’ll be perfect for those who love the decadent chocolate-and-pistachio combination!

Besides the trending bakes, there are pretty madeleines, financiers, and cakes — as you would expect of a bakery — that come in a variety of flavours, too.

Madeleine flavours include matcha (S$4.30) and blueberry (S$4.30), and these sit with the selection of financiers, which come in classic (S$4) and maldon chocolate (S$4.80). 

While they’re really pretty to look at and relatively pleasant-tasting, they’re a bit more standard compared to Noci’s other show-stoppers. 

The financiers also leaned dry — perhaps the bakery’s in its opening days and ironing things out, but we’d suggest getting the other more viral pastries for now! 

If you’re after something sweet to share, the eye-catching cake cups — which include the strawberry cake (S$10.50), mango cake (S$10.50), and tiramisu (S$10.50) — are worth a look. 

While it may seem like a small portion, these cups are surprisingly adequate for sharing if you and your dining companions crave a light post-meal dessert. 

In particular, the crowd-fave tiramisu is gently sweet, though it doesn’t have much of an alcoholic depth. This might be good news to those who love tiramisu for the caffeine, but not the boozy aspect of it. 

All-day brunch

If you need something a little more filling (and perhaps less carb-heavy), there’s a small all-day brunch menu featuring a compact selection of salads, sandwiches, French toasts, and soups.

Across the items we tried here, the creamy tomato soup (S$11.50) made with tomato, onion, and herbs, stood out the most.

Noci gets the balance of this classic soup just right: Velvety and well-rounded, without too much of an acidic tang from the tomatoes.

It’s so deeply comforting and addictive that we found ourselves polishing it off with ease, even though we were already full with the pastries by now.

For something lighter, there’s the apple & walnut garden salad (S$8.50) with caramelised walnuts, celery, apple, blueberries, rocket, and a light mayo dressing. It is light and refreshing, though fairly straightforward.

Its more substantial items also include the roasted chicken sandwich (S$13), which comes with chicken breast, rocket, romaine lettuce, mushroom, mayonnaise, and sun-dried tomatoes, as well as the French toast with fruits & banana brulee (S$18), made with brioche, and topped with maple syrup and banana.

Both are satisfying enough for a brunch, though the price of the French toast feels slightly steep for what’s on the plate, essentially a single slice of toast, topped with half a banana.

Early risers, there is also a morning breakfast menu, available only from 8.30am to 11.30am, which features the English breakfast plate (S$12), with smoked sausage, eggs, baked beans, mushrooms, and bacon.

If you’re like the Koreans and love a good Americano to start your day, there’s also the English breakfast & americano (S$14), a set with the caffeinated beverage. 

These breads and pastries made your stomach growl a little? Here’s a little PSA if you’ve made it this far in the article — to mark its opening, Noci Bakehouse has announced that it’ll give out a year’s worth of free bread and coffee to lucky followers on its socials! 

But if you’re not holding out hope on free bread and are wondering if you should head down soon, we’ll say this: It’s clear the baked goods leave a stronger impression, visually and taste wise, compared to the all-day brunch items. 

That said, we love that the new Noci Bakehouse offers enough variety for a visit at any time of the day — whether you’re dropping by for a quick pastry and coffee, or settling in for something more substantial, and who knows what other viral bakes it’ll bring in next? 

This was a hosted tasting.

For more ideas on what to eat and drink around Suntec City, read on Karii, a new Okinawan street food concept, and Chagee’s new kid-friendly outlet.