It’s a good time to be a bakery lover in Singapore. French chains such as PAUL and Maison Kayser have opened their first branches on Orchard Road while international celeb chefs are setting up bake shops in neighborhoods like Greenwood and Tiong Bahru. We put five of the most recent arrivals through a taste test in search of the best pastry fix.

Baker and Cook

Opened: January
The place: A laid-back space with lightwood communal tables and plenty of coffee table books to peruse in the well-to-do Greenwood area.
Background: Respected Kiwi baker Dean Brettschneider is behind this airy bakery which has an avid following, not just among the area residents.
The goods: The apple tart ($4.50), which is topped with a pretty fan of brûléed apple slices, is cinnamon-y and comforting. The lemon tart ($5) is a sweet (some might say overly so) crowd-pleaser. The croissants ($3.20) are not quite as good. They are unevenly baked at the bottom and some bites are burnt.
Verdict: 
Good for: Picking up homey creations in a residential neighborhood.

Baker and Cook is located at 77 Hillcrest Road.

Donq

Opened: April
The place: In Takashimaya’s basement food hall, with no seating available. Expect the typical quick service Asian bakery.
Background: Already an established name in its country of origin, this Japanese purveyor of fluffy baked treats has been in the business for 106 years.
The goods: The spinach and sausage bun ($2.80) is the bakery’s specialty but wasn’t our bag. The sausage is chopped so small that it tastes dry and unappealing. A better pick would be the butter-dotted disc of brioche sucre ($2.40) or the chocolate boule ($2) which boasts chunks of decent quality dark chocolate.
Verdict: 
Good for: An interesting spin on simple soft white bread.

Donq is located at Basement 2 of Takashimaya Food Hall.

Maison Kayser

Opened: December
The place: An open concept joint at the basement of swank new mall Scotts Square.
Background: The name behind this establishment is French pastry master Eric Kayser. The chef is known for infusing international flavors into traditional French recipes.
The goods: Choose from a wide range of single-serve rolls, some with innovative Asian flavors, including the crusty pain aux yuzu ($3.08). They also do airy croissants ($2.43) and tender rounds of petit brioche ($2.34). Tarts are hit or miss though. The tarte citron ($4.40) has a dense eggy, almost curdled filling.
Verdict:
Good for: Inventive rolls and reliable (barring the lemon tart) pastries all round.

Maison Kayser is located at basement 1 of Scotts Square.

Paul

Opened: January
The place: Occupies a large spot that was formerly The Coffee Club. It’s a none-too-atmospheric mall joint with clear views of the shopping center atrium.
Background: This sprawling outlet is more of a destination pâtisserie than the French chain’s grab-and-go branches overseas. They bake bread on-premises but prepare dessert pastries at a facility in Jurong.
The goods: Dryness is an issue. The brioche ($2.20) is so lean that it is hard to swallow and the generously-sized croissant ($2.30) is baked beyond bien cuit—it’s downright burnt. The sliced lemon tart ($6.70) tastes fine but is too delicate to hold up on a taxi ride back to the office.
Verdict: 
Good for: A post-shopping snack to grab and go.

Paul is located at level 3, Ngee Ann City Tower A.

Tiong Bahru Bakery 

Opened: May
The place: This spare space in neighborhood of the moment, Tiong Bahru, has an old school vibe with tiled floors and a retro Chinese-character logo by the entrance.
Background: Come early to snag best sellers at this perpetually packed 40-seater bakery, a new joint venture between French celeb chef Gontran Cherrier and the Spa Esprit Group.
The goods: The croissants ($2.50) are the main draw here and with good reason. The layers are distinct and pull apart easily. There are also chocolate ($3.20) and chocolate almond ($3.50) versions, which while not quite as flaky, don’t suffer from the same collapsed structure that plagues most filled pastries.
Verdict: 
Good for: Its croissants that blow the competition away.

Visit Tiong Bahru Bakery at 56 Eng Hoon Street.

What kind of music background do you have?
I’ve had different phases. I was into ska and reggae at age 13, indie rock in high school and found electronic music when I was in college. I just worked on my laptop and was experimental.

Walk us through the process of recording a new album.
For the latest album, Gossamer, I took 13 months in the studios working with 30 odd synthesizers, and next thing you know, we had 200 tracks. It gets unruly.

How do you feel about music videos?
Generally, it’s just overpriced commercialism. We work with directors already well-known for films. So the videos are intriguing, powerful and unlike the usual glorified commercials.

Do you like performing live?
I’m older now and don’t like the test of touring. That said, Passion Pit tours are communal and participatory, and I like getting a response from the crowd.

Tell us something funny that happened on tour.
We had a humongous United States tour lined up after a visit to the United Kingdom and got a great package transporting our equipment. It turned out to be by ship and not plane. It took three weeks! We almost had to cancel our concerts. But it was funny, just the thought of it moving at a glacial pace across Atlantic.

How do you deal with pressure and the stresses of being on tour?
Sleep. And by spending as much time as possible alone. Touring, you are always with a crowd of people. So I take time, let’s say 3-5pm, where I’m not to talk to anyone. I also meditate and take walks.

Passion Pit is on August 21, 7:30pm at the Esplanade Concert Hall.

What drew you to this production?
I loved the script. It is funny, grotesque and deeply moving—an emotional rollercoaster. I read it on the MRT and got strange looks. My responses varied from laughing out loud to wanting to vomit and tearing up.

What do you identify with in the story?
I connect with being an outsider. I’ve been in Singapore for several years but will never truly be local. Because I'm Caucasian, people label me an expat. But I am on the outside of that community too. I wasn’t brought here by a company on an expat salary. I don’t share that lifestyle.

What was the casting process like?
Open auditions. This allows anyone interested the chance to get seen. Casting Maggie was the hardest. I needed someone who could do both campy drag and be honest and real.

How did the idea of using Circus Swingapore performers come about?
The circus theme jumped out at me. The way the nurses treat Maggie as an animal or a freak show really suggested circus to me. Perhaps it was on the mind since I worked as a director’s assistant on Voyage de la Vie.

What would you like audiences to take away from the performance?
I want them to leave open and accepting, to grant everyone basic respect regardless of sex, race, sexuality, religion or nationality. If Maggie's father could bring himself to accept her, surely there is hope for all of us.

Purple is on August 2-5, 7-12, 14-18, 8pm; 4-5, 11-12, 18, 3pm at Bugis+.
 

What inspired your band name?
Three of us live on Cashew Road, just off Bukit Timah. We've lived there almost all our lives so we believe that the serene environment influenced our sound. We use “Chemists” because growing up together, there's such a deep chemistry among all of us. We also experiment with music like chemists working in a lab.

Why did you trade your heavy metal act for your current pop-rock sounds?
We’ve always listened to softer styles of music. Some members just had to come out of the closet.

How do you come up with original songs?
Our vocalist Yuji Kumagi writes most of the songs with me and we pass them round the group for input. We also have a five-minute rule: If we take longer than five minutes to complete a song, we trash it and start over. The perfect song should flow in seconds.

We hear you have an interesting mantra.
We believe in “the toppermost of the poppermost, if possible”. It means we want our music to reach as many people as possible. We want to share it with the young and old, musicians of different backgrounds, people who don't listen to much music and those who have their ears plugged 24/7.

How did you get your start?
At 16, I began singing in charity shows and at working men's pubs. I was the first woman to sing “Ave Maria” in hot pants at a men's club.

What drew you to this role?
I’ve always loved the story and songs of Annie. Plus, I enjoy every moment of Miss Hannigan as a character. She’s misunderstood. She has taken to the drink because she's lonely and has only orphans for company.

The show debuted in 1977. What accounts for its longevity?
It reflects life today, even with the global financial meltdown and the Wall Street crash. We all live in hope, just like Annie.

How do you feel about performing here?
I’m very excited. I have visited Singapore en route to Australia but working here will be a wonderful new adventure. As we're playing in one location, it won’t be as arduous as working in some countries where we have had to change venues weekly.

How do you keep your energy levels high?
I follow a strict regime that consists of having lots of liquids to keep up my strength.

What's next for you?
I’m doing voiceovers back in the UK, rehearsing my one-woman show, and then performing in a pantomime where I fly as a bad fairy.

Su Pollard stars in Annie July 10-August 5 at the Sands Theater.

Why was this the right moment to stage the musical?
Glen Goei, the director, saw the original in the 1980s. It is fabulous, funny, touching and has something important to say. Our previous attempts to stage it were impacted by SARS and the recession, but this time round, the stars are aligned, and nothing is going to get in our way.

Can you draw any parallels between your life and that of your character Albin/Zaza?
Hair, makeup, feather boas, sequins, high heels, corsets, girdles and diets.

Tell me about your costumes.
Our costume designer Frederick Lee created an entire wardrobe of couture gowns. Hand-finished with sequins, crystals, mirrors, feathers and fur, they each weigh up to 15kg. They are ingeniously cut and proportioned to give Zaza a va-va-voom hour-glass figure.

If you had to pick another role to play in the show, what would it be?
Hossan Leong’s. He plays Jacob, who is Albin’s “personal handmaiden”. He wants so much to be in show business, he tries on Zaza’s gowns when Albin’s not looking. It’s a screamingly funny role with a lot of heart.

Do you have a favorite song from the show?
“I Am What I Am”. It’s an anthem for anyone who has ever felt different, looked down upon or discriminated against. It reminds us all to live life on our own terms because to quote the song, “Life’s not worth a damn, till you can say, ‘Hey world! I am what I am!’”.

Ivan Heng will perform in La Cage Aux Folles on July 20, 23-27, 8pm; 21-22, 28-29, 3pm; July 30-August 3, 8; Aug 4, 3pm at the Esplanade Theatre.