Overdoughs

It was supposed to be a lunch cum dessert session at Overdough but it turned out that lunch is only available on weekdays. Hence, we head next door to Artichoke without reservations but luckily there were seats.
The moment for all things sweet arrived when the Snickers Tart $ 6.40 was served. This is simply superb. The gooey salted caramel that stuck to the teeth nonchanlantly as you sink through the chocolate ganache dusted with golden peanut brittle and then the next layer of peanut butter Nougatine. But it was a love-​hate relationship with the cornflake crust, which took a long time to saw with a knife. Next time I would have it warmed up, for sure.
Though I am not a Banana fan, the Roasted Banana Muffin $ 5.40 looks too good to be missed. The best part was the crumbly surface that is scattered with streusels and super-​irresistible toffee sauce. It was clever for the pastry chef to use mini-​sized blueberries, as they would not burst under heat and affect the muffin batter. But more sauce would be perfect to conquer the giant as it became boring towards the core
Overdoughs’s Oreo cheesecake block ($ 4.80) is easily the most sinful cheesecake per area square in Singapore because oreo chunks, salted caramel pretzels and cookie doughs are all dunked in. Served warm, this is rich-​tasting but not too unctuous and cloying. Despite the name, this was not salty at all and I would not mind having it again.

So hidden in some random part of Singapore! A true gem in the rough.
Baked Banana Walnut Muffin — it’s incredibly huge and very delicious
Lime meringue — Loved the lime, not too big a fan of the actual meringue part just because it tasted way too milky for me (but I’m also really not a fan of cow milk)
Coconut pear muffin — it was tasty, but nothing really special
Also had some of their pita + sauteed mushrooms + veggies and toppings and dressings — very very delicious!

only got to know about this middle eastern sweets place through Unilocal elite event :) if im feeling all sweet toothy and need to curb my sugar withdrawal symptoms, this is e place to go to.
1. mint chocolate tart — my personal favorite! for e sweet tooth, u will love this tart. e highlight of e tart for me was e rice krispies (or that’s what i thought it was) inside. leaving every bite of e minty chocolate with a nice crunch.
2. snickers tart — for e queen of all sweet toothers. its like melted snickers in a tart. my fav until i tried e mint chocolate tart :)
3. mango pomelo tart — this is a tad sour for me. im more of a sweet tooth so i was just OK with this lil tart.
4. traditional baklava — i was never really a huge fan of turkish desserts as i find them too sweet even for my sweet tooth BUT this one was okay and i actually liked it :)
5. chocolate baklava — hey its chocolate. cant go wrong with that. this is just a lil sweeter than e traditional one.
… now maybe they should serve some turkish apple tea to go w e sweets!

Previously located at 261 Waterloo Center, few streets away from the Artichoke café — the takeaway bakeshop has since moved back to join the main kitchen in Jan. It now buddied the same compound with Artichoke in a beautiful courtyard — Sculpture Square that welcome not only the artistic sculptures but seeks to please fans of Middle Eastern cuisine.
Pilling up with layers of Phyllo sheets, staggered them to assemble with finely chopped pistachio tossed with sugar. Each Traditional Baklava serving was stacked up neatly, I saw peck of «green sand» fighting for limiting space in the phyllo sheets, some hanging at the cliff edges while some sitting comfortably on the surface as garnish. Each mouth was filled with impactful aromas emitting from the nuts as you nibble at the slightly soaked buttery phyllo layers, light yet rich. It was undeniably sweet but manageable.
Dark Chocolate and Almond Baklava was the highlight of the night. I have been eyeing this since Aug 2012 but wasn’t make available on weekends when I visited. The champ of the Baklava clan was packed with rich and sexy chocolate scent, coating your whites with sticky cocoa fudge that tasted balance, not cloying. I could hear the merciless crushing rhythm of the almond nuts in my mouth.
To some extend, the Fig Chutney & Pistachio version was mediocre in comparison. The phyllo had been a lot more soggy — the glazed appearance forewarned its sweetness as well — in fact, I’d wish that the lavish Baklavas here are baked crisp and flaky though I can be quite lenient towards the first two. Apart from the texture, the combination was punishingly sweeter than the rest. The sugary Turkish fig was encircled beautifully by the phyllo ring filled with strong nutty note from the pistachio bits.
Another round of sugar rush — Meringue Tarts. Typically, each tart shell was put together primarily with grind cornflakes that expelled a unique texture along with gooey wholesome feature. I liked them less sweet, less harsh in dairy, making it ideal for anyone who are less tolerant towards rich and buttery taste. While I was attracted by the crust, some of the fillings risked shoving up one’s blood glucose level instantly while others have a balance of tang and sweet. So the entire fleet was not a massive letdown.
Almost slipped into sweet coma — these nectarous lot — Snickers-​inspired Tarts & Chocolate Mint Tarts are not to trifle with. Witness how Bjorn confronted the mainstream, the modern age Meringue Tarts have been re-​programmed with a sweet-​talk ability to knock out any individuals without cautions. I happily deconstructed the open-​face pie with a silver fork, unveiling nougat, caramel and thick chocolate fudge and a hint of peanuts. These gluey rich mixture was housed within a crumbly cornflake tart shell that were somewhat stiff yet not overly concrete. Mars candy fans will not be able to resist this snickers laden tart though this is not for the faint heart. If Snickers ain’t catchy, how about the Chocolate Mint Tarts? I am never a big fan of things flavoured with mint, but this one has a good chocolate mix. Even though the case, the mint element still stood out from the deep chocolatey flavour which was alarming for me since I don’t have a good feeling for it. Those relish for After-​Eight Thin Mints may find it attractive.
Haven’t heard of the Roasted Pineapple Meringue OR Soursop Tarts? You are not alone. This Pineapple tarts take a newer form with real tropical fruit curd adulterated by cloves, topping up with torched meringue nestled in the tart shell. The meringue mixture was delicate and velvety, the sweetness has been averaged out by the tanginess in the pineapple. A good alternative to the otherwise sugary mini old-​classic pineapple tartlets sleeping in your CNY snack tray. The Soursop cousin was packed with delectable flavour that comes with a peppy acidic taste underneath the smooth meringue topping. I am glad to find that all the meringues were not under/​over-​cooked, most were evenly baked. Something that Bjorn should be proud of. Those prefer Meringue-​free but fruity version may be tempted by the powering Mango & Pomelo Sago Tart where the sticky sugary mango paste puddle with the tart pomelo pulp atop the crust.
The savoury items are hard to pass up. Levantine appetiser — Baba Ghanoush — the mashed eggplant has a light smokey flavour and extremely creamy without a watery appearance. I adored the strong lemony note that greatly enhanced the earthy flavour, very unique and didn’t taste like aubergine at all, goes very well with the accompanied spongy pita bread.
I completed the fare with a can of legendary Uludağ Gazoz soda that helped eradicate honey stains on my lips and cleansed my taste buds with its frizzy lemony substance.

Dessert heaven!!! Where do I even begin??? I definitely will be back again! Glad I found this place through Unilocal!!!The location is easy to missed, tucked away in a little corner building that looks like a chapel.
The tarts (My favorite!!!) — The crust was divine. Thin, flaky & buttery :)
1. Mango Pomelo Sago tart — It was a hard decision but among all the tarts… This one was my top pick! Love x Infinity. A perfect balance of tangy & sweet. Mango, pomelo & pomegranate — all my favorite fruits :) How did they know???
2. Chocolate Mint tart — Runners up! Chocolate lovers this is made for you.
3. Snickers tart — Love!
4. Soursop Meringue tart — Love!
5. Pineapple Meringue tart — This one taste like Pineapple tarts. Enough said.
The Baklavas
1. Traditional Baklava — A rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. Best shared otherwise you might be in a sugar coma. A bit too sweet for me.
2. Dark Chocolate Baklava — An interesting twist. I like it better than the traditional version.
3. Cashew Baklava (didn’t try)
4. Apricot and Pistachio Baklava — Their best seller & My FAV!!! It has an extra milky taste. I think they used condense milk :) It was less honey/​sugar sweet than the rest but had a creamy/​milky taste. The Pistachio added just a right amount of nutty flavor to it.
5. Walnut Baklava (didn’t try)
6. Fig & Pistachio Baklava — Good.

I started out immediately in love with this little eatery because of its affiliation with Artichoke. The Mediterranean inspired food and pastry shop was also tucked into one of my favorite hawker centers close to my office. The early mezze plates and pita sandwiches were great. The pastries were a little pricey but innovative.
This month they moved back in with Artichoke. I went to try it out… I had their shawarma. It was the only thing on the menu even remotely appetizing. See, the really inescapable issue with Overdoughs is that they were constantly changing the menu and offering only maybe two dishes a day. That’s fine if everything is tasty but when it isn’t, it immediately kills the buzz. That’s what happened to me yesterday. I ate a shawarma at Overdoughs and it will be the last thing I eat there.
First off, it was served without a plate so the sauce dripped all over my newspaper. Second, I kept taking out huge pieces of skin. Skin is not part of a shawarma! The chicken join was really the last straw. Side note: don’t put lettuce into a shawarma with hot chicken! It will get soggy and gross.
For all of their playfulness with food I thought they would have the basics covered. But by serving a bad shawarma they have lost my trust and my business.

What winds have blown you here, oh bakery filled with middle-​eastern goodies?
You’re wandering around the ground floor of this HDB building that doesn’t really belong in the area, but you heard about some baking fairies producing copious amounts of mid-​east breads and sweets, and you have to try some.
You walk a little more, past the famous chicken rice stall at the amusingly-​named Summons coffee shop, and OH MY GOSH IT’S HERE.
You’ve found the fountain of youth/​golden snitch/​pot o’gold… and the baking fairies. Except they’re mostly men. Led by the very-​much-​a-​man Bjorn Shen, who also cooks at their sister spot across the road — Artichoke.
Try not to be greedy — there is a fair bit of stuff on display, and everything is made on premises, from the baklava (ask for it to be well doused, that’s the authentic way, innit?) to the beautifully browned cinnamon rolls filled with raisins and nuts, and even the supersized banana muffins, covered in streusel and almond flakes. And we haven’t even talked about the lunch boxes. But I haven’t had those, so I’ll save that for the next time I come by.
Can I leave you with with a thought?
Dark chocolate baklava.
Go now.

Instead of the usual bread and cakes one would expect of a bakery, Overdoughs doles out traditional middle eastern flatbreads and desserts.
If you’re into pita breads and other savoury breads, then you’re in luck! They’re perfect to have with hummus or just plain. If you aren’t really into the whole Middle Eastern breads, it still isn’t so bad as they have excellent sweets to whet your appetite still. The desserts, though random, are all wonderfully made and come in rather big portions, not the minute ones most of us are used to. I was lucky they had the passion fruit tart when I visited and for me, anything that has meringue automatically becomes my favourite.
Unfortunately, Overdoughs is more of a takeaway joint as they’re more of a production bakery for Artichoke, so there’s only 1 communal table where you can sit. And whatever they produce are only in limited amounts so remember to get there before they sell out for the day.

This very new spot is a tiny hole in the wall at Waterloo centre, marked only by 3 bread loaves in its signboard and a wide open window seat.
It’s a rather modern take on a kopitiam, with one large common table with seats all around and window seats, so not too many people can be in this place at any one point. There’s an open kitchen behind the food counters where you place your orders. There is also an airconditioning unit and a fan, but considering that the windows are wide open, not much help. Also, your paper plates blow off the table if you’re not watching.
The highlights are the lunch boxes with naan and a selection of condiments to go with your freshly baked bread, which I’ll try when I’m feeling hungrier — The $ 10 lunch box (naan + 3 sides) seems quite enticing. I tried the pomegranate chocolate tart, which was appropriately chocolatey and the pomegranate had a nice tang that set off the chocolate well. The beetroot chocolate orange cake was rather less chocolatey and as my friend remarked, a lot like Huat Kueh in texture.
While hipster cool and chic, it’s not a place you’ll feel like wiling the hours of your afternoon away in, and that’s probably a good thing because of its size. Still a decent place to indulge in interesting pastry and modern middle eastern food.