My friend recently kickstarted her own home bakery business, Kaya Butter, and took to Instagram to set up shop. Her photos of tantalizing homemade breads and spreads appeared on my feed, so I was tempted and decided to give it a shot!
- My order:
- Mixed flavours bun box of 6 ($11)
- Muar otah buns (x2)
- Honey yuzu cream cheese buns (x2)
- Chocolate hazelnut buns (x2)
- Hainanese kaya spread ($4)
- Mixed flavours bun box of 6 ($11)
- Spent: SGD$20 ($15 + $5 delivery fee)
If you’re looking to order the buns, which are all made with locally-milled premium Japanese flour and come in a box of 6, you can opt for a single flavour or mix the flavours up like I did. According to the instructions that came with the items, the buns don’t keep for very long and the recommendation is to consume them on the day of delivery. They did taste better on day one as compared to when I had them for breakfast the next day, so eat them fresh if you can (:
When the buns arrived, I went straight for the Muar otah (mackerel fish) one first! Don’t be fooled by the tiny bit of otah peeking through at first glance. When I bit into it, I realized it was a fairly large chunk hiding beneath the bread. It was really delicious and moist, definitely miles ahead of those thinly sliced, dried out ones from most bread shops. There was also a mild spiciness to it for that little kick.
Next up was the honey yuzu cream cheese bun! The cream cheese was legit creamy and held its form well. Yuzu flavours were fully present but not overpowering, adding a delightfully refreshing citrus taste to balance out the light sweetness.
Lastly, I tried the chocolate hazelnut bun made with quality couverture milk chocolate and pure hazelnut paste. Biting into this bun was heavenly! Think luscious, smooth, oozing chocolate paste with a very manageable sweetness level. Be warned though, eating this is going to be a deliciously messy affair and will definitely involve slurping 😛 Also, it was surprisingly light and didn’t induce that “heaty” feeling I tend to get after eating chocolate. I echo my husband’s sentiment that this is way better than Nutella.
In my order, I also bought a Hainanese kaya spread that came in a cute jar. Having seen the post on Kaya Butter’s Instagram about the arduous cooking process, I must really commend the hard work that goes into preparing this. This is hand-stirred, guys, made from scratch with love, not machines ❤ It was very smooth and fragrant, though a little on the sweet side for me.
Given the impressive experience I had with the first order from Kaya Butter, I placed another order two months later when the seasonal menu for the Chinese New Year bake sale popped up!
- My order:
- Pineapple tarts ($33.60 for 2 tubs)
- Spent: SGD$38.60 ($33.60 + $5 delivery fee)
Each tub came with 12 sizeable tarts filled with hand-grated, homemade pineapple paste with the perfect level of sweetness. Many pineapple pastes I’ve tried either lean towards being overly sweet or overly tart but I felt this was just the right balance of flavours. Not to mention the soft, buttery dough that enveloped the paste and melted beautifully with every bite. I remember eating 5 of these at one go the moment it was delivered, and this was already post-dinner time. If I weren’t paying attention, I might’ve just finished the whole tub in one sitting.
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. For my first order, I really enjoyed all the bun fillings – the otah was chunky and savoury, the cream cheese was milky and tangy, and the chocolate hazelnut paste was super slurp-worthy. The best part was that the sweetness levels were on-point for me, unlike the excessively saccharine ones from most mainstream bakeries. All the items truly felt homemade with lots of thought, effort and love put into it. My only gripe was that the bread was more chewy than I would’ve liked it to be. I generally prefer soft, fluffy bread textures so this didn’t exactly hit the nail on the head for me. I adored the pineapple tarts from my second order and had to actively keep from eating too many pieces at one shot. Kaya Butter currently only delivers to select locations, so if you’re one of the lucky ones, do seize the opportunity to try some of these awesome bakes!
Dania Experiences 