Hype is a dangerous ingredient. It inflates expectations. It promises something that the food must then deliver. Standard Bread, a famous bakery import from Korea, has arrived at Resorts World Sentosa with a lot of hype.
My assistant passed by and, knowing my love for Korean bread and a particular matcha red bean loaf from Hong Kong, she bought two loaves. The Salted Butter Bread ($14+) and the Matcha Red Bean Mochi Bread ($15+).
The loaves look good. They have the right shape, the right color. They photograph well. But you cannot eat a photograph.
Let’s talk about the bread itself. The texture of both loaves was identical. The crumb was dense, hard, and dry. It was a chore to eat.
The Salted Butter Bread was a failure. The salt, which should be distributed throughout or at least present in every bite, was concentrated in a few crystals on the very top. The rest of the loaf was just a thick, bland block. There was no buttery richness, no soft interior. It was just hard bread.
The Matcha Red Bean Mochi Bread was even more confusing. The matcha flavour was faint. The red bean and mochi were applied in an extremely thin, almost transparent layer. It felt like an afterthought. You get the promise of the filling from the name, but almost none of it in the actual eating.
Each loaf yields about five thick slices. That makes each slice around $3. This is an absurd price for bread of this quality. The location at Resorts World Sentosa explains the price, but it does not excuse the poor execution. I would not pay $5 for one of these loaves, let alone $15.
This is a clear case of brand over substance. People will buy it because of the name and the location (a sharp contrast to places like Kim Keat Palm Market, where substance quietly speaks louder than branding). They will take a picture. But I doubt many will enjoy eating it.
Good bread should be simple. It needs good ingredients and correct technique. This had neither.
This was a disappointment.
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