SINGAPORE: Ask any visitor, and they’ll say there are a lot of things to appreciate about Singapore: from safety and security to food, from shopping to green spaces to friendly and helpful Singaporeans.
For an exchange student from Canada, however, a standout in the city-state is, well, the bread, and by this, he means the variety of inexpensive bread, both sweet and savoury, that one can get practically anywhere.
“Do you want to know one of my favourite parts about Singapore?” asks Curtis (@curtisdoingthings) at the beginning of a video he posted on Dec 18.
“It’s bread. More specifically, it’s bakeries like this which have a lot of variety and very good prices,” he can be heard saying in the clip, panning around the myriad offerings at a bread shop called Baker Talent at Simei and then zeroing in on a sign that says special offers cost S$1.
@curtisdoingthings A lowk chill night in the life of a Canadian exchanger in Singapore you kno da vibes and whatnot Instagram @ curtis.doingthings check it out for my older vids
He picked up a dragonfruit quinoa yoghurt bun for that price, took a bite, and pronounced it good.
Half a minute’s walk from the first bakery, Curtis found another, this time named Mirana Cake House, and while he quickly showed that this shop has even more treats, he did not buy from it, as he then went to his favourite bakery, which has waffles.
He then bought a blueberry waffle and enjoyed every bite. As Curtis walked, he passed by a Bread Talk outlet and explained that it is a chain not only in Singapore but in Southeast Asia and that he enjoyed its baked goods in Malaysia and Hong Kong. He added, however, that it’s a bit more expensive than his favourite bakeries.
“Not going to lie, I’ve been a very big sweet treat person this semester, but we’re on exchange, I don’t think too much of it,” he said, adding that he bikes and walks around a lot, meaning he burns the calories from all the bread from these shops.
He added that the bun and waffle he ate were just a pre-game before dinner, and that he was in the mood for some Thai food that night.
“I just wanted to go before it closed and show you something cool,” he said.
Many commenters on Curtis’ video, which has gotten almost 172,000 views, seemed delighted that local bakeries, particularly those in the heartland, would get so much positive attention.
“So refreshing to see people come to our heartland neighbourhood instead of those overrated places,” one opined.
“Never seen an exchange student get so excited over our bread in the heartlands???” chimed in another.
“Yo SHOUTOUT this guy for going to SIMEI, tired of those backpackers talking abt lau pa sat and whatever other tourist trap,” a third shared.
“Simei is the best tiny civilisation in SG,” a commenter wrote.
“An ang moh in the heartlands raving about our bread??? We love to see it,” another added.
“This Angmo got taste,” a TikTok user wrote. /TISG
Read also: Canadian exchange student says Singapore is ‘not diverse,’ TikTok users push back
