Red Bean Bread Stick from BreadTalk

I was vacillating on whether to post about this or not because it might be perceived as common, but after thinking about the concept, I thought it was worth some comment. This is from BreadTalk - what they supposedly call "Danish bars". But I think it's more accurately described as a bread stick. For one, the dough reminds me more of that used in roti prata - the flat pan-fried Indian bread. Not only is it cooked that way - somewhat fried or toasted griddle style, but the crispiness and oil-dough taste also seems exactly like roti prata. Danish, on the other hand, is way more buttery rather than oily, is baked and usually has this gelatin-like glaze.

Anyway, misnomer aside, it was an awesome creation because it's like repacking roti prata as something that's much more convenient to prepare and eat on the go. Furthermore, it pairs the roti prata bread with many other fillings and ingredients. In particular, this red bean version seems to be a reinvention or variation of the Chinese red bean pancake.

In terms of execution, it is quite perfect. They griddle the bars on the spot for you to enjoy warm. The pastry is multi-layered (like a well-folded, multi-layered roti prata) and crispy on the outside, but soft, slightly stringy and chewy on the inside. The sesame seeds are also nicely toasted to varying degrees, but all within the pleasant range, and provide an extra chewy dimension to the experience.

The only thing that I didn't like for the red bean version was that the red bean paste they used was more the Japanese azuki paste, which was too sweet and without the dark woody flavour of the traditional Singaporean red bean paste that I like, and which is usually used for the red bean pancakes in restaurants. As you can see in the image, it's a rather lighter and faded grape red, rather than the dark maroon, almost black red bean paste that you find in other Singaporean red bean snacks. The other flavours that I tried - cinnamon sugar and chocolate nut - were perfect though.

A lovely Singaporean-styled creation that is affordable and could make its way into our comfort snack list, the way bean curd pudding and kaya toast has.

Found this pastry interesting? Check out other unusual pastries here!