Salted Egg Ensaymada, Kaya Pandan Cheese Roll, Ube Cheese Roll and Ube Matcha Cloud by Mary Grace Cafe in Singapore

I finally got to try Mary Grace Cafe in Singapore. They are famous for their Filipino pastries, the ensaymada and the premium cheese rolls using edam cheese, but at the Singapore branch, they have some Singapore exclusives in addition to their original flavours. These are the Salted Egg Ensaymada and the Kaya Pandan Cheese Roll. 

I also took the opportunity to try some of their ube offerings, which are the Ube Cheese Roll and the Ube Matcha Cloud. Ube is a purple yam that is indigenous to the Philippines and unique to their cuisine, and recently it has been trending in Singapore with various cafes blending ube with drinks such as matcha latte or pastries and desserts. So I was glad to have the chance to try ube-flavoured treats at an authentically Filipino cafe.

Salted Egg Ensaymada

First, we'll start with the Salted Egg Ensaymada from the first photo above, which features a mouthwatering lava salted egg filling.

I must say that despite this being a Filipino cafe, I felt that they nailed the salted egg flavour and experience very authentically.

First of all, the ensaymada itself was one of the best brioches I've had. It was the fluffiest brioche in a thready and stretchy way, a bit reminiscent of a mochi bread, but much softer to the point of being pillow soft, and very moist, puffy and buttery. The texture of this and the cheese rolls was so remarkable that I have a little short below capturing the texture for reference.

The salted egg filling paired perfectly with this ensaymada, like a sauce that you might dip soft fluffy bread into. There was a very prominent punchy spiced flavour from curry leaves that sat on a comforting but punchy egg sauce. It was savoury, umami and rich, with earthy and creamy notes of butter, nutty notes of egg yolk and warm notes of custard. The spice helped to cut through the rich egg and buttery bread. I think some of the spice was sprinkled on top as a type of spice powder, as you can see the little specks of black in the photo below.

I also liked the slightly caramelised cheese on top (the dark brown patches), as it was caramelised just perfectly. It had a rich caramelised, savoury cheese taste and crunch, but none of the bitterness or blackness of being burnt, nor was the cheese rubbery like many cheese toppings on buns. 

I'm not sure if the original ensaymada has any filling, but I thought that the bread, while rich, might have been a bit monotonous on its own, so I thought the salted egg sauce was essential for my enjoyment of the ensaymada. 

Overall, every aspect of this was perfect - very well curated and paired, and very intricately executed for the perfect contrast of pillow soft brioche with crunchy caramelised cheese and spice powder on top.

Kaya Pandan Cheese Roll

I really loved this as well, much more than the ube cheese roll below. 

Once again, the texture was irresistibly pillowy soft. While the ensaymada was more stretchy, the cheese roll was more bouncy. I also took a short video because I was so impressed, and have embedded it below.

The filling was also very delectable, much better than other kaya-cheese fillings I've tried. The warm, mellow notes of the slightly sweet coconut and egg with lush creamy pandan wrapped around the savoury and tangy edam cheese to balance it very well.

I think it is better specifically because they use what felt like an entire small bar of edam cheese (the kind that comes individually-wrapped in the supermarket), which has more salt, tang and rich nutty notes than cream cheese, which is what most other kaya-cheese snacks use (including kaya-cheese obanyaki pancakes such as at Mr Bean). The texture of the edam cheese is also smooth, springy and slick, rather than pastey like in cream cheese, so I felt that it supported and complemented the kaya's pastey texture much better than cream cheese, even contributing a faint bite to it. Since kaya is sweet and fatty, the punch from the tang and salt of the edam cheese is important for cutting through that.

What I didn't like as much, however, was the topping of the cheese roll, which felt like unmelted and slightly greasy butter topped with granulated sugar. The granulated sugar was a bit coarse, and while some might like the sandy crunch texture, I didn't. Furthermore, the butter on top felt greasy for some reason, although I liked that it was pure and natural butter. I think a melted butter that is less heavy and in-your-face would have been nicer.

Here is the video of the bouncy texture. Watch how it reinflates and puffs up again after I lift the fork.

Ube Cheese Roll 

This was a bit of a disappointment, and out of all the other treats, I would recommend passing on this.

I could barely taste the ube, despite the prominently purple paste being very visible. It tasted like a vaguely creamy and earthy paste that was mildly sweet, perhaps with faint notes of creamy coconut. 

There also seemed to be less ube paste compared to kaya, but even when I used the fork to scoop some of it out to eat on its own, its flavour was very mild, and without the contrast of the cheese, even less distinct to me. 

Once again, I wasn't that fond of the granulated sugar topping.

Ube Matcha Cloud

This was another winner. I loved the striking pretty pastel colours as well.

I was recommended to sip it from the top so I could get an even amount of ube cloud foam together with the matcha latte underneath.

Upon first sip, the flavour of the foam that hit was salty, malty and earthy, slightly sweet with creamy vanilla taro notes. It was not really a floral type of taro taste as some versions of taro might be, but there were faint notes of honey.

Then came the notes of vegetal matcha that become umami and milky as the ube foam gave way to the matcha latte below.

The matcha seemed like a high grade of ceremonial matcha to me, albeit a bit milder on the vegetal grassy flavour. It was extremely smooth with almost no hint of bitterness at all, so they definitely used a good grade although I don't think their menu mentioned that it was ceremonial. There was a very delicate grassy and bean-like taste, slightly nutty and a bit reminiscent of pistachio. 

I felt that the ube paired well with the matcha as the ube came across as friendly, light and mellow in the top notes, while the matcha was more earthy and grounded in the base notes. It was also lighter on the creaminess and milkiness in the body, so the top notes of honey and vanilla, and bottom notes of grassy chlorophyll came through well.

For the sweetness level, it felt like an overall 3-4% grams per 100ml (like the Nutrigrade scale), and it seemed to get sweeter as I approached the bottom of the glass. But because there was a good and delicate balance of top notes and bottom notes, it somehow didn't seem as sweet as the drinks from other cafes or coffee chains. 

Original Flavours

Although I didn't order the original flavours, I took some pictures from the display case of the various flavours of their signature cheese rolls and ensaymadas.

Overall Review

The entire experience was very pleasant, from the ambience to the curation of flavours to the execution. I would summarise it as very well-refined and well-curated versions of familiar and comforting Asian flavours. The pillowy soft texture of the breads and the delivery of the flavours were what stood out to me.

The ambience was also very pleasant and refined, with light jazzy music and a polished upmarket feel, but instead of becoming cold and glitzy, this leaned warm, cosy and friendly, very reminiscent of warm Filipino culture. There were touches like handwritten notes under the glass of the tables (photos below) giving it a personal feel like some American diners evoke, but with a Japanese sense of refinement and a very Southeast Asian and tropical flavour. This is quite a unique combination.

So overall, I felt that despite the significantly higher price point of breads that might sell at half the price even at premium Japanese bakeries, the overall experience was worth the higher price point, at least once in a while for special occasions.

Ambience Photos

Finally, to give a sense of the ambience, I took some pictures of the table and my order so you can see the plating.

Discover other Filipino, ube, yam and Southeast Asian treats

• (Filipino snack including ube flavour) Polvoron - The European Version of Chinese Cookies
• Ube Latte (Purple Sweet Potato Latte) (both iced and hot) by Cafe Yasuragi
• Salted Egg Yolk Daifuku by Luckin Coffee
• Taro Latte by Bullock Cart Coffee
• Purple Sweet Potato Taro Egg Tart, Macau Portuguese style, by Zok Noodle House
• Orh Nee *yam) Butter Toast, Purple Sweet Potato Butter Toast and Red Bean Coconut Cream Toast by Suu Kee Coffee
• Orh Nee (yam) Bao and French Chocolate Lava Bao (Chinese Steamed Buns) by Bao Bao, Singapore
• (pandan) Ondeh Ondeh Lattes
• (pandan) Pandan Coconut Latte by Luckin Coffee
• Kaya Pistachio Cookies by Yakun
• (pandan) Chendol Panna Cotta
• (pandan) Ondeh Ondeh Marble Cake
• Emping Cookies by Garden Pastry & Cake, Singapore
• Kopi Luwak or Civet Cat Droppings Coffee from Bali
• Emping Cookies by Garden Pastry & Cake, Singapore
• Iced Aren Latte by Tomoro Coffee vs Gula Aren Latte by Fore Coffee