Whenever GM visited me previously, she would always bring along a box of at least a dozen of these cute-looking mini pau (steamed buns) from Teochew Handmade Pau. That’s the good thing about living in Toa Payoh because it’s a foodie-paradise neighbourhood with many famous foods around, both old-fashioned and hipster ones. ?
The reason why I say the buns are ‘cute’ is because they are really smaller in size than the regular ones. So small that you can easily finish each in two bites or maybe just one.
By the way, Teochew Handmade Pau has been listed in the 2017 MICHELIN Guide Singapore. ?? If you love traditional pau, you shouldn’t miss this place.
Teochew Handmade Pau is a very popular breakfast stall at the Toa Payoh West Market & Food Centre (nearest MRT station is Braddell). This food centre is also home to one of the best carrot cakes in Singapore – Chey Sua Carrot Cake. If you plan to come here for breakfast or brunch, do also head over to the nearby Creamier for delectable waffles and luscious ice cream. ?
This pau shop is one of the few stalls in Singapore that still sells handmade pau today. The steamed buns are not made elsewhere and then brought here to steam. The shifu (pau master in the background) will roll the dough and wrap each pau with fresh filling on the spot. You can see him in action while queuing up.
And this is the menu with prices. Not a big selection. If you do like both sweet and savoury pau, you can easily order one of everything and try all.
For dining in, you can place your order with the auntie standing next to the steamer (there’s a little counter space on the left hand side). For takeaway, you can deal with the auntie standing outside the stall.
This was what we ordered for two persons plus two teh-o from a nearby coffee stall.
Bao Galore
Ratio of dough to filling was 50:50. Normally I prefer thinner skin and fuller filling but this wasn’t too bad because they were still overall delicious.
The filling of the Char Siew Bao ($0.70 each) was on the drier side but the meat marinade was flavourful and tasty. Not too sweet either.
Small Pork Bao ($0.70 each) was more moist. Didn’t have a lot of fats in it.
The Bian Rou Bao ($0.70 each) was just a mini version of Kou Rou Bao (or Kong Bak Pau). This was my favourite of all as the nicely braised pork had absorbed all that savoury flavour of the braising sauce.
The Glutinous Rice ($1.40) was my least favourite of the entire selection. Really dry and there were some hard bits of rice that were quite unpalatable. The only flavour that overpowered everything else was its peppery taste.
Siew Mai ($0.70 each) wasn’t fantastic either as it had a pasty texture that reminded me of those mass-produced fishcake or ngoh hiang that you can find at yong tau foo stalls or supermarkets.
The Char Siew Rice ($1.40) fared better. Rice was fluffy and nicely seasoned. Char siew was tender too.
Overall, I must say they are still better at making pau. So if you plan to come here, go for the pau and skip the rest.
September 2018 Update
They have opened a new outlet at The Bedok Market Place (348 Bedok Road, #02-25, Singapore 469560). Opening hours: 10.00am to 8.00pm (Tue-Fri), 9.00am to 8.00pm (Sat-Sun), Closed on Mondays
Closed on Mon
+65 62542053