Syiok: Hidden gem hawker bakery sells stretchy Mochi Pies, Taro Egg Tarts and Tom Yum Puffs
While Beauty World Food Centre may primarily be known for its selection of delectable hawker stalls, I’ve always had my sights set on Syiok, a quaint little bakery stall tucked away within the food centre.
While Syiok may resemble any other hawker pastry stall at first, if you take a closer look at their menu, you may be surprised to find a whole range of exciting and extremely creative bakes for sale. I’m talking about mochi pies, egg tarts in flavours like taro, strawberry and apple, yam puffs and tom yum puffs.
With such interesting creations that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else in Singapore, Syiok instantly stood out to me when I first came across it. I decided to take a trip down to Beauty World one Sunday morning to grab a few pastries.
What I tried
The first thing I tried from Syiok was the Taro Egg Tart (S$1.80), consisting of egg custard and taro filling within a cookie crust, topped with two sunflower seeds.
The slightly translucent appearance of the
taro filling indicated that the filling wasn’t made of pure yam, and likely had some artificial elements in it. It was quite sweet with a smooth and slightly sticky mouthfeel, and despite its sweetness, I was still able to taste a pretty strong yam profile.
The egg custard was firm with a vibrant yellow hue, and was visually reminiscent of a Hong Kong egg tart. I found the egg custard to be a little overbaked as it was slightly rubbery in texture and much firmer than other egg tarts I’ve had.
Though the cookie crust wasn’t very fragrant and had a rather one-dimensional taste, it wasn’t too sweet on its own, balancing out the sweet taro filling and egg custard nicely.
Overall, I wouldn’t get this Taro Egg Tart again, but at the price point and for the novelty, I think this is well worth a try.
Next, I had the Tom Yum Puff (S$1.50), a triangular-shaped pastry stuffed with tom yum chicken filling. Before I even cut open the puff, I was hit with the fragrant smell of the tom yum spices, giving me a good first impression.
When I say that this Tom Yum Puff was stuffed, I mean it. The entire puff was generously filled with vibrant orange shredded tom yum chicken, which delighted me, especially given how the puff was only S$1.50.
The tom yum chicken fillings were a little spicy and quite salty. I could taste the tom yum elements of the puff, and the finely shredded chicken made the fillings quite crumbly.
The puff pastry was flaky and crispy on the surface. I appreciated that it wasn’t too oily, though it was slightly thick and a bit chewy.
With its incredible generosity and strong flavours, I will definitely be back for this Tom Yum Puff.
Possibly the most intriguing items at Syiok are their selection of Mochi Puffs, which are filled with stretchy, chewy mochi. The Mochi Puffs are only available on weekends, making them extra exclusive.
The first Mochi Puff I had was the Chocolate Mochi Puff (S$1.80), a flaky pastry containing stretchy white mochi and melted chocolate.
Initially, I had expected the puff to be mainly filled with chocolate with just a tiny bit of mochi in it. However, when I cut it open, I was pleasantly surprised to find that about 85 per cent of the fillings consisted of glistening white mochi. The Chocolate Mochi Puff certainly lived up to its name.
Like the Tom Yum Puff, the Chocolate Mochi Puff was incredibly generously filled. I was treated to a delightful mouthful of melted chocolate and mochi with every bite.
Unlike traditional daifuku mochi, which is thicker and sticker, Syiok’s mochi was sweeter and on the more liquid-y side, with a silky and smooth mouthfeel. The chocolate was also quite rich and slightly bitter, which I enjoyed.
The sweet, soft mochi and the rich chocolate, combined with the crispy, flaky pastry, made this the perfect blend of textures and flavours. Plus, the stretchiness of the mochi created an ultra-satisfying mochi pull!
The other mochi pie I tried was the Bobo Char Char Mochi Puff (S$2.20), a bubur cha-cha inspired puff made with brown sugar mochi, yam and sweet potato cubes.
The brown sugar mochi in the Bobo Char Char Mochi Puff tasted strongly of molasses with a hint of a caramelised aroma, setting itself apart from the regular white mochi in the Chocolate Mochi Puff. The taste reminded me very much of a chewier version of brown sugar tapioca pearls in bubble tea drinks, which I liked very much.
The cubes of yam and carrot were soft, but I found that their taste got drowned out a little by the strong brown sugar flavours from the mochi. I think that for this puff, I would have liked for there to be a bigger ratio of yam and sweet potatoes to mochi so that their flavours could stand out more prominently.
I was wow-ed by Syiok’s Mochi Puffs, especially given how they seemed to be the first and only predominantly mochi-filled pastries in Singapore.
The final pastry I tried was the Yam Puff (S$1.50). Compared to the previous pastries I had tried, Syiok’s Yam Puff was not as generous in terms of fillings, but was still adequately filled.
The yam fillings were light purple and slightly translucent, with a thick and sticky texture. It was quite sweet, but the yam taste was still evident. I would have preferred for this puff to be made with natural yam fillings as it tasted and looked a little artificial.
Despite the saccharine fillings, I found the Yam Puff to still be tasty and well worth the price. Though it didn’t stand out much compared to the other pastries, those with a sweet tooth may still enjoy this treat.
Final thoughts
Syiok thoroughly impressed me with its selection of incredibly creative and unique pastries. With most of its bakes priced under S$2, this underrated hidden gem is deserving of every bit of praise that it receives.
I would gladly wake up early on a weekend and travel over an hour down to Beauty World just to patronise Syiok again.
Expected damage: S$1.50 – S$4 per pax
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