In the sprawling Tan Boon Liat Building, a stone’s throw from the eclectic Tiong Bahru area, lies The Providore – a food and wine lovers paradise and if you will – gourmet food store.
The Providore, is by Bruce Chapman and Robert Collick, who also started Jones the Grocer but has since sold the business off. They chose Singapore as their base, as it is home to one of the most food-loving cultures in the world. There are plans to e-retail these products too, as well as to expand into Japan in 2014.
Look out for craft beers like Hitachino from Japan and New Zealand’s Monteiths, Sydney’s famous ice cream sandwiches from Pat and Stick’s, as well as some of the globally sourced products including freshly-roasted coffee, exquisite tea blends, jams, relishes, sauces, chocolate, cheese and more. The company is set to launch The Providore Mandarin Gallery Cafe (#02-05/06/07 Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Rd.) this July, a dining spot serving up quality brunches and more good food!
As someone who will happily have bread for all my 3 meals , I was extremely delighted to have been introduced to BAO bakery bread, by Christophe Grilo (this pain au chocolat is as good as it gets, on par with Tiong Bahru bakery). I guess you can trust a french with bread, it is almost a national pastime.
Here’s Christophe your friendly bread maker who spoke to us at length about browning butter before baking to make it more aromatic.
Pat and Stick’s ice cream sandwich (made basically out of a chuck of ice cream in between sinful slabs of cookies) was nothing short of fantastic, I sank my teeth into their Double choc made of rich, dark Belgian chocolate ice cream with their soft and chewy choc-fudge cookie. The winner however as Caramel Pecan : Imagine rich caramel ice cream with a crunchy nutty pecan cookie – the perfect union of sweet and salty. Once only available in Sydney – how lucky are we to have it here!
So my appetite was whet and I got adventurous – venturing onto the cheese section.
I learnt that you can mask/tame the sharpness of things like blue/goat cheeses with a dap of fig jam. These two are the perfect companions for a party in your mouth.
I love my cheese. (Except for the sheep cheese on the charcoal biscuit which I gamely tried but didn’t take too well).
I love the fact that The Providore has chosen to work with locals by producing roasted coffee blends packed in Singapore, as well as commissioning local design studios for creative work. They work with local rosters from Toby’s Estate, custom blend their teas in Singapore, and carry lots of produce from boutique producers in Australia.
What to expect:
Complimentary tea and coffee during visits, as well as lots of food samplings. Daily tea sampling.
Details:
THE PROVIDORE- theprovidore.com315 Outram Road 6221 7056. Open 10am-8pm daily.
Instagram @TheProvidore
