Happy Oven Review: Old-School Bakery With $1 Pandan Kaya Cakes And More In Tiong Bahru

Happy Oven is an old-school bakery in Tiong Bahru

Located in the heart of Tiong Bahru is Happy Oven, a halal-certified bakery that sells old-school bakes. Opened in 2009, Happy Oven uses only natural ingredients in their bakes, and makes everything from scratch.

Although I’m not the biggest fan of traditional baked goods, I was pretty excited to see what Happy Oven had to offer when I was asked to head down to the bakery for this review. 

Food at Happy Oven

The first thing we tried was the Pistachio Eclair, which are priced at $1.40 each. I feel that pistachios go really well with most desserts, so I was looking forward to trying these eclairs after seeing them on Happy Oven’s online menu. The eclairs were much smaller than I had expected, which was a slight let-down.

These eclairs featured a light and airy choux pastry that was filled with house-made pistachio cream, beautifully decorated with rose petals and crushed pistachios. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed when I tried them, as I found the pastry to be a bit dry and stale. The nuttiness from the pistachio cream could have been stronger, too. I did, however, enjoy how the cream was not too sweet.  

Next, we ordered the Classic Cream Puff, similarly sold at $1.40 each. These cream puffs are part of Happy Oven’s must-try selection, and looked a lot more promising than the pistachio eclairs. 

It seemed like the same choux pastry was used in these cream puffs. They were filled with house-made custard cream and dusted with powdered sugar. I definitely preferred these to the eclairs as the custard cream was denser and smoother, with a nice vanilla aftertaste. The ratio of custard cream to pastry helped to balance out the dryness of the choux pastry, so overall, it was quite pleasant to eat. 

Moving on to the cakes, we got the Pandan Kaya Cake ($1). Happy Oven also makes these in larger sizes that are suitable for birthday parties or gatherings. 

The texture of this cake, if I might describe it, is like both kueh lapis and sponge cake at once. Firm, springy kaya was sandwiched between layers of soft pandan cake, giving it a really interesting mouthfeel—it felt as if I was eating two different desserts at one go. 

Taste-wise, I enjoyed the rich and creamy notes of coconut, paired with the fragrance and sweetness of pandan. 

Next, we tried the Apple Crumble King ($1.40), which is essentially a miniature version of an apple pie. 

While my colleague enjoyed the crumble and crust of this sweet treat, I felt that it was a bit lacking in terms of flavour. It did not have that buttery aroma that I was expecting, and instead tasted rather floury. I felt that the best part of this tart was the filling, as the caramelised, tart apple chunks were complemented by the warm and spicy notes of cinnamon. It also had raisins within for some extra sweetness. 

Saving the best for last, we finally moved on to the Ondeh Ondeh Cake ($1.40), which is Happy Oven’s bestselling item. While I’m not a fan of desserts that are ondeh-ondeh flavoured, my colleague and I both agreed that this was easily our favourite out of the five items we had.

I particularly enjoyed how the light and fluffy pandan cake had a melt-in-your-mouth texture. When combined with the cream, gula melaka coconut centre, and fresh coconut shavings, I was surprised by how every element blended together harmoniously.

Ambience at Happy Oven

Happy Oven is located along a stretch of neighbourhood shops at Beo Crescent. When we arrived, there was a relatively long queue of customers waiting to place their orders, but it moved pretty quickly. There are no dine-in seats here, so you’ll have to wait a little before you dig in to your buys.

The bakery is an eight-minute walk from Tiong Bahru MRT Station. They also have another outlet in Hougang.

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The verdict

Overall, Happy Oven serves a wide selection of traditional baked goods. While there weren’t any items that blew my mind, it did have that nostalgic and homely taste that I think many people would enjoy. 

If you’re looking for more traditional baked goods, check out Garden Pastry & Cake for orh nee and sweet potato swiss rolls. Alternatively, you can read our old-school waffles guide to find some of the best old-school waffles in Singapore.

Address: 40 Beo Crescent, #01-08, Singapore 160040
Opening hours: Daily 5am to 7pm
Website
Happy Oven is a halal-certified eatery

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Photos taken by Chew Yi En.
This was an independent review by Eatbook.sg.