Petit Croissant @ Mini Ones

As a snack food, Mini One croissants found at Donq Bakery is probably something I would eat only if I had to. Now as much as I love my Croissants, I do not think that the Japanese know a thing about making good ones and it shows.

Mini One is a branded version of a petit croissant, and it is pretentious. You get a bag full for roughly usd$ 2 bucks and there are five. Now there is nothing shady or bad about the Japanese made pastries, it's the pretentious branding that gets me. 

In Japan, there are queues forming at the counters for take aways but in Singapore, the lines are non-existence. This would probably give you a clue to why the Japanese has much to learn about a true European pastry. 

When you bite into one fresh off the counter, the first thing you'd notice is that it lacks any buttery fragrance. The sweet taste from the sugar sprinkles is the first thing that hits you, so if you are looking for a sugar fix, this could be the only high you are getting. 

Having tasted the petit croissants found on a side street in Macau, made with love and within the European tradition, the one from Donq Bakery just doesn't quite cut it. It lacks character, fragrance and taste. It is unfortunately quite bland. The sugar as a high note doesn't quite make it for me as I don't crave sugar like a five year old. 

It's like having a meal at a fancy restaurant and the very next day, you don't ever recall eating it. 

In a unlikely way, it has to do with the perception created with a fancy branding. You expect more out of it and when you don't get it, you start to wonder what the fuss is all about. Even when taken in a blind taste with the petit croissants I found in Macau, the ones from Mini One will still fail to measure up to my expectation in terms of taste. 

There is nothing sinister about branding a croissant, provided it is better than the average croissant. For Donq,  the Mini Ones still need some working on. 

Petit Croissant @ Mini Ones

Petit Croissants @ Postelaria Macau Street

It doesn't matter if you call it Cornetto or Croissant, when in Macau, you can't have either. Sure the ones in Angela's Cafe are already superb, those are super-size Croissants and is terrific if you want to have a meal but what about a snack?

Unfortunately, there isn't many places which I would bother getting any as it's not common to begin with. I remember walking into a western style bakery of sorts in Taipa to buy home some Croissants, and boy was I disappointed. Run by the Portuguese, and judging from the taste, the Croissant was rubbish.

It was during one of my photo walks that I discovered Postelaria Macau Street, just behind Tap Seac Square. Now the name I think is a misspelling of Pastelaria, I am very sure the Portuguese didn't find this funny but I sure did.

It is a traditional Chinese bakery of sorts on a corner street, patronized by locals. They are too far away from the tourist spots and are too local to appeal to foreigns, but that doesn't hide the fact that they make some pretty mean "petit croissants".

The sell them in a bag and are very inconspicuously labeled. But as with all fast food bakeries, the taste is what matters. Fresh, they are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, leave it alone for a while and it gets a little soft and chewy, but the texture is still firm. The pastry has a very strong whiff of butter and that's what makes it good.

They bake and make them with quality butter and these are just fabulous with coffee or tea. I never fail to pick a bag up when I am there. Each "petit croissant" is fragrantly delicious as you catch a whiff of butter just as you bite into it. You can even taste the butter than is made with it, giving the croissant a rich texture. What's more each petit croissant only cost one Pataca.

The problem with European bakeries these days is that they think they have a monopoly on good pastries just because it came from their culture, not so I say as these little croissants beats the living daylights out of those found elsewhere in Macau. If you are fan of croissants, you can't help but think what the hell is going on when a corner shop operated by Chinese people can make a better croissant. Trusted that the Portuguese are not French or Italian and their breakfast don't consist of such things but then, how difficult is it for them to maintain the quality? For now, this little shop will be a fav of mine until I find another that offers better quality.

Petit Croissants @ Postelaria Macau Streetrating