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Swish Rolls, Cluny Court, Singapore

Swish Rolls, Cluny Court, Singapore
@candidcuisine No longer amused. Circular croissants trend lost its luster before reaching peak (but also Kouign Amann was the og, nothing new!) ❌❌❌ #croissanttok #croissant #buttercroissant #sgbakery #tiktoksg ♬ Chiquitita x Twilight – twibytez

Address: 501 Bukit Timah Rd, #01-02B Cluny Court, Singapore 259760
Opening Hours: Daily 9:30am – 6:00pm, while stocks last.
Instagram: swishrolls.sg
Official Website: swishrolls.sg

It is only through Swish Rolls that I discovered that I’m at a love and hate relationship with copycats. First of all, circular croissants are an original creation by Lafayette Grand Cafe and Bakery, one of my favorite brunch spots in NYC. Though I can hardly even say it’s original.

(And that’s where I stopped with my original first line, that I hated copycats. I like thoughtfulness and ingenuity in creating things.)

These circular croissants reminded me of the forgotten decade’s cronuts, the pastries named so aptly as portmanteau between croissant and doughnuts… popularized by Dominique Ansel. But it also reminded me of my first love, Kouign Amanns. Because these Creme Supremes (as they are called by Lafayette) actually look like the latter, only injected with so much botox — pardon me, creams.

I don’t like custards and creams in croissants, though Mr. Holmes Bakehouse (Another of my favorite bakeries in San Francisco, sadly foreclosed, and a product of Tendernob’s gentrification) remains to be an exception.

So for a novice bakery to actually take it mainstream (because La Levain and Yeast Side also jumped the bandwagon), I find myself unsure whether I want to actually like it. Yes, the very thought of copycats make it grimace. At best, these flaky croissants would be executed well, less sweet, creamy, and very instagrammable.

And it was. I find that the pistachio ones bewitched me at first bite. Converted me. I like the shell best, because all the divine sweetness sits in the middle. Forget the raspberry. It tastes like cough syrup.

Whether or not I would return for another roll is a giant question mark. I wouldn’t have to fly 18 hours and 30 minutes to NYC anymore. But again, it’s one of those trends that “you’ve tried it, you’ll unlikely go back for more”.

P.S. If you let these Swish Rolls sit too long in the paper napkins, the cream and oil coming out of the pastry leaks to the paper, and you risk smudging the ink. I doubt you’ll get poisoned, but it was disgusting for me. Look at my photo of the pistachio. Ew.