Introduction
The humble pandan waffle is one of Singapore’s most beloved hawker snacks — a product of post-independence neighbourhood culture when heartland bakeries served as community anchors. Characterised by their vivid green hue, coconut-and-pandan batter, and generous spreads of kaya or peanut butter, these waffles represent a distinctly Singaporean culinary identity that has persisted across decades of rapid urban change.
This review presents an in-depth comparative analysis of the three highest-ranked establishments from Eatbook’s 2025 evaluation of old-school waffles in Singapore: Yi Jia Bakery House Café (82.5%), Queensway Lau Tan Tutu Kueh (76.25%), and Bakery Cuisine at Raffles Place (75%). Each eatery is examined across six dimensions: establishment profile and heritage, physical ambience and setting, dish composition and sensory analysis, recipe and production methodology, value proposition, and delivery/accessibility options.
- Yi Jia Bakery House Café
1.1 Establishment Profile
Yi Jia Bakery House Café (壹家面包屋) is situated at 229 Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 574361, in the low-rise residential-commercial stretch of Upper Thomson — a neighbourhood that has retained much of its mid-century character despite the broader urbanisation of the Bishan-Thomson corridor. Operating daily from 7am to 8pm, the café has been serving the Thomson community for decades and has built a loyal, multigenerational following among nearby residents.
The establishment functions simultaneously as a traditional kopitiam, a neighbourhood bakery, and a waffle kiosk — a trifecta of functions that reflects the pragmatic commercial model of Singapore’s old-school food enterprises. In addition to waffles, Yi Jia offers freshly baked buns, traditional kopi and teh, fruit tarts, cream puffs, and their well-known durian puffs. The Thomson outlet also exclusively offers Huabao toast, a proprietary item unavailable at other branches.
1.2 Ambience & Setting
Yi Jia occupies a shophouse unit along the Upper Thomson shophouse row, an architectural typology that is rapidly disappearing from Singapore’s urban fabric. The interior is air-conditioned — a rarity among neighbourhood bakeries and a key draw for regulars who congregate here on weekend mornings, often resulting in a crowded but convivial atmosphere. Seating is limited, comprising a small number of tables inside and a scattering of al fresco seats along the five-foot way.
The décor is resolutely old-school: glass display cases stocked with fresh buns, handwritten signage, modest tile flooring, and the ambient soundtrack of traditional kopi brewing. There is no aesthetic pretension here. The warmth is genuine — staff are consistently described as friendly and efficient across online reviews, and the space carries the kind of lived-in comfort that newer café concepts attempt to simulate but rarely achieve. Parking is difficult along the busy road, but the café is accessible via multiple bus routes (services 52, 132, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167, 855, and others).
1.3 Dish Analysis: Pandan Waffles
Yi Jia’s waffles are immediately distinctive from most neighbourhood competitors due to their size and form factor. Rather than the typical large rectangular waffle, these are smaller, chunkier squares with a pronounced honeycomb-like cellular structure — a result of the waffle iron used and the batter’s hydration level. This geometry creates a higher surface-area-to-volume ratio, contributing to a more evenly crisped exterior relative to the interior mass.
The pandan flavour is well-expressed — notably more pronounced than many competitors — with a golden-brown caramelised crust that delivers both Maillard browning and a faint sweetness from the batter’s sugar content. The interior presents as dense, moist, and chewy, reminiscent of kueh ambon (a traditional coconut sponge cake), with a rich crumb structure that carries flavour without requiring heavy filling support.
The house-made pandan kaya filling ($2.60) is the standout pairing: the kaya is produced in-house, exhibiting a smooth, glossy consistency with a balanced coconut-pandan-egg flavour profile. It complements rather than overwhelms the waffle. The peanut butter waffle ($2.80) is equally competent, though the spread was noted to harden slightly when left exposed, suggesting it is applied at a higher viscosity than ideal.
Eatbook Scores — Taste: 4.25/5 | Texture: 4.5/5 | Filling: 4.25/5 | Value: 3.5/5 | Overall: 82.5%
Criterion Score Percentage
Taste 4.25/5 85%
Texture 4.5/5 90%
Filling 4.25/5 85%
Value 3.5/5 70%
Overall 82.5/100 83%
1.4 Delivery & Accessibility
Yi Jia does not appear on mainstream third-party platforms such as GrabFood or foodpanda for waffle orders; their delivery service is operated directly via WhatsApp at +65 9733 4546. The minimum order threshold is SGD $30, with a SGD $10 delivery fee applicable; orders exceeding SGD $50 qualify for complimentary delivery. This model is typical of legacy neighbourhood bakeries that have adapted incrementally to delivery culture rather than integrating with aggregator platforms.
The practical implication is that Yi Jia’s waffles — given their texture-sensitive, made-to-order nature — are best consumed on-site. The waffle’s dense, chewy character may hold up marginally better during transit than thinner, crispier variants, but the caramelised crust will inevitably soften within minutes of packaging, compromising the textural contrast that defines the product’s appeal.
- Queensway Lau Tan Tutu Kueh
2.1 Establishment Profile
Queensway Lau Tan Tutu Kueh (女皇道老陈嘟嘟糕) is one of Singapore’s most historically grounded traditional snack enterprises, with roots tracing back to the 1940s. The flagship outlet was established at Queensway Shopping Centre in the 1980s, and the brand has since expanded to multiple locations including ION Orchard and Chinatown Point. The primary offering is tutu kueh — a steamed rice flour confection with sweet coconut or peanut filling — but the stall has progressively diversified its menu to include muah chee, tea eggs, curry fishballs, cup corn, and homemade pandan waffles.
The three-generation lineage of this establishment lends it a cultural legitimacy that is rare in Singapore’s hawker landscape, where high attrition rates make multi-decade survival exceptional. The Queensway Shopping Centre outlet — located on the second floor at unit #02-47 — is operated within a heritage commercial context, as Queensway Shopping Centre itself is a mid-century mall best known for its concentration of sportswear retailers and has become a site of nostalgia tourism in its own right.
2.2 Ambience & Setting
The Queensway outlet occupies a second-floor kiosk position within the shopping centre — an open-air stall concept with no dedicated seating. The ambience is that of a traditional Singapore pasar or food court node: functional, unpretentious, and animated by the sight and sound of active food preparation. The stall’s most distinctive visual feature is the steam rising from the tutu kueh moulds alongside the waffle irons operating simultaneously, creating a multi-sensory environment.
Customer interaction is central to the experience. The stall is typically manned by one or two operators who manage both the tutu kueh steaming and the waffle production in tandem — an operationally demanding arrangement that necessitates efficient workflow. Queues are common, particularly during peak hours, and the social dynamic of waiting alongside other patrons in a heritage mall setting contributes to the nostalgic character of the visit. The ION Orchard outlet, by contrast, offers a climate-controlled mall environment with modern retail aesthetics, though the product quality is reported to be consistent across branches.
2.3 Dish Analysis: Pandan Waffles
Queensway Lau Tan’s pandan waffles are among the most texturally distinguished in the field, characterised by their exceptional crispness. The exterior achieves what might be described as a near-laminated quality — flaky, shattering, and intensely buttery — a result of the combination of a high-temperature waffle iron and a rapid cooking cycle. This level of crust development is atypical among neighbourhood waffles and places the product in a distinct subcategory.
The interior, while soft and presenting a mild kueh-like chew, is notably thinner than Yi Jia’s — a trade-off inherent to the thinner batter formulation that prioritises crust development. The pandan fragrance is present but secondary to the butter notes, which dominate the sensory profile. The waffle holds its crispness longer than most competitors, maintaining texture integrity even after a brief rest period — a practically significant advantage for takeaway consumption.
The chocolate filling ($3.00) emerged as the standout variant: rich, deeply chocolatey, and approximating the flavour profile of a premium hazelnut spread. The peanut butter filling ($2.50) was described as smooth, creamy, and appropriately saline. Additional filling options include coconut and red bean, broadening the flavour range across traditional and modern preferences. The stall also uniquely offers a gula melaka coconut combination that harmonises with the pandan-butter waffle base.
Eatbook Scores — Taste: 3.75/5 | Texture: 4/5 | Filling: 4/5 | Value: 3.5/5 | Overall: 76.25%
Criterion Score Percentage
Taste 3.75/5 75%
Texture 4/5 80%
Filling 4/5 80%
Value 3.5/5 70%
Overall 76.25/100 76%
2.4 Delivery & Accessibility
Queensway Lau Tan Tutu Kueh does not currently offer delivery services through major aggregator platforms such as GrabFood or foodpanda for its Queensway outlet. The product’s defining characteristic — extreme crispness — makes it fundamentally unsuited to delivery, as the moisture migration that occurs within enclosed packaging will rapidly undermine the textural quality that distinguishes the waffle. On-site consumption is strongly recommended.
Accessibility to the Queensway Shopping Centre outlet is reasonable: the nearest bus stop (Opp Queensway Shopping Centre, bus stop 11519) is approximately 96 metres away, served by routes 14, 33, 51, 61, 93, 100, 120, 195, and 197. For those in central Singapore, the ION Orchard outlet provides an alternative accessible via Orchard MRT.
- Bakery Cuisine (Raffles Place)
3.1 Establishment Profile
Bakery Cuisine is a neighbourhood-style bakery chain with multiple outlets across Singapore, most notably its well-patronised Raffles Place MRT station location (Unit #B1-23, 5 Raffles Place). The establishment occupies a strategic position within Singapore’s Central Business District, serving as a daily indulgence destination for the area’s considerable office-going population. Operating Monday to Friday from 7am to 7:30pm and Saturday from 7am to 6:30pm, Bakery Cuisine is calibrated to the rhythms of CBD working life.
The Raffles Place outlet reportedly produces hundreds of waffles daily, making it arguably the highest-volume traditional waffle operation in Singapore. The scale of production is supported by seven simultaneous waffle machines running at capacity during peak service periods. Orders are placed via QR code scanning — a digital-physical hybrid model that reflects Bakery Cuisine’s more modernised operational approach relative to the two neighbourhood establishments reviewed above. A $0.10 digital gateway fee is applied per transaction.
There is informal speculation in food media circles that Bakery Cuisine and Levure Naturelle (ranked 4th in Eatbook’s evaluation) may share a parent company or supply relationship, as their waffle products exhibit notable stylistic similarities in batter composition and structural thickness.
3.2 Ambience & Setting
Located within the basement concourse of Raffles Place MRT Station, Bakery Cuisine operates in one of Singapore’s highest-footfall transit environments. The setting is characterised by the functional efficiency of commuter infrastructure: minimal dwell space, high ambient noise from foot traffic, and a predominantly transactional customer interaction model. There is no dedicated seating area; waffles are purchased for immediate consumption in transit or taken away.
What the setting lacks in character it compensates for in accessibility and convenience. For the CBD workforce, the proximity to an MRT interchange makes Bakery Cuisine an almost frictionless purchase decision — a factor that contributes significantly to its cult status among office workers. The social ritual of the mid-lunch or post-work waffle has become embedded in the professional culture of the Raffles Place area.
3.3 Dish Analysis: Pandan Waffles
Bakery Cuisine’s waffles occupy a structural category distinct from the thin, crispy type (Queensway Lau Tan) and the compact, kueh-like type (Yi Jia). These are thick, bulky, and substantial — described variously as ‘hefty,’ ‘heavy,’ and ‘chunky’ by reviewers, with a caramelised exterior crust that delivers Maillard browning without approaching the laminated crispness of Queensway Lau Tan. The interior is notably spongey and moist, with a chew that reviewers compare to a soft bread roll more than a traditional waffle.
The waffle batter appears to incorporate both pandan and vanilla-adjacent flavouring agents, producing a mild composite sweetness that is broadly appealing but less distinctively pandan-forward than Yi Jia’s formulation. The structural robustness of the waffle — attributed to a denser batter and a more extended cooking time — means it holds its shape well over time, making it more viable for brief transit than the crispier varieties.
The peanut butter filling ($2.80–$3.00) is applied generously, with a creamy, well-balanced sweet-savoury profile. The ham and cheese variant ($3.30) demonstrates noteworthy flavour contrast — the savoury elements providing a counterpoint to the inherent sweetness of the waffle base. The cream cheese filling has received particularly strong reviews for its quality and generosity of application, described as ‘very generous’ and dropping from the waffle’s centre upon serving. The Biscoff (speculoos) variant at approximately $3.80 represents the premium option.
Eatbook Scores — Taste: 3.5/5 | Texture: 4.25/5 | Filling: 4/5 | Value: 3.25/5 | Overall: 75%
Criterion Score Percentage
Taste 3.5/5 70%
Texture 4.25/5 85%
Filling 4/5 80%
Value 3.25/5 65%
Overall 75/100 75%
3.4 Delivery & Accessibility
Bakery Cuisine at Raffles Place is the only establishment among the three reviewed that is listed on a major third-party delivery platform. The outlet is available on foodpanda (restaurant ID: y168), offering delivery to the surrounding CBD and residential areas. However, the fundamental tension between delivery logistics and waffle quality applies here as elsewhere: the caramelised crust will deteriorate under packaging conditions, and the thick batter — while more structurally resilient than the thin crispy type — will lose its fresh-from-the-iron quality rapidly.
For walk-in customers, the MRT station location provides unmatched accessibility within the CBD. No private transport is necessary, and the outlet is directly accessible from the Raffles Place MRT concourse without emerging to street level — a meaningful advantage during Singapore’s intermittent monsoon rainfall periods.
- Production Methodology & Approximate Recipe
4.1 Traditional Pandan Waffle Batter — Reconstructed Formula
The following is a reconstructed approximation of the traditional Singaporean pandan waffle batter, synthesised from publicly available recipe sources and informed by the sensory characteristics observed across the reviewed establishments. Note that each stall’s precise formula is proprietary and not publicly disclosed; this recipe is intended as a practical guide for home replication.
Dry Ingredients
200g plain flour (or cake flour for a more tender crumb), 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 60g caster sugar (reduce to 40g for a less sweet base).
Wet Ingredients
2 large eggs, 250ml coconut milk (full fat, for richness and authentic flavour), 3–4 tbsp fresh pandan juice (extracted by blending 10–12 pandan leaves with 4 tbsp water, then straining), 80g melted butter (unsalted) or coconut oil, 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional; adds depth but reduces pandan prominence).
Method
- Whisk dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut milk, pandan juice, and melted butter until homogenous. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined — do not overmix, as gluten development will toughen the crumb.
- Rest the batter for 15–20 minutes. This allows the leavening agents to activate and the gluten to relax, improving the final texture. A rested batter will produce a more tender interior.
- Preheat the waffle iron thoroughly and brush with a neutral oil or melted butter. Pour approximately 90–110ml of batter per waffle (depending on iron capacity). Cook for 4–6 minutes until deeply golden; resist the urge to open the iron prematurely, as steam release at this stage can cause structural collapse.
- For the crispy style (approximating Queensway Lau Tan), increase cooking time by 60–90 seconds and use a slightly higher iron temperature. For the dense, chewy style (approximating Yi Jia and Bakery Cuisine), increase the coconut milk proportion by 15–20% and reduce cooking time marginally.
Filling Notes
House-made kaya (as used by Yi Jia) requires a separate preparation: combine 6 egg yolks, 150ml coconut milk, 80g caster sugar, and 6–8 pandan leaves (tied and bruised) in a double boiler, stirring constantly over gentle heat for 20–30 minutes until thickened to a custard-like consistency. Commercially available kaya may be used as a practical substitute.
Peanut butter fillings in commercial establishments are typically warmed to a pourable consistency before application, creating the characteristic ‘ooze’ effect. At home, this may be achieved by briefly microwaving the peanut butter (smooth variety, lightly salted) for 15–20 seconds.
- Comparative Assessment
The following table consolidates key evaluation dimensions across all three establishments to facilitate direct comparison:
Criterion Yi Jia Bakery Queensway Lau Tan Bakery Cuisine
Taste 4.25/5 3.75/5 3.5/5
Texture 4.5/5 4/5 4.25/5
Filling 4.25/5 4/5 4/5
Value 3.5/5 3.5/5 3.25/5
Overall Score 82.5% 76.25% 75%
Price Range $2.60–$2.80 $2.50–$3.00 $2.80–$3.30
Delivery Available WhatsApp ($30 min) Not available foodpanda
Halal Certified No No No
Seating Dine-in café Takeaway kiosk Takeaway kiosk
5.1 Synthesis
Yi Jia Bakery House Café emerges as the clear overall leader, distinguished by its superior pandan flavour expression, house-made kaya, and the unique kueh ambon-like textural complexity of its waffle crumb. It represents the most complete realisation of the old-school pandan waffle ideal: flavourful, texturally distinctive, and made with evident craft. Its limitations are operational — limited accessibility, informal delivery model, and the absence of a third-party delivery presence — rather than culinary.
Queensway Lau Tan Tutu Kueh occupies a distinct position as the definitive destination for texture maximalists. Its waffle is the crispest of the three, and the institutional heritage of the brand — spanning three generations and seven decades — lends it an authority that goes beyond the sensory product alone. The diversity of fillings, including the gula melaka coconut combination and a superior chocolate variant, extends its appeal beyond peanut butter traditionalists.
Bakery Cuisine at Raffles Place functions best as a convenience proposition. Its thick, substantial waffle is well-suited to the transactional rhythms of CBD consumer behaviour, and its foodpanda listing provides the most accessible delivery option among the three. While it ranks third on taste and value metrics, its operational sophistication — QR ordering, multi-machine capacity, consistent high-volume output — positions it as the most scalable model of the group.
5.2 Recommendation by Consumer Profile
For the flavour-driven enthusiast willing to travel: Yi Jia Bakery House Café, Upper Thomson. Arrive early on weekday mornings for minimal queuing. Order the kaya waffle and pair with a cup of traditional kopi-O.
For the texture-focused purist or the heritage food pilgrim: Queensway Lau Tan Tutu Kueh, Queensway Shopping Centre. Visit on a weekday to avoid peak queues. The chocolate and gula melaka coconut fillings are strongly recommended.
For the CBD professional seeking a reliable, convenient indulgence: Bakery Cuisine, Raffles Place MRT. Scan the QR code during off-peak hours (before 11:30am or after 2pm) to avoid the lunchtime rush. Request ‘crispier’ at the counter for an improved textural outcome.
Review compiled from Eatbook.sg (May 2025), Burpple, TripAdvisor, FoodAdvisor, and Wanderlog community reviews. Prices are subject to change. None of the establishments reviewed are halal-certified.