sun moulin v. provence - the faceoff!

This is the official sun moulin v. provence faceoff. They have so many similar breads that we have taken it upon ourselves to find out which bakery is better.

Round 1: Cheese bun.

First up, the cheese mochi. The cheese mochi from Sun Moulin is very nice. It's not chewy, its very soft and its very palatable. There is considerably a lot more of that cheese taste in this one than Provence's brazilian cheese bun.

Nonetheless, the texture of Provence's brazilian cheese bun is clearly absent here. The beauty of Provence's bun is not only in its fantastic taste but it is so addictive because the texture is just that good. It is extremely crusty, extremely moist, extremely chewy. The Sun Moulin's version is nice but boring. It's enjoyable but not addictive. Provence, my friend is the real deal.

Round 1 goes to Provence.

Round 2: An Pan

The an pan at Sun Moulin is commendable. It's slightly coarse, not too sweet but still not as good as the an pan at Provence. The an pan at Provence is stronger-tasting and a lot more fragrant. Without even biting into it, one can already smell the an pan. That's how good the an pan there is. Perhaps it is also better at Provence because the an pan there is with skin. This obviously contributes to the granular texture and makes the taste better.

But the main reason why Provence wins this round is because the bread of the an pan at Provence is just simply too darn good. The bread there has a certain crusty, elastic bite around the edges and yet remains so awfully cushy and moist when you tear it apart. The bread at Sun Moulin is regrettably dry and bland. There was no 'pangness' to it, it tasted more like a sloppy combination of flour and water compared to Provence's conscientious baking efforts.

There is no doubt at all, that Provence wins hands down.

Round 2 goes to Provence.

Round 3: Wassant

Ok, this was not reviewed in our post about Provence, but we've tried it enough times to know what it tastes like. The wassant at Sun Moulin was definitely stronger tasting. The chocolate definitely shone through a lot more than the wassant at Provence. Truth be told, I think the taste of the chocolate wassant at Provence is a little too faint.

But the chocolate taste at Sun Moulin was not a nice rich chocolate taste. It tasted a lot like coco-crunch, the cheap-skate type of chocolate.

The main difference between Provence and Sun Moulin lies in the texture. While the cheese bun was soft at Sun Moulin and chewy at Provence, it was the complete opposite when it came to the wassant. The wassant was very crispy here. Yes, crispy. It was literally hard. You could break off the layers in crisp bits. I think they don't call it wassant at Sun Moulin. They call it a zebra croissant? This is crispy even by a croissant's standard. It was literally crunchy. But beneath that exterior lies a soft inside, that's very very moist. (I feel like I'm describing a person's character. But its true, the zebra croissant is a sensitive bun. Treat it with lots of TLC.) The wassant at Provence is unbelievably soft, like cloud. It's so light, so airy!

Sharon preferred the soft-like-cotton wassant at Provence. I was undecided. The Sun Moulin one is, to me, a lot more addictive. It tastes cheap, I'll admit that, but it's damn shiok to eat something so crispy and chocolatey (even if it tastes like deep-fried cheap chocolate).

Round 3 goes to.. no one, although if I were going for value for money, definitely Provence. Sun Moulin's is not exactly delicate but costs like 65c for a tiny tiny tiny piece.

Round 4: Custard roll

Now, the Sun Moulin one is EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. EXCELLENT. The custard is one of the best I have ever had. It's so smooth, so milky.. I am not exaggerating when I say it is like silk. It really is like silk blanketing your tastebuds. Plush, delicious silk to boot. The custard's lushness tickles your tastebuds, its smooth (have I said smooth yet? oh but it's so smooth) milky sweetness enveloping and pampering the many sensory receptors till you're lulled into a place of just absolute bliss. It is so...luxurious.

When I first tasted it, I got super-excited, like a child drinking coke for the first time. It is that good.

Even Sharon agrees that their custard is out-of-this-world. I think I prefer the custard here because as much as I like the custard at Provence, it's a little too eggy for me; the same reason why I can't really appreciate custard baos. But this custard at Sun Moulin is like a cross between the milk pan and the custard roll. Shiokkk. Even that's not enough to describe it. Let me add a couple of Ks. SHIOkkkkkkkkk. That's more like it, with emphasis on the SHIO part too.

If there's any quarrel, its that the bread isn't very aromatic and its not very soft. But the custard is good.

Round 4: Sun Moulin

After 4 rounds, I conclude that the winner is Provence. Sun Moulin is a great bakery but Provence is just magnificent, too zai already. If there's one area where Sun Moulin can aim to improve, its the quality of their bread. Their fillings are not bad, but their bread isn't anything to shout about. It was a good match, nonetheless.

Sun Moulin
Isetan Scotts Basement 1
350 Orchard Road