Ollella Traditional Kueh & Pastries

Ollella, which specialises in traditional kueh and pastries, has moved out of Cluny Court in Bukit Timah to a cosy new space at Far East Square.

The outlet, which opened on Oct 17, can seat 12 diners.

Apart from a selection of kueh that Ollella is known for, outlet-exclusive items include Lontong Sayur ($5.90), which is vegetarian; and Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam Ginger Flower Sambal ($7.90).

The Lontong Sayur has an optional add-on of rendang chicken for $3 more. But the dish is so tasty, I find it unnecessary to add meat to the mix.

Unlike the local version of lontong, which comes in a vegetable curry usually comprising cabbage, carrot and jicama, Ollella’s Betawi-style vegetable curry has a premium selection of chayote, green papaya, long beans, French beans and carrot. Betawi refers to the ethnic group which inhabited Batavia, the colonial Dutch name of Jakarta. 

The dish comes with half a hard-boiled egg and one tau pok (beancurd puff). The luscious gravy is fragrant with spices such as galangal and rich with fresh coconut milk.

Every component in the lontong is made from scratch, from the spicy sweet sambal to the serundeng (spiced coconut floss). These add plenty of texture and flavour to the gravy, making it easy to polish off the tender, chewy rice cubes at the bottom of the bowl.

Ollella’s founder and owner, Ms Marcella Putri, 37, has incorporated non-traditional ingredients, such as mandoline-sliced potato crisps fried in spices, gula jawa (Indonesian palm sugar) and Thai lime leaves as a topping for the lontong sayur. The addictive topping is good enough to eat on its own, and it seems such a pity to dunk it in the gravy. 

The Nasi Lemak Rendang Ayam Ginger Flower Sambal is more in the style of Indonesian nasi uduk, which refers to mixed rice.

The glistening coconut-scented rice, served in a banana leaf-lined bowl, is blanketed by a photogenic egg fried sunny side up, complete with a runny yolk. The dish comes with a dry-style rendang ayam cooked using boneless chicken thigh. 

The highlight is the sambal kecombrang, which is torch ginger sambal. Plenty of shallots go into the punchy sambal, which has a floral taste from the torch ginger bulbs. 

For a sweet treat, try the White Kueh Dadar ($2.20 each). It has a thin and tender pandan-infused skin, encasing fresh grated coconut cooked in white rock sugar with morsels of preserved winter melon. 

The Kueh Bamboo Parcel ($39), which comprises 16 pieces of kueh encased in a handcrafted bamboo basket, makes a marvellous gift all year round.

The selection includes two pieces of Signature Kueh Dadar (made with gula jawa), three pieces of Kueh Salat, three pieces of Kueh Lapis Sagu (rainbow kueh), two pieces of Kueh Bika Ambon (honeycomb kueh) – perfumed with the citrusy flavours of Thai lime leaves and lemongrass – and two pieces of Kueh Bingka Ubi (tapioca kueh).

The highlight in the parcel are four pieces of lemper, a stuffed glutinous rice snack.

My favourite is the Lemper Ayam, which has a filling of lemongrass-infused shredded chicken.

The Lemper Ebi, which has a filling of dried prawn, comes with blue pea flower glutinous rice. 

The glutinous rice for Lemper Rendang Ayam is cooked in turmeric, and the galangal-dominant filling has a fiery kick. 

The pandan-infused green Lemper Mackerel Otah can do with more oomph in the filling, as the other lemper are rich in comparison.

The kueh can also be bought a la carte.

The outlet is closed on Dec 24, 25 and 31, and Jan 1, but kueh and pastries can be purchased online at www.ollella.com

Where: Ollella, 01-04 Far East Square, 135 Amoy Street
MRT: Telok Ayer
Open: 7.30am to 3.30pm, Mondays to Fridays; 9.30am to 3.30pm, Saturdays. Closed on Sundays, as well as Dec 24, 25 and 31, and Jan 1
Info: www.ollella.com

Beanfolks by Lemuel Chocolate

Craft chocolate maker and cafe Lemuel Chocolate at The Star Vista has expanded with a hot chocolate bar at Jewel Changi Airport. 

Opened on Dec 1, the outlet, called Beanfolks by Lemuel Chocolate, offers two types of beverages for takeaway – chocolate and mocha – for which you need to make a series of choices to customise your drink.

It can be a tad bewildering, but there is a guide to help you choose.

First, decide if you want chocolate or mocha.

Hot or iced chocolate, made with handcrafted chocolate, is priced at $8 a cup, while hot or iced mocha, made with single-origin espresso and chocolate, is priced at $7.50 each.

Next, choose one of eight types of chocolate. Of these, four are dark chocolate, ranging from 70 to 90 per cent. Then choose one of four types of milk: dairy (cow’s milk), soya, oat or coconut.

Finally, choose an infusion. There are 18 choices for a regular infusion. Interesting ones are kampot pepper and Mexican spice (a blend of cayenne pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon).

There are also six premium infusions which cost an extra 50 cents each: matcha, hojicha, osmanthus, hazelnut, Earl Grey tea and roasted rice.

I choose a hot chocolate with 85 per cent dark Cambodian chocolate, oat milk and kampot pepper ($8).

The drink is made using handcrafted chocolate and milk, with no added sugar or cocoa powder. The slight sweetness comes from the chocolate made in-house at Lemuel Chocolate.

Topped with complimentary chocolate shavings, it is warming and mildly sweet. The kampot pepper imparts a floral flavour with a spicy edge.

I also try an iced mocha with 54 per cent milk chocolate and soya milk ($7.50), paying 50 cents more for roasted rice, a premium infusion. The roasted rice imparts a toasty nuttiness. 

Where: Beanfolks by Lemuel Chocolate, 03-207 Jewel Changi Airport, 78 Airport Boulevard
MRT: Changi Airport
Open: 11am to 10pm daily