Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
If you’ve ever been in Basement 2 of Plaza Singapura, you may recall being hit by an incredibly aromatic, delicious fragrance when walking past one of the stores. Whenever I visit this mall in Dhoby Ghaut, I always indulge myself in the gorgeous aroma wafting out from BEARS.
BEARS is a Taiwanese snack store selling a variety of Taiwanese snacks like pineapple cakes and nougat sandwich biscuits. Their most popular products, however, are the hundreds of giant egg rolls that are freshly made in stores.
Customers are free to watch as each egg roll is cooked in a griddle, rolled up and packed. The best part of the whole process is inhaling the incredible scent of the egg rolls as they cook.
I watched as the BEARS staff members spooned ladles of thick yellow batter onto the griddles to cook. After a few minutes, they removed the cooked egg roll sheets and rolled them up using a piece of metal equipment before placing the fresh roll on a tray to be packaged.
The packaged rolls were then ready for customers to purchase. The egg rolls are available in three different flavours: Original, Sesame and Seaweed, all priced at S$1.50 each. Unfortunately, the Seaweed Egg Rolls were not available when I visited, so I made do with the Original and Sesame ones.
The egg rolls were still warm when I received them and they came in a cute plastic wrapping with the BEARS logo splayed on the front.
As I tore open the packaging, I was hit with that same fragrant aroma present in the store. The rolls were about three to four layers thick and had a very crunchy texture.
First, I tried the Original Egg Roll. Initially, I was a little worried that the egg roll wouldn’t taste as fragrant as it smelled, but thankfully, I had nothing to worry about.
Each bite of this crunchy snack was delightfully flavourful with that signature egg-y taste that most egg rolls and love letters have. The egg roll was at the perfect sweetness level that enhanced its fragrance without being sugary.
The Sesame Egg Roll tasted almost identical to the original flavour. The only difference was the small speckles of black sesame seeds distributed throughout. The black sesame seeds made the egg roll taste a little nuttier, which I was surprised by, given how tiny the amount was. I would definitely get this roll over the Original one, given how they are the same price anyway.
Compared to love letters that are much thinner and more fragile, BEARS’ egg rolls are thicker, crunchier and sturdier. The thickness allows for the flavours of the egg rolls to be more evident, and I much prefer these over the regular smaller egg rolls I’ve had.
BEARS’ delightful egg rolls are a fantastic, affordable treat to grab while in the Dhoby Ghaut area. I can’t wait to return in the future and possibly check out their pre-packaged Taiwanese snacks too.
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