Pineapple Jam-Free Tart Taste Test, Plus Salted Egg Hae Bee Hiam & Other CNY Snacks

Pineapple tarts devoid of any jam, completely barren and botak. No, it's not a joke — 'cos we actually tried it. Read on for our taste test review and also check out our list of other Chinese New Year goodies worth eating.

Touted as Singapore’s first pineapple jam-free pineapple tarts. Say what? BoTart’s hilariously-named Pineappless Tarts are aimed at folks who scrape off the jam before eating a pineapple tart. Yes, apparently such people exist. BoTart was started by three twenty-something pals (including a private chef) with “a dislike for pineapple jam commonly used in CNY tarts and a love for the outer tart” and who prior to this, would “only nibble the edges of our tarts and waste the jam, wrapping them up into a tissue paper and tossing it away”. Whoa, we only do that when there’s excess sugary jam — but chucking the entire topping away? Sacrilegious.

Anyhow, they say that each jam-free tart is hand-made by “pineappless tart connoisseurs”, using New Zealand butter and a sable (French butter cookie) recipe. The result? As one might expect, almost like eating a thicker-than-usual butter cookie shaped like a closed tart. A rich, very buttery, crunchy, not-too-sweet and moreish one. Albeit a smidgen dry and crumbly. The towkays have already sold over 250 jars this year — so there is a market for this. Colour us amused.

For folks who must have some jam, there are the Pineapple Glazed Tarts ($18.80) version, which are “90% tart, 10% pineapple”. So there's just a light brushing of jam on the pastry tops. The house-made pineapple jam here’s a bit sweet, so good thing there’s just the barest smear of it. But it does give the dough some welcome moisture and a fruity hint. Witty marketing, and an ideal snack for those looking to cut down on sugar, we suppose. Personally, though we love our pastry, we’d choose the “10%” jam-topped one instead of the pineappless version because the latter is essentially a plain butter cookie disguised as a tart, lah.

Order by Feb 21 via Instagram & Facebook @botartsg or email botartsg [at] gmail.com ().

If you haven’t had abalone-flavoured macadamia nuts, now's the time. Local snack brand Nibbles’ version is yummy: it features large roasted Australian nuts dusted with abalone seasoning, which interestingly enough, also contains shrimp and codfish flavouring. It’s well-salted even if its packet claims it contains “25% lower in sodium as compared to regular ready to eat nuts”. We can’t say we taste actual abalone in this, but the briny-umami seasoning smells of the sea and is addictive with the intensely crunchy, creamy macadamias. Yum yum.

Available online all year round at the Nibbles e-store or till Jan 24 at Chinatown 46 Temple St, S058591, Chinese New Year Bazaar 2020. Open daily, 11am-1pm.

As if hae bee hiam (spicy shrimp) rolls aren’t already decadent enough, Irvins’ has decided to shower this CNY staple with crumbly salted egg yolk seasoning. The crackly layers of fried popiah skin casing coated with the golden egg dust are yummy enough, but the hae bee filling within, while pretty spicy, could do with a bit more umami flavour.

Available till Jan 27 online & at all Irvins outlets, including #L1-K3 Orchard Gateway, S238858. http://www.irvinsaltedegg.com/page/salted-egg-crunchy-roll-hbh

Ah Mah Homemade Cake has recently launched its newest bake: the Cotton Cheesecake. This is another name for the popular Japanese-style soufflé cheesecake, which incorporates egg whites into the batter and is lighter, fluffier and more soufflé-like than American cheesecake. Ah Mah’s version is made with cream cheese, a hint of lemon juice and baked in a water bath. We love this: it’s moist and fluffy on top, with a slightly creamy texture at the bottom. It has just the barest hint of cheesy tang and isn’t too sweet. Too easy to scarf down.

Available at all Ah Mah Homemade Cake outlets, including #B2-K7 Vivo City, 1 Harbourfront Walk, S098585. www.facebook.com/iloveahmahsg

We’ve never had a tomato cake before, but there’s always a first time for everything. The Pine Garden’s sunny Yuzu Cherry Tomato Butter Cake is quite fun to eat. While the sponge is slightly dry, it’s lifted with a light but refreshing lilt of yuzu, and spotted with bits of tart-sweet dried cherry tomato. FYI: Pine Garden's Longan, Coconut & Gula Melaka Cookies ($18.90) are worth checking out, too.

Available till Jan 23 online at https://www.pgcake.com/category/chinese-new-year-20

This lemak, crisp cookie, each containing ground cashews and also studded with a toasty whole nut, is one of our fave among Violet Oon Singapore’s range of prettily packaged snacks. It’s traditional-tasting yet mod-looking. Her Sugee Cookies (also from $18) are delish, too. And both are available all year round, which is fab for last-minute CNY shopping runs.

Available all year round at all Violet Oon Singapore outlets, including #03-28/29 Ion Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, S238801. https://violetoon.com ​​​​​​​