La Levain

La Levain is an artisan bakery and cafe at 23 Hamilton Road, in the Jalan Besar area. Everything is baked on site each day, from croissants and other French-style pastries to its best-known item, the sourdough egg tart.

The bakery is led by executive pastry chef Wythe Ng. He learned much of his craft in Japan. Before La Levain, he led the bakers at Bakery Brera and at Keong Saik Bakery, which he co-founded. La Levain opened to the public in December 2021. Its bakes mix French classics with Asian flavours, many inspired by the chef's travels.

What to order

Start with the sourdough egg tart. It has a flaky, croissant-style crust around a smooth egg custard, and it draws on both Hong Kong and Portuguese egg tarts. The crème brûlée version adds a caramelised top.

The croissants are made with dough fermented over several days and layered with French butter. Bakes you are likely to find include:

• French butter croissant, pain au chocolat and kouign amann
• The Bo Bo Cha Cha croissant, inspired by the local dessert of the same name
• Burnt cheese croissant
• Four cheese and ham croissant
• Newer bakes such as a Dubai pistachio kunafa mochi

There is a separate dine-in menu for those who want to sit down with a coffee. Seasonal bakes appear through the year, including Christmas specials, cookies for Lunar New Year and mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The setting

The room is plain and modern. Grey walls give it an industrial feel, with wooden tables and chairs and orange neon lights. Through the show kitchen, you can watch the bakers at work, and the day's pastries sit on display at the counter.

Hamilton Road is a quiet street of shophouses in the Jalan Besar area. The cafe suits a slow breakfast or a coffee break between sights in Little India and Jalan Besar.

Good to know before you go

• You can pre-order pastries and gift boxes online, for islandwide delivery or for collection.
• The bakery also takes corporate and festive gift orders.
• If you are heading to the airport, La Levain has a takeaway-only pop-up counter at Jewel Changi Airport, due to run until March 2027.
• The Jewel counter has a few bakes made only for that site, such as a pandan sourdough egg tart.

Getting there

According to Eatbook, the nearest station is Bendemeer MRT, about a five-minute walk from the cafe.

Nearby

For more coffee in the same part of town, try Chye Seng Huat Hardware. For a savoury meal, Sum Dim Sum serves dim sum on Jalan Besar. You can then head into Little India or shop at Mustafa Centre. See more cafés and bakeries, or browse all restaurants in Little India and Jalan Besar. Pre-orders are taken on the La Levain website.