so now that whisk(ey) wednesday is going to be a thing on here, i decided to stick to alcohol in the spirit of things for this post, though the showcase today isn't primarily about the liquor but a specific scent and flavour that may not be as well known in the West though it's commonly found here in Southeast Asia - pandan.
pandan, scientifically pandanus amaryllifolius, is an ever-present part of life for Southeast Asians. commonly used in cooking and fragrance, it has a characteristic scent that is fresh, smooth and sweet. the leaves, gently bruised and tied in a knot, impart a distinct fragrance when cooked with rice. pandan also adds a beautiful light sweetness and slightly nutty flavour to food; many desserts incorporate pandan to some extent, from the iconic round green pandan chiffon cake sold at many bakeries in Singapore, to kaya (pandan coconut jam), chendol (sweet green jelly in syrup and coconut milk) and the whole assortment of delicious kueh like ondeh-ondeh (green pandan flour balls covered in grated coconut and with liquid palm sugar syrup inside) and kueh salat (pandan custard on sticky rice). pandan also has its utility outside of olfactory and culinary appreciation - some households and even 'taxi uncles' swear by the effectiveness of using knotted pandan leaves to keep pests like cockroaches away.
recently, i tried (for the first time) two local indie products that beautifully showcased this unique scent and flavour profile.
on the alcohol side, i was really touched by the kind gesture of a fellow patron who bought me a pour of The Pandan Gin (42% alcohol by volume) from local bar Oriental Elixir. this was their first release, a collaboration between local dive bar The Spiffy Dapper and home-grown distillery Tanglin Gin Distillery. The Pandan Gin was created by resting their Tanglin Orchid Gin (made with vanilla orchid, among other ingredients) in fresh pandan leaves.
in the glass, the freshness and sweetness of the pandan is the first thing that one notices on nosing - this is pure essence of pandan, but taken to the next level by the natural sweetness of the gin and given an almost ethereal quality with the lightness of the alcohol. surprisingly, this one is also remarkably easy to drink, even neat; Oriental Elixir's website listing for this one includes a recipe for a gin and tonic with this but i found that it was lovely and very appreciable on its own.
then on the dessert side, i also enjoyed some Kaya Butter Toast macarons from independent home baker My Daily Bread. these macarons were thoughtfully designed by the baker to recreate the local Singapore morning breakfast experience of kaya (pandan coconut jam) on buttered toast.
the pandan comes across beautifully as one of the key aromas and flavours of the macaron, having been incorporated by way of a homemade pandan extract from real pandan leaves (none of that store-bought green food colouring stuff!) and fresh coconut. another unique aspect of the macaron was a mini cube of butter coated with granulated sugar right in the centre of the delicious pandan kaya filling. the macaron shell was nicely firm and wasn't too sweet, which allowed the natural sweetness of the kaya to just shine on its own.
together with the aroma from the incorporated brewer's yeast, biting into the Kaya Butter Toast macarons really brought back all those good memories of having two slices of kaya butter toast in the morning with a soft-boiled egg and teh tarik (milk tea made frothy by 'pulling' / pouring). as one of my friends remarked after trying this, "the only thing missing is the egg".
both The Pandan Gin and the Kaya Butter Toast macarons really knocked it out of the park with their stunning showcase of this core component - not just in terms of elevating its aroma and flavour and adding their own unique perspectives through interpretation, but also in perfectly capturing the local sentiment and nostalgia that a single whiff of a pandan leaf brings to mind.
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the review of the glass of The Pandan Gin was made possible as a kind gesture from a fellow bar patron (who was not aware that i was an undercover reviewer). the review of the Kaya Butter Toast Macarons was of a product that i had purchased at regular price with my own money. i wasn’t asked to review this as a condition of purchase and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with Oriental Elixir, The Spiffy Dapper, Tanglin Gin Distillery or My Daily Bread and as always, all opinions remain my own.
you can find out more about local bar Oriental Elixir at their social media here, and local home bakery My Daily Bread at their social media here.
all information correct at time of publishing.
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