I was walking around the well-known Old Airport Road hawker centre, when I chanced upon this very interesting bakery shop, Xin Tian Di.
Rabbit and Tiger shaped pineapple tarts
The item that attracted me to this particular stall was their extremely cute looking pineapple tarts. Instead of the traditional circular or “flower” shapes, these ones were made into the animals of the Chinese zodiac, such as the horse, rat, rabbit, dragon and even a snake.
Apart from the zodiac creatures, there were also pineapple tarts shaped like other auspicious items, such as mandarin oranges and golden ingots.
I found this really intriguing, so I bought a few, just to see if they tasted just as great as they looked.
My Purchase
The zodiac Snake and the Hello Kitty tarts.
I bought four animal tarts (a rabbit, a snake, a tiger and a Hello Kitty) and two mandarin oranges ones.
The pineapple tarts definitely looked too pretty to eat and I found myself staring at them, admiring and taking pictures for quite a long time, before finally sinking my teeth into the first piece.
Mandarin orange shaped pineapple tarts
The Taste of the Tarts
Taste-wise, I will say that these pineapple tarts are quite decent.
They are not too sweet – and the pastry was quite light and crunchy. I also liked the fact that the pastry did not stick to the teeth.
The amount of pineapple filling used, however, could have been more generous. I felt as though I was eating mostly crispy pastry with just a little bit of filling inside.
The tarts are hand-made and baked fresh every day.
Good Conversation Starter
These cute looking pineapple tarts will definitely make a good conversation starter during Chinese New Year. So if you are looking for something radically different this year, and want to impress guests, then a box of these is a pretty good choice.
I paid just over $5 for my six pineapple tarts.
Xin Tian Di
Stall #01-160, Old Airport Road Food Centre and Shopping Mall,
51 Old Airport Road
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM – 7 PM (Mondays Off)
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