From Paris to Raffles Place: Singaporean-founded deli Nonette opens pop-up, here's what you should try

You would've had to travel all the way to Paris to try the Asian-style French doughnuts and banh mi by Singaporean-founded sandwich deli Nonette. 

Now, diners can savour its popular bites at its pop-up at Rasa Space in Republic Plaza from now until Oct 4. 

Founder Pearlyn Lee had told AsiaOne that this pop-up was a way for the team to test out the feasibility of opening a brick and mortar business in Singapore. 

AsiaOne visited the pop-up — its second since its first-ever pop-up in November 2022 — on Wednesday (July 16). So if you're wondering about the offerings there, here's an honest review. 

Banh mi, donuts and bite-sized snacks 

During this three-month pop-up, menu items will be on rotation so that diners will get to enjoy something different during each visit. 

The only mainstays throughout the event are the Banh Mi Parisiens, which are artisanal baguettes toasted a la minute and packed with ingredients like pickles, cucumbers, fresh herbs and various kinds of proteins. 

If I had to pick a favourite, it would be the Banh Mi Jambon Beurre ($12), which features homemade chicken liver pate and layered with homemade char siew, Vietnamese mortadella, jambon, housemade pickles, coriander, chili and pork floss. 

I needed two hands to eat this because the banh mi was hefty and overflowing with ingredients. 

Despite this, I was surprised to find that the sandwich was not heavy on the palate thanks to the copious amount of vegetables and the light texture of the baguette. 

It was also my first time trying chicken banh mi, and I really enjoyed the Vietnamese Fried Chicken Banh Mi ($12), which was loaded with Southeast Asian-spiced fried chicken, housemade pickles, housemade sriracha mayo, coriander and chilli. 

I was expecting the chicken to be a bit soggy but surprisingly, it was pretty crispy. I also like how thick the patty was and once again, it was quite a mouthful. 

Nonette hasn't forgotten about the vegetarians either and there is the Vegetarian Special Banh Mi ($12). 

While I didn't get to try this option, I was told that its protein is a sunny-side up egg. 

As for the donuts, the establishment has a few interesting locally inspired options that will be switched up every few weeks. 

I got to try two and the first was the Chilli Oil Chantilly Donut ($4), which was stuffed with hand-whipped Chantilly creme and coated with a chilli oil glaze. 

I've never tried, let alone heard of a donut which has chilli incorporated into its recipe, so I was quite intrigued (and initially scared) of the creation. 

But after my first bite, all I wanted was more. 

The chili oil glaze made the donut sweet, spicy and savoury all at once. If you don't have a high spice tolerance like I do, fret not because the spice level is very mild. 

I also tried the the Kaya Donut ($4) which was filled with silky kaya cream. 

I had expected the donut to be sweet because we all know kaya for its smooth coconut flavour. 

Surprisingly, there was a savoury element too and I later learned that the cream filling contains fleur de sel, which is a type of sea salt. 

If you're looking for something to nibble on, try the Bite-size Snackables, which consist of an array of eclairs and tarts. 

A really nostalgic one for me was the Tau Suan Eclair ($4), which featured a French eclair reimagined with the familiar flavours of tau suan, also known as mung bean. 

The little pastry was filled with whipped mung bean and garnished with crispy slices of you tiao chips. If you love tau suan, you may not stop at just one eclair. 

I also enjoyed the Black Sesame Eclair ($4), which was inspired by the Chinese dessert black sesame soup. 

Each eclair is stuffed with smooth black sesame cream and black sesame praline. The pastry is also coated in a layer of aromatic black sesame that has been toasted so you can taste the earthy nuttiness of the sesame. 

For something more refreshing, there is the Singapore Sling Baba ($5), which was inspired by our nation's beloved cocktail. 

The dessert features a moist cake soaked in gin infusion that is topped with pineapples and lime salsa. To mellow out the zesty elements, it comes with a side of housemade Chantilly cream. 

My all-time favourite Bite-size Snackable was the Chocolate Tart ($5), where a crisp tart shell is filled with caramel and a rich cream made from Ecuador cacao and caramel. 

While it sounds like a sweet dessert, I was surprised to find savoury elements and later learnt that fish sauce was added to the concoction. If no one told me, I wouldn't have guessed! 

Want to try a little bit of everything? Nonette has something called the Apero Box ($19++) which comes with one banh mi, one donut and two eclairs.

This is only available from 5pm to 8pm on Wednesdays to Fridays and 8pm to 11pm on Saturdays. 

Prior to setting up Nonette, Pearlyn had a job in the commodities sector, which gave her opportunities to work in Europe. 

During her time there, she noticed that there was a gap in the market for quality Asian food. So in 2016, she founded The Hood, a bistro located in Paris which specialises in Southeast Asian fare. 

After the success of this passion project, she opened Nonette in July 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Address: 9 Raffles Place, Republic Plaza, #02-01/02, Singapore 048619
Opening hours: Wednesdays 5pm to 10pm, Thursdays and Fridays 5pm to 1am, Saturdays 8pm to 1am
Closed on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays 

melissateo@asiaone.com

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