Baked Chestnuts from Panda Chan Snack @ Plaza Singapura

Some friends know I can get quite obsessed with chestnuts, especially those roasted ones! Hence, when my family waxed lyrical about the chestnuts from Panda Chan Snack; I decided to check out its branch at Plaza Singapura.

Said to be organic, and hailed from the best chestnut producing area in China (from Yanshan Mountain in Hebei Province), the chestnuts here were said to be bigger than the ones I was more accustomed to. 

Inhouse oven to bake the chestnuts, which were stored at below freezing point in order to preserve their freshness. Guess how low? Minus 38 degrees celcius! 

I am not willing to wait and opted for the ready ones; said to be still warm. 

Small box containing 300 grams of chestnut, that cost me a pricey S$8.10. With good reviews from my family, I guess it would still be worth a shot. What's the worst that could happy? Just a blog review lamenting my disappointment.

Unravelling the precious-es within! 

Of course I can't wait to bite into one! 

Unlike chestnuts from some places, the ones here had an open slit which would make it much easier for us to de-shell! There were vacuum-packed chestnuts that were de-shelled but they usually taste a bit weird, and wet.

The ones from Panda Chan Snack were dry, and that's a plus point. However, I did find that the chestnuts always had remnants stuck to the shells, and that's frustrating for me; like a waste of 'meat' ! 

Sadly, I didn't like what I popped into my mouth; the texture was mushy and taste was too bland, without the earthy chestnut flavor that I was so looking forward to having.

I had another three more and they were all the same, including the "meat" sticking stubbornly to their inner shell. The whole pack was given to my mom and to be fair, she did say they tasted better the next day. 

As the name of the shop suggested, there were plenty of other snacks to choose from, and samplings were provided. I love sampling and before I knew it; my total bill shot beyond S$50! I thought I was disciplined enough to just focus on chestnuts!

Get these roasted cashew nuts and the organic pistachio kernels; they were honestly irresistible! And S$8.70 and S$10.80 per 100 grams, respectively?! Obviously, the price didn't register on me, until I was at the register. Shame on me; given my diploma in marketing! 

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Address

68 Orchard Rd, B2-12, 

Plaza Singapura, 

Singapore 238839

Map

As above.

Pricing

Baked Chestnuts - S$8.10 for 300 grams