Know nothing about artisanal cheese? These specialists are happy to help

Unwind with cheese and wine: Cheeselads

Credit: Located in Jalan Besar, Cheeselads is owned by former bankers (from left) Leonard Teng and Chloe Lee, as well as Central Saint Martins alumnus Alfred Low.

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Cheese shop by day and cheese bar by night, Cheeselads launched in 2020 and is the brainchild of three 30somethings: Chloe Lee, Leonard Teng, and Alfred Low. The trio are dedicated to making the process of cheese-shopping more fun and less intimidating for everyone.

Alfred zooms in on the fact that cheese is a topic that is either new or unknown to many out there, and he explains that this is one major reason why the trio decided to launch Cheeselads. He acknowledges how a lot of folks feel overwhelmed when it comes to cheese, and they just end up not getting into it at all. Leonard adds that because all three co-owners “have been in their shoes before”, their main aim is to make sure all visitors to Cheeselads feel welcome the moment they step into the shop.

“You don’t know what you don’t know. If the customer is totally unfamiliar with cheese, they might not have any idea what questions to ask. So instead, we ask questions to find out more about their preferences and dislikes to find a range they might fancy,” Leonard says.

At Cheeselads, the majority of the cheese selections are featured as part of its cheese platters, which can be purchased online, and are particularly easy to accept in terms of tasting notes, so nobody gets left out at the dining table. However, for the adventurous, more pungent, stronger-tasting cheeses – such as The Stinking Bishop (a creamy cheese with a slightly sweet aftertaste) from the UK – are available. If not, there’s always the bestseller: the signature Truffle Brie, which is made in-house.

Unusual (and halal) Indonesian cheeses: Mazaraat Artisan Cheese

Credit: One of the more palatable cheeses for beginners is the Halloumi, typically served pan-fried with lashings of olive oil.

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Mazaraat Cheese may not have a physical store for you to visit in Singapore, but it is worth noting because customers can easily reach out with questions via direct messaging on Instagram.

Founded by Muhamad Najmi (aka Jamie) and Nieta Pricillia in 2015 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Mazaraat focuses on Halal-friendly artisanal cheeses using techniques borrowed from cheese capitals like France and Switzerland. They shine a unique spotlight on their offerings that hail from Indonesia or are inspired by Indonesian flavours to help reframe the way people view cheese: an intimidating subject due to its complex nature (and options), as well as its polarising flavours and smells.

Unknown to many, Indonesia actually has a small handful of traditional cheeses, like Dangke (derived from boiling fresh buffalo milk with sliced papaya leaves, stems, or unripe papaya fruits), which come from specific regions like Enrekang in South Sulawesi.

“This is a rare semi-soft Indonesian cheese that’s traditionally made from buffalo’s milk. It’s often pan-fried and eaten with sambal – an unlikely accompaniment. With this knowledge, we were inspired to spread the message that there is no right or wrong way to consume cheese,” says Nieta.

That is why Jamie and Nieta like to get customers to open up and describe flavours using their own special vocabulary during in-person samplings at events and tastings around the region. They share how their cheeses – such as their interpretation of the Saint-Paulin, a mild and creamy cheese made from pasteurised cow’s milk – have been compared to familiar condiments like hae bee hiam (spicy dried shrimp) and belacan (fermented shrimp paste), and they then take this as useful feedback to keep in mind during the production or sourcing process to stock cheeses that are relatable to the local masses in terms of tasting notes.

A truly accessible heartland gem: Carv Artisanal Butchery

Credit: Customised cheese and charcuterie platters are available at Carv Artisanal Butchery.

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Started by Trip Lim, Melody Low, Suzy Tay and Shin Wong in 2022, Carv Artisanal Butchery is a boutique shop in the heartlands of Toa Payoh that specialises in gourmet meats, seafood, and cheese. It sells small-batch, handmade cheeses that are sourced directly from Europe.

Says Shin: “We bring a variety of quality cheeses to Singapore, from cranberry cheese that tastes almost like cheesecake, to a hard Reypenaer XO Gouda cheese from the Netherlands that has been aged 36 months, and is characterised by its crystalline crunch and deep caramel flavour.”

Shin shares that the team enjoys engaging with customers, often allowing them to sample the cheeses on sale, and ask questions about anything and everything, from origins to taste profiles. She also points out that at Carv, they are more than happy to oblige requests when customers ask for “the smallest possible piece” when making a purchase, sometimes selling a piece of cheese that’s as little as 50g.

“At other stores, there is sometimes a minimum purchase weight of 150g or 200g, and even cheese sampling isn’t allowed. However, customers may not want to buy such a big block of cheese either because they’re not familiar with it in the first place, or they just can’t finish that much by themselves,” says Shin.

For adventurous taste buds: LPB Market

Credit: Need some help? Look out for retail business manager Rosana Ear, whose cheery demeanour will make you feel at ease.

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Tucked away in Serangoon Gardens, LPB Market (which stands for La Petite Boutique) is a small but mighty gourmet grocery store that expanded into a two-storey space in 2021. It houses a smorgasbord of meat, seafood, wines – but more impressively, a dizzying number of cheeses.

“Sometimes, we have 20 to 25 different types of goat cheese – that’s pretty rare in Singapore!” says chief operating officer Morgane Freyermuth. Retail business manager Rosana chimes in to explain that she and her team are often told that the smell and/or taste of goat cheese is too strong for local palates, so they often shy away from such options.

She says: “My challenge and pleasure is to convince them to try it. I reassure them by telling them that Feta is a goat cheese, but it’s not that strong, for example.”

Then, what the LPB team does is that they encourage customers to start with a creamy mild goat cheese first, followed by others, with notes that grow in intensity. They keep going as long as the customer is fine with it. “We also teach our clients how to pair the cheese with honey, jam or wine to soften the earthy smell or to enhance it. Finally, we also teach our customers some French recipes with cheese. A popular one is salade de chevre chaud au miel, which translates to warm French goat cheese toast salad – baked goat cheese toast on mesclun salad with a drizzle of honey is usually quite a crowd-pleaser,” says Rosana.

Morgane explains that most of the cheeses at LPB Market come from small producers and farms in Europe. “Most of our selection is from France, but we also have a spread of cheeses from Switzerland, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, and Holland.”

Morgane also adds that most are made from raw milk. Raw milk cheese is full of enzymes and contains a higher nutritional value, whereas the process involved in pasteurised cheese may sometimes kill good bacteria. Some also argue that cheese made from raw milk has deeper, more unique flavours than pasteurised cheeses.

At LPB Market, aside from top-selling options like the house-made Brie with mascarpone and fresh truffles, you can also look forward to special ones such as the Tomme de Savoie cheese featuring white garlic.Morgane says she does not stock cheeses that the team haven’t tried and liked personally, pointing out that because her team knows every product, they can always give customers excellent recommendations based on their preferences, as well as allergies or other food intolerances.

Best for crowd-pleasers: The Cheese Shop

Credit: Get to know more complex cheeses at the Cheese Shop's complimentary monthly cheese and wine sampling event.

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Founded by husband and wife team Chris Moores and Chingyin Chin, The Cheese Shop is one of the long-standing speciality cheese stores in Singapore. With a total of four shops locally (River Valley, Upper Bukit Timah, Joo Chiat, and Upper Thomson), its first outlet in Joo Chiat opened in 2014. However, the newer Upper Thomson branch – which opened mid-2021 – holds special meaning for the owners.

“We used to live in the vicinity and frequently visited Yahava Koffeeworks, the coffee house next door. Being surrounded by lush greenery, the area was quiet and cosy, and there was this sense of community here that we loved. When we saw this lot available, we couldn’t resist,” explains Chingyin, adding that the store’s spaciousness helps customers feel they can browse the variety of cheese available without feeling any sort of pressure.

The Cheese Shop carries a wide range of soft and hard cheeses from casual everyday ones to fancier artisanal cheeses, on top of accompaniments such as charcuterie and wines. For Chingyin, she loves crowd favourites like the Wyke Farms Cheddar.

“We love it because it comes down to the passion of the family owners and their team to create such a flavoursome product that is ‘less scary’ to newbies. There are no craggy rinds (outer shell of the cheese) or funky smells that can be off-putting. Just a lovely uncomplicated cheese that is great value for money and, more importantly, very tasty,” she explains.

Chingyin shares that even though she and Chris started the business because they both love cheese, their introduction to it began at a young age with ubiquitous supermarket varieties, such as The Laughing Cow brand. She reiterates that there is never any judgement for anyone who wants to learn more about cheese or start simple. One way to start simple? Go for more beginner-friendly cheeses with fruit or a mix of herbs and spices.

“The decade-long ethos to provide great tasting and ‘easy’ natural cheeses for local taste buds led us down the path of stocking Delice (triple cream cheese) with pineapples or cranberries from France, a range of Goudas with herbs and spices from Netherlands and, of course, cheddars from UK. Every country has a range of products that cater to local taste buds, and we’ve thankfully managed through trial and error to find these products!” says Chingyin.

“Part of The Cheese Shop’s mission statement is to bring cheese to a much broader audience. In fact, to encourage more people to get acquainted with cheese, almost every week, we host a complimentary cheese and wine sampling (once a month at each of our four stores), where you’ll get to sample a few types of cheeses paired with a well-matched wine.”

3 types of cheeses for beginners

Credit: The Truffle brie, best savoured with honey and house-made crackers, is one of Cheeselad's bestsellers.

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Brie: A palatable variety suitable for beginners, Brie is a soft cow’s milk cheese from the eponymous French region. It is considered one of the most versatile cheeses around, with its mild and creamy taste.

Cheddar: Originating from the village of Cheddar in Somerset, England, it’s one of the country’s oldest cheeses. It comes in off-white or orange yellow, and has a deep, mellow flavour that can sometimes be sharp.

Gouda: One of the most popular cheeses around, the semi-soft Gouda – made from cow’s milk – comes from the Netherlands, and boasts a sweet and mild taste. As it ripens with age, the flavour profile develops more nutty and caramel notes.

PHOTOGRAPHY Phyllicia Wang
ART DIRECTION Ray Ticsay