By Vincent Tan
Instagram has been bitten by the rainbow bug. With pictures of multi-coloured foods raining down on users in the perfect food storm, it’s time for an overview of these prismatic products.
Unicorn Toasties
A rainbow of cheese oozes forth whenever you break the toasted crust. This all-cheese innovation comes from KALA Toast in Tseun Wan, Hong Kong, and even has flavours to match its KALA-ful cheese: lavender (blue), basil (green), tomato (red), mozzarella, cheddar, emmental and gruyere (yellow).
Rainbow Bagel
The rainbow bagel, courtesy of The Bagel Store in Brooklyn, New York, has been around for 2 decades, but had its internet fling just this year after a Facebook video on the technicolour bread-twists racked up 65 million views. The bakery’s unexpected stardom subsequently overloaded the baker, causing a 10-day shutdown. Involving layers of stretchy neon-hued dough that are stretched, sliced and twisted, the colourful shaping process is a spectacle in itself.
Rainbow Coffee
Devised as a means to train budding coffee artists, the innovative decoration of steamed milk with food dyes caught fire on Instagram. Its creator, a barista at Sambalatte, Las Vegas, now has 18,000 Instagram followers, with the pouring of the swirling lines being even more mesmerising than the final rainbow cuppa itself.
The rainbow touches down in Singapore too, with the following delights available locally.
Rainbow Cake
Image belongs to Cali4beach
This favourite mainstay is basically layers of delicate multi-coloured sponge, topped with sugary frosting, and can be found at Maison Ikkoku, NOM, or Little House of Dreams. There’s also a richer option, the rainbow cheesecake – the royalty of rainbow cakes – formed by putting different coloured cream cheese layers into a cooled pie crust, for sale at Rainbow Cottage Cafe, or Tian Kee and Co.
Rainbow Ice Cream
Image belongs to Maurina Rara
Available at supermarkets and convenience stores, Paddle Pop’s rainbow ice cream still packs a punch with its delicate colours, sweet milky taste, and affordable price.
Lapis Sagu
Image belongs to Yun Huang Yong
Who didn’t peel apart lapis sagu as a kid? This original rainbow treat was steamed and enjoyed long before the rainbow craze ever swept the web, and is still available at Bengawan Solo or Genting Nonya Cake and Confectionary.
