Saturday, November 29, 2008

No. 2 Summertime Carrot Cake from Room for Dessert

Room for Dessert is one of the bakeries which I came across pretty often in internet forums last year but I didn't drop by until today since they closed pretty early.

Located at Waterloo Centre, this building comprises 4 levels of shops /offices and HDB residence blocks and was built in 1975. As for the bakery itself, it was started in December 2003 by a group of passionate bakers who pride themselves for using only fresh ingredients and thus great-tasting cakes.

This is the first time in which I couldn't resist not taking photos in a take-away outlet. The entire feel of this shop was pleasant, neatly decorated with ornaments and soft toys. However, I guess I was rude this afternoon for not asking for permission before snapping away and I am glad that the owner is kind enough to let me continue after I have made my intentions known. That did scare me alittle and I nearly wanted to delete the pictures on the spot.

Anyway, only their house favourites (Summertime Carrot Cake and Choc-A-Lot) are sold in slices and the other cakes and cupcakes requires pre-ordering. Depending on individual orders, it may require 1 day to 3 weeks in advance. Thus, it is better check with them if you are planning to get bakes from them for special occasions. Not to worry, they do reply emails pretty fast.

It is a pity that slices of Choc-A-Lot were sold out and I thought I was lucky to pick up their specialty. For your information, each slice of Summertime Carrot Cake costs $3.20 while whole cake are priced at $19 (500g) and $33 (/kg).

Oh before I forget, Summertime Carrot Cake is featured in the 50 yummiest cakes with the following description
"A classic carrot cake packed with raisins and walnuts and covered with a white chocolate and cream cheese frosting."
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Fen's comments

No doubt, this is delicious and fresh, generously filled with walnuts and raisins. I was told to allow the cake to equilibrate to room temperature for better taste and thus I ate it with my sister and mummy the moment I reached home. The cake is sufficiently moist and dense (not as grainy as Cedele's nor chewy as Calendar's) but the cream cheese frosting is little sweet to my liking. What is good about this cake is its strong fragrance of cinnamon in it.
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Yuan's comments

Having eaten the recommended carrot cakes, it gives me the impression that they all taste similar. The difference lay in how moist it is, the walnut, the cream cheese and the cinnamon taste. For Summertime Carrot Cake, I would say that it losses on the cream cheese and the lack of cinnamon taste. Apart from these factors, I think it is kind of similar to most other carrot cakes.
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Room for dessert
Blk 261
Waterloo Street
#01-42
Singapore 180261

Tel: 6337 7637, 8123 3851
http://roomfordessert.com.sg/

Operating hours:
3pm to 7pm (Mon and Tues)
11am to 7pm (Wed to Fri)
10am to 2pm (Sat)
Closed on Sunday and Public Holidays
[ ... ]

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Answers to my macarons' questions

Was really tempted to eat macarons after Yuan sms-ed me about 2 fantastic macarons yesterday. Thus, I did a net search for good macarons, particularly those we have missed on our blog on it but alas, I have only come across Corduroy & Finch, The Caffebar @ Marine Parade and Choupinette. Of course, there will be a group that are still undiscovered so I will try my luck by popping into any random hotels' bakeries or pâtisserie.

Anyway, after reading other people's comments on the macarons found in Singapore, I have gotten macarons from 3 places in Singapore.

Make a guess, where have I gotten these from?

Starting from the top, Rose and Raspberry from Carousel ($1.80, excluding 7% GST), Rose from Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie ($2.30, excluding 7% GST) and the last two (Strawberry and Raspberry) were from Amande ($1.20 nett each).

Macarons from these 3 places have always been nice or above average but to eat it back to back, the difference is pretty distinct. I had Amande's macaron first and its uniqueness lies in its filling. It has two thin layers of filling, a sourish gelee and a lightly flavoured
ganache. Macaron shells are chewy enough but its appearance is alittle inconsistent.

Next, I took Carousel's and it is clearly not as sweet as Amande. As Evan has pointed out, it is just flavoured whipped cream. The edges of the macaron shells are the smoothest of the entire lot.

Finally, I ate Canele's and wow, its bursting rose flavour and its chewy shells makes it the best among the entire lot and my ranking was exactly the same as mummy's (1st - Canele, 2nd - Carousel, 3rd - Amande). In term of sweetness, it seems to be in the order I eat, with Amande the sweetest and Canele, being the least sweet one.

However, when I eat it the next day (I bought Pistachio and Rose & Raspberry from Carousel, Pistache and Rose from Canelé, 4 macarons from Amande and a Rose Isaphan from Mezza9), Carousel's
Pistachio and Amande's macarons aren't that bad after all. So, critics are never accurate as tasting depends strongly on mood and our tongue are constantly making comparisons from our previous eats.

Also, this is a shocker, you wouldn't imagine its price? So I am keen to hear how much this is worth in your opinion.

This baby costs me $18 (excluding 7% GST) and is only the size of my palm!!! From mezza9, Grand Hyatt Singapore and they do sell macarons with 3 flavours, passionfruit with buttercream, chocolate and rose. Each macaron costs $3.00, $10 for 3 pieces and $18 for 6 pieces BUT they look funny, like mini coloured rock buns.

This is not worth the money. The shells are crunchy with an extremely rough texture of ganache but I am not sure if this is included in Mezza9 buffet since it was not placed together with cakes and pastries.

By the way, I am happy to spot Evan's bakes under "Where to Find Macarons?"

Readers, I'm sorry for the lack of entries this week. I have been busy at work and not really in the mood these few days, I will need some time before I pen down a proper entry. Meanwhile, I will continue with replying comments.
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Monday, November 24, 2008

Matcha special

The category Matcha seems to be the hardest for us to identify our favourite 4 as matcha (i.e. powdered tea) has a vegetal and bitter taste. Depending on the grade of the Matcha or how the dessert is prepared, it does has a lingering sweetness after tasting. Because of its unique taste, we find it hard to appreciate all the Matcha desserts we have tried so far. Thus, these selected 4 are those that we went back for a 2nd purchase.


Green Tea swiss roll ($19.90)

BreadTalk Silver
B1-11/12 Paragon
Tel: 6733 4434

Appearance: 9
Strength of Matcha: 8
Price: 7
Our preference index: 1st (24)

Fen: If you are not into extreme strength of Matcha in your desserts, the sliced, individually wrapped swiss rolls are good enough to curb your cravings ($1.30 per slice, $5 for 5 pieces). The chiffon, though not as moist as Tampopo's Matcha Chiffon, has a texture which goes very well with the buttercream. Note that this is not available at BreadTalk Silver but other BreadTalk branches.

However, the one that is introduced under our favourites is the whole green tea swiss roll . The difference between the sliced swiss roll and the whole green tea swiss roll from BreadTalk likes in the rich and strong matcha buttercream with whole red beans. Although the sponge of this whole green tea swiss roll is slightly harder and rougher, the buttercream makes it like green tea sponge served with ice-cream. The other thing is make sure you eat it after the cream has melted or equilibrated to room temperature to enjoy the maximum smoothness of it.

Green Tea Opera ($5.00)

Mezza9
Grand Hyatt
10 Scotts Road
Tel: 6887 5492

Appearance: 6
Strength of Matcha: 5
Price: 8
Our preference index: 4th (19)

Fen: Opera, as what we commonly know it as a 6 layers of alternating almond sponge (soaked in coffee syrup), layers of coffee buttercream and layers of chocolate ganache, topped with caramel. But in this entry, this 20th century recipe has a surprising twist. Instead of the conventional coffee, chocolate and caramel, Mezza9 presented it with green tea sponge, azuki paste and green tea buttercream.

Now what is so special about this, making it the only cake (under our favourites) with something apart from green tea and cream. The layers are pretty thin, thereby retaining its smoothness despite the incorporation of red bean paste. As this is almond sponge, the texture won't be as soft as a chiffon and it has a slight grainy after-taste. The only thing that is lacking in this cake is the unappetizing oxidation of Matcha on the surface of the cake and the macaron shell is overly sweet and soft. Apart from that, I have no complains except praises.

If you find this alittle steep, grab this after 9:30pm when all cakes are slashed half-price.



Matcha macarons ($2.40 each)

GOBI at The Central
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#01-27
The Central
Singapore 059817
Tel: 6534 8187

Appearance: 8
Strength of Matcha: 8
Price: 5 (too expensive)
Our preference index: 2nd (21)

Fen: Despite our first disturbing experience with Gobi's macarons, I can't deny the fact that they have the best matcha macarons. Although their shells are nothing fantastic and it has to be eaten chilled (as the shells will dent in), the matcha buttercream has such strong fragrance that the after-taste is like having a good brew of matcha latte. Since the macaron shells are not flavoured with matcha, it neutralizes the taste of the buttercream and brings a tint of almond fragrance.

Matcha Chiffon ($5.80)

Tampopo Deli
177 River Valley Road #B1-16
Liang Court Shopping Centre
Singapore 179030
Tel: 6338-7386

Appearance: 7
Strength of Matcha: 6
Price: 7
Our preference index: 3rd (20)

Fen: Often when too much Matcha is introduced into cakes, it tends to have a powdery after-taste but this is so good that the addition of Matcha actually moisten the chiffon. This light fluffy cake, unlike other chiffon, is not at all porous and the texture is sufficiently springy with a strong taste of vegetally bitterness. The winning factor of this cake is the light, whipped cream which contains sliced strawberries. This cream is so light and refreshing that you won't mind a second slice. This is what I call love at first bite

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

Matcha Swiss Rolls from BreadTalk

Ever since I learnt that Evan got her inspiration from BreadTalk to make her Macha Roll Cake, I am curious about the taste of BreadTalk's swiss rolls.

Come to think about it, BreadTalk has been in Singapore for more than 8 years, since April 2000 and I can never forget the hype of their signature pork floss bread. However, that was not my favourite, I used to like their Otak bread, first introduced in the 3rd branch of BreadTalk (at the building just between Orchard Emerald and Centrepoint) which has a Peranakan theme, but cannot be found anymore. Sob.

Left: BreadTalk Silver at Paragon; Right: An entire roll green tea swiss roll

I did eventually purchase the sliced green tea swiss rolls from their branch at Causeway Point and it is heavenly good. Since then, I will occassionally drop by BreadTalk to pick one up to reward myself during lunch (Each slice costs $1.30 and 5 slices of green tea, vanilla + raisins or chocolate costs $5.00).

Left: BreadTalk at Plaza Singapura; Right: Sliced green tea roll placed side-by-side for comparison

Now the question is, BreadTalk Siiver has a whole green tea swiss roll which costs $19.90 per roll. Is there any difference from the sliced green tea swiss rolls purchased from BreadTalk and BreadTalk Silver?
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Fen's comments

There is indeed a difference between the 2 and I personally prefer the sliced ones from BreadTalk as there is lesser cream and the sponge cake is softer.

The green tea swiss roll from BreadTalk Silver has a much stronger Matcha taste, thereby slightly more bitter than the sliced ones. Nicely decorated whole swiss roll, filled generously with Matcha cream and whole red beans. The amount of cake is much lesser and is slightly harder when compared with the sliced ones. Also, the icing on top of the cake provides a slight crispy texture
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Yuan's comments

The first time when I ate the Matcha Swiss Roll from Breadtalk, I instantly liked it for its dense sponge and mild matcha flavour. Hence I tried the Matcha Swiss Roll from Breadtalk silver. It turn out that this one from breadtalk silver is even better. The main difference is that they use matcha cream. Hence if you really love matcha, this one is a must try. Leave it to thaw a bit (It is left in the fridge at breadtalk silver) and you will find the cream taste like matcha ice cream. Not to forget the red bean that you will find in the cream. Verdict: Must try.
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BreadTalk Silver
B1-11/12 Paragon
Tel: 6733 4434
Opening hours: 8am to 10pm

BreadTalk & Toast Box
Plaza Singapura
68, Orchard Road
#01-23
Singapore 238839
Tel: 6334 4644
http://www.breadtalk.com/
[ ... ]

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Macarons from Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie

Passed by Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie at Paragon and have decided to get 2 macarons to satisfy my carving. Since floral violette was my favourite on my last visit, I have decided to pick that with rose. Like Yuan, we prefer macarons with a lighter flavour so that we can enjoy the combination of egg white and almond powder better.


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Fen's comments

My liking towards Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie's macarons grows as time passes. The floral scent of both flavours in the macaron shells was strong enough and the melted fresh cream (light and non-sweetened) just soften the entire taste. Although it is just two, it is good enough to satisfy my craving. By the way, we wanted to eat on the spot but we didn't have any place to snap a shot, thus explains the melted filling.
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Yuan's comments

I have always told Fen that the macarons from Canele were good but she remain unconvinced until today. One of the strengths of these macarons were the strong scent of each flavour. Also you will feel the almond taste as we bite the chewy shells. The slight downside is that the shell does not have the crispy crust. On the whole, the scent and the chewy shells would already make this one of the better macarons.
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Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie (Paragon)
290 Orchard Road,
#B1-25 Paragon,
Singapore 238859
Tel: 6733 8893

Operating hours: 11am to 10pm daily
http://www.canele.com.sg/
[ ... ]

Friday, November 21, 2008

Dessert Degustation at Obolo

This is a food event organized by LadyIronChef where it is held at Obolo Patisserie for a dessert tasting session. For a 12 pieces dessert platter it consists of 3 petite cheesecakes, 4 petite entremets, 2 petite tartlets, a dessert shooter, 2 macarons and a drink at just $24.60 per person.

Although the place is small, it did manage to fit in 16 people and every table was set up nicely with their dessert degustation menu, Christmas menu and a bag of their best-seller cookies, Cranberry-Chocolate Chip. I have to admit I am pretty excited as the desserts at Obolo is not very cheap and to finish all their selections will burn a fair bit of our pocket and load tonnes of calories into our body. Thus, I would like to thank Brad aka LIC to organize such a wonderful event where laughters and joy were shared among a nice company of Brad, Yan, Evan and Vicki at our table.

I am impressed by LIC for organizing a dessert outing as it is never easy to get a good deal, a good attendance and the most difficult task, an array of desserts that impressed the majority. He done it well and tonight's gathering is definitely a success. Without further ado I shall share my opinions of tonight selection.

Starting from the top left, is the

Chocolate Noir
Tartlet filled with dark chocolate ganache

Tiramisu Au Chocolat
Mascarpone creme, dark chocolate ganache & chocolate genoise infused with coffee, cognac and dark rum

Pinada Cheesecake
Pineapple ivoire cheesecake with rum-soaked raisins

Caraibe
67% caramel-chocolate mousse, dark chocolate ganache, pecan chocolate fudge cake base

New York Cheesecake
Smooth & creamy baked cheesecake with a hint of lemon

Nikita
Dark chocolate ganache mousse, cherry-raspberry gelee, Pistachio ivoire mousse & chocolate-almond biscuit with kirsch

Mango-passion cheesecake
Baked cheesecake infused with mango & passionfruit

Le Cassis
Dark chocolate ganache mousse, blackcurrant ivoire mousse, chocolate-almond biscuit & crunchy praline feulletine

Chocolat-passion
Tartlet filled with milk chocolate & passion fruit ganache

The dessert shooter served for the evening is summer berries which consists of tangy mascarpone mousse, red berry gelee, kirsch-mixed berry compote & kirsch-soaked vanilla genoise, garnished with fresh berries and the macarons for tonight were the hazelnut-chocolate and matcha.
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Fen's comments
------------------------- Some thoughts after my dessert spree -------------------------

After eating so many desserts within 4 months, I have to admit I am extremely picky with desserts for 2 reasons. First, to shed these calories, I have to motivate myself to gym and this is never easy as I have been a couch potato for 7 years and second, this hobby is expensive.

When tasting more than 2 desserts, there are several factors which will make it good or bad. First, the selection of desserts cannot be too extreme. Second, it is important to start off with a mild flavour, then followed by a strong one. I know that $23+ is not a lot to justify such standards BUT I strongly believe in any dessert presented on a table, it has come a long way whereby the baker has to decide the ingredients used, its presentation and the time to prepare it. In any case, Obolo did impress me by its use of vibrant colours in the desserts but fails to leave a deep impression despite eating 12 of them.

To me, it is important that the first bite must impress, why is it so?
How often do you eat the same dessert everyday or rather have it more than 1 slice? I doubt it. Thus, the moment the first bite impresses you, it has won half the battle as your brain will automatically register it as a good dessert and trust me, it is good enough to tempt you to go for a second purchase and recommend it to others.

------------------------- Some thoughts after my dessert spree -------------------------


------------------------- Detailed breakdown of individual dessert -------------------------

The best among the entire lot is the Chocolate Noir for its crunchy tartlet and smooth, bittersweet chocolate ganache. Simple as that.

The other favourite of mine is the Nikita. I think Sihan is going to like this one. She can take sour stuff and love pistachio. The unique factor of this creation is the pistachio ivoire mousse but would be better without the cherry-raspberry jelly. Pistachio has a very unique mild taste which is neither sweet nor bitter, hence to match it with something bitter like dark chocolate ganache mousse and the sour cherry-raspberry jelly can be misleading to taste buds. When too many extreme tastes constitute in 1 bite, we don't know what to expect. So, I actually ate this by enjoying the pistachio ivoire mousse on its own, skipped the cherry-raspberry jelly and savoured the finishing bite of dark chocolate ganache mousse and chocolate-almond biscuit with kirsch. I thought pistachio might go better with vanilla mousse.

All the cheesecakes for this evening disappoints. I thought the richness and creaminess of the cheese was not strong enough to my liking and it tasted different from my first encounter last Sept (2007). So far, Hotel Hilton's cheesecake leave the deepest impression and has broken my record to eat 10 types of cheesecakes in a go. Pinada Cheesecake and Mango-passion cheesecake were unique in their own way but I thought it was alittle sour and extreme in its combination while New York Cheesecake lacks the baked crust which Checkers Deli has.

Although I am a fan of chocolate mousse, Nikita, Le Cassis and Caraibe were similar in terms of the dark chocolate mousse. Hence, it gets cloying after eating all of them. The problem with Le Cassis is the extreme sourness of the blackcurrant mousse, thereby it fails to bring out the texture and taste of the chocolate mousse. On the other hand, Caraibe was good but might be better to replace the pecan chocolate fudge cake base with hazelnut praline, flourless chocolate cake or peanut butter. A good chocolate mousse can be gotten easily if one is willing to pay >$6 per slice but whether the cake stands out depends on its "companion" to bring out a different level of texture and impression. Ultimately, a capable gentleman is never complete with a beautiful lady, right? So, the "best chocoholic couple" in Obolo is still Noisette.

Chocolat-passion was too yucky. Just too sour and I am pretty sure that people may get a false impression that either the chocolate is not fresh or the acidity of the chocolate is way too high.

Tiramisu Au Chocolat was definitely better than the one I had the last time round but being such a common and popular dessert, a good tiramisu (in my personal point of view) should have either of the following, strong liquor, well-soaked sponge with espresso and light, fluffy mascarpone
but sad to say, it lacks all 3.

Thus, it is good but not the best. The good tiramisu which I have encounter are HOTEL INTERCONTINENTAL, Prego (take-away) and tcc.

Summer berries is not bad, but by the time it was served after the 9 petite desserts, it has lost its appeal. Would have been better to serve as the first since it is light and refreshing and diners won't be so confused on which dessert to start with.

Macarons for this evening was a complete disappointment. We had pretty good impression of Obolo's macarons on my second visit but somehow or rather, the Matcha tasted artificial, no where near GOBI's. The shells lack the crispy outer layer and the filling was frozen, thereby lacking the smoothness.

------------------------- Detailed breakdown of individual dessert -------------------------

------------------------- Overall impression of the dessert degustation -------------------------

The fact that I remembered clearly the taste of all the desserts sampled means that the ingredients used in each desserts are good. However, since I didn't finish the desserts, it might be due to the wrong order of serving the desserts and its extreme combination of the various layers in each dessert.
As mentioned, I thought it might be better if it is served in this (suggested) order
  1. Summer berries for its refreshing and light taste to turn on insulin secretion
  2. Vanille and Noisette macarons to remove the sour after-taste of summer berries, thereby stimulates saliva production
  3. Nikita to allow full enjoyment of pistachio mousse and a prelude to Obolo's fantastic chocolate mousse (Chocolates make everybody happy)
  4. Noisette, the best Obolo's signature and Caraibe, an alternative to Noisette for chocoholics
  5. Le Cassis, for comparison of 2 extremes (sour vs. bittersweet)
  6. New York Cheesecake, something neutral to reduce the sourness
  7. 2 other cheesecakes
  8. Petite Tartlets
As least when served bit by bit, diners will finish the desserts and unfinished ones can be take-away instead of having lots of left-overs and a mess at the end of the dessert degustation.

------------------------- Overall impression of the dessert degustation -------------------------

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Yuan's comments

Overall I was impressed by the effort put in by Mac and June at Obolo. The platter looks lovely and for $24.60 we get to sample almost all the cakes at Obolo. However I must say apart from the presentation I left the place a little disappointed. For me personally I prefer sweet desserts but alas, almost all the desserts on this platter were sour.


The first dessert which I picked up was the Chocolat-passion - this lovely looking chocolate tart with some gold dust sprinkled on top. I was expecting rich chocolate with passion fruit smell as the backdrop but to my horror, it was sour at its extreme. It took me a courageous second bite to finish it. Not satisfied, I chose the other chocolate tart on the platter - Chocolate Noir. This one didn't disappoint. Rich chocolate on excellent pastry. Often as the chocolate content increases the texture is compromised but not in this case. Smooth and just the right amount of sweetness.


After the 2 tarts, I decided to try the more outstanding looking desserts which were the Nikita (green) and the Le Cassis (purple). As readers would probably know from my previous posts, I didn't really like mixture of extreme flavours. These 2 were a mixture of sweet and sourness but more to sourness. Overall I find the sour blackcurrant of the Le Cassis make its seem as though as I was eating sour chocolate.


Well 3/4 sour desserts so far. Ok, I thought the cheesecakes maybe a more neutral flavour. But yet again I was proven wrong. The mango passion cheesecake and the Pinada Cheesecake were both equally sour. However I must point out that the New York cheesecake was not bad. It is those cheesecake with a moist texture but the cheese scent did not stand out enough.


The last 2 desserts on the platter were the tiramisu and the Caraibe. By now my taste buds were already playing tricks with me as I have eaten 5/7 sour desserts. I was pretty neutral towards the tiramisu but I was a little disapointed with the caraibe. I guess hazelnut or peanut may be a better choice than pecan. Pecan lacks the crunchy effect and gives you an impression that the nut you used has turn bad.


After the platter came the summer berries. I guess by now everyone on my table were a little skeptical as to whether this will be another sour entry. It turn out that it isn't that bad. Maybe I was already getting use to the sourness. I found that it tasted like the berry light from breadtalk silver. Mascarpone cheese with slight vanilla taste and sourness of the berries. It is a nice and light dessert suitable for most dinners.


Lastly were the 2 macarons. As I mentioned earlier, macarons at Obolo were the fattest which I have ever eaten. But tonight's macarons were kind of disappointing. I realised that the filling was hard and dry probably due to leaving in the fridge for too long. Further it lack the fregrance which some macarons have.


Overall, I would say that I was happy to be given a chance to try all the cakes at Obolo although I would have preferred noisette to be part of the menu. However the selection of sour desserts really could not curb my sweet tooth.


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Obolo
452 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427665
Tel: 6348 9791

Operating hours -
12:30pm (Tues to Thurs),
12:30pm to 10pm (Fri)
11:30am to 10pm (Sat)
11:30pm to 9:30pm (Sun)
Closed on Mondays and Public holidays

http://www.obolo.com.sg/

Evan's coverage on Food event at Obolo; Brad's after-thoughts of the entire event; FoodieQueen's entry on the degustation; Vicki's perspective towards the Food event

[ ... ]

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Matcha macarons from GOBI

Haven't come up with my Oct special despite knowing what to put on my favourite 4 (for Matcha) due to the lack of pictures. I am still short of one and thus I will drop by this weekend to pick up the dessert.



I have previously mentioned that GOBI's macarons are pretty strong in their flavours so Yuan and I find it hard to like it but till now, their matcha macarons still leave a very strong impression. Thus, I insist on going back to pick up these matcha macarons. Anyway, these marcarons are priced at $2.40 nett and will be slightly more expensive if a box is requested.
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Fen's comments

Yuan and I have come to a common consensus that a good macaron must have at least one of the two factors, namely a chewy, not-so-sweet macaron shells which so far only Evan's and Centre Ps impressed us. The second factor lies its flavour which is basically how intense the flavour is in its filling.

In my previous entry, I have mentioned that GOBI's macaron shells are hollow, thus dent in the moment we pick up. Today, we ate it while it is still chilled and thus wasn't as bad as we have imagined them to be. Anyway, GOBI's macaron shells are not fantastic when compared to Evan's, Obolo and Centre Ps but I have to admit that their matcha macarons is one of the best in terms of flavour. You can really feel the matcha in its filling and I presume this is achieved by introducing matcha powder into the buttercream.

In addition, its matcha macarons has one of the better presentation and no doubt, I didn't regret my second visit.

P.S. 3 of these macarons is of the same price as Burger King Quad Stacker so be warned, these babies are expensive.
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Yuan's comments

As mentioned in our previous entries, GOBI does not serve nice macarons except for one flavour which is the Matcha macaron. The matcha cream is so sweet smelling and coupe with the sweet almond taste from the shell, this baby is really good. Highly recommended if you like matcha macarons. However be warned that the other flavours may be rather disappointing.
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GOBI at The Central (Closed)
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#01-27
The Central
Singapore 059817
Tel: 6534 8187

Opening hours - 11 am to 9 pm daily
http://www.gobi.com.sg/
[ ... ]

No. 32 Caramelised Bananas with Chocolate from Nectarie

This is one of the 50 yummiest cakes with the following description,
"For those with a sweet tooth, this concoction of bananas and white chocolate on a crunchy base is an ideal sugar fix"
Each slice of Caramelised Bananas with Chocolate costs $7.00 (excluding 7% GST and 10% service charge)

Frankly speaking, our first visit to Nectarie didn't impress as we picked the wrong dessert. Thus, we have an impression that this place is expensive with a so-so array of desserts. But after realizing that this is also one of the recommended places by the 50 yummiest cakes, we have decided to try the recommended cake. Somehow or rather, our impression of this place did change and for your information, Strawberry Shortcake and Milk Amaretto Chocolate Gateaux are the other signatures of Nectarie.

The night view of Nectarie is so different and the surrounding lighting and decoration brings out a pre-christmas festive mood. Must drop by this place when I take a day off to enjoy their 1/2 price special for all sliced cakes from 12pm to 3pm (Applicable for takeaways, dine-ins and with purchase of one drink).
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Fen's comments

Although I am not a fan of banana cake, this dessert changes my perspective towards banana cakes. The sweetness is just right, the crunchiness of the praline with the springy banana cake just send my insulin rocket high. I finished this cake with a smile on my face.

BUT Yuan felt that this cake wasn't that good as the taste of white chocolate mousse and caramelized bananas (top half) is too different from the banana cake and hazelnut praline (bottom half). Moreover, I removed the white chocolate mousse and caramelized bananas so that I can indulge the banana cake and hazelnut praline on its own. Weird eating style but that is how I like it.
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Yuan's comments


One unique feature about Nectarie's cakes is that they mix extreme flavours together. This one is no exception. Imagine, banana cake, hazelnut praline and white chocolate mousse with caramelized banana. All have very distinct taste. Personally I didn't quite enjoy it but I must say the banana cake on its own is not bad.
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Nectarie le' Dessert Pâtisserie
Blk C, The Cannery
#01-05,
River Valley Road Clarke Quay,
Sinagpore 179022
Tel: 6305 6728
http://www.nectarie.sg
[ ... ]

Chocolate Terrine with Coconut Mousse

As usual, Yuan did his visual inspection and has targeted on a slice of chocolate truffle. Believe it or not, his taste buds seems to get more and more sensitive and his eyes seems to be able to pick out the right cake, unlike me.

Chocolate Terrine with Coconut Mousse
Light coconut mousse infused into ganache

Each slice of chocolate truffle is $6.00 (excluding 7% GST and 10% service charge) and they have the following offers:-
  • 20% off Total Food Bill with American Express Platinum Card
  • From Mondays to Fridays, 1/2 Price for all sliced cakes from 12pm to 3pm (Applicable for takeaways, dine-ins and with purchase of one drink
  • 10% off bill with HSBC cardholders and 15% discount for HSBC Premier and Visa Platinum
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Fen's comments

The chocolate truffle is of a high cocoa content and for those who fancy Canele's Gateaux Chocolat. I would highly recommend this. The chocolate is velvety smooth that tempts Yuan to finish the entire cake within minutes. Among the dense chocolate mousse, a thin layer of flourless chocolate cake provides the ultimate decadence sensation for chocoholics.

In between the layers of chocolate mousse, there is a layer of coconut mousse which adopts a jelly-like texture, providing a distinct texture from the smooth chocolate ganache. For $6.00 per slice, this is a must-try for chocoholics and a good substitution for expensive chocolate bonbons.
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Yuan's comments


This is one of my favourite chocolate mousse. Rich and nice. The plus point is that the mousse tasted like chocolate fudge. So its like one layer of fudge and one layer of flourless chocolate cake. This is one cake that can curb your chocolate craving. Highly recommended.
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Nectarie le' Dessert Pâtisserie
Blk C, The Cannery
#01-05,
River Valley Road Clarke Quay,
Sinagpore 179022
Tel: 6305 6728
http://www.nectarie.sg

Operating hours
12pm to 11pm (Sun to Wed)
12pm to 1am (Thurs)
12pm to 2am (Fri & Sat)
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