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