Have to give it to Ice's recommendation and many thanks to Delphine for reserving a slice of Strawberry Tart for me. I cannot describe how happy I was and definitely no regrets making a trip down to Kki ケーキ for this tart. Pretty sure I will be heading down Kki for more of this.
A simple combination of sliced strawberries, a thin layer of vanilla bean custard cream and cookie crust base; and what makes it splendid is the sweet strawberries and the buttery Sable Breton (quoted from Ice's blog).
It was only after trying the tart then I understand what Ice meant by Kenneth using good French butter for the base. I did a quick search on Sable Breton and apparently, sables means "sand" in French, thereby refering to the sandy texture of this crumbly shortbread-like cookie. Most importantly, the flavour of these cookies is dependent on the quality of the ingredients, particularly butter and vanilla extract.
I don't have to go far to rave about this since I got my answer the moment I sink my teeth into this creation. Try it and your senses will give you the answer.
K Ki Sweets
7 Ann Siang Hill
#01-00
Tel 6225 6650
Their website and facebook group
Operating hours:
12pm - 7pm (Sun to Fri)
12pm - 4pm (Sat)
Closed on Mondays
5 comments:
absolutely with you on the k.ki strawberry tart! it's possibly my favourite tart in the entire world at this moment... and that tart base is out of this world. craving for it as i speak! ^ ^
mont blanc and kinabaru too!!! yums.
I guessed I will post this in the comment instead of the cbox. Too much discussion going on and I don’t want to mis-interpret anybody.
Anonymous, I understand what you are driving at and to be frank, this is not the first time there is a debate on the style Kki adopts. Before I continue, let’s just be fair to Kki. I have not heard from Kenneth, the chef of Kki claiming his bakes to be French, Japanese or a fusion of both or authentic in any context. As far as I am concerned, we see this form of classification in magazines, blogs or other medias which maybe interpretation by Kki’s consumers so let’s give them the benefit of doubt.
As for Lana Cake Shop, I know there are two schools of thoughts and you can see various perspective on my entry.
(http://www.sgdessert.com/2008/06/no-20-chocolate-cake-from-lana-cakes.html)
Now you mentioned that there aren’t any good points addressed to you. If you read closely to what Harris, Glenn, Goh and Yuan were trying to say, they are targeting specifically to your statement made with regards to “catering too much to local taste and that it affects cultural food integrity”. To define something to be authentic is very subjective and for instance, how many actually question how authentic our local chicken rice is? If you visit other countries, we talk about Singapore Chicken Rice and if you come to Singapore, they termed it as Hainanese chicken rice. Moreover, due to movement of people from various countries, it is hard to find something that has not been “contaminated” by other cultures and fusion is something that is very preferential, some may be ok mixing A and B while others prefer A and C.
Ok, perhaps you are referring to something simpler. Say the Japanese cakes found in Singapore is not the same as in Japan or the tiramisu in Singapore is way too different from a classic one in Italy. Taste is what I emphasize to be subjective, if you have a similar dessert in France, most may be able to accept but if a similar thing is sold in Singapore, most may find it too sweet or colourful. At least, this was what I experienced when I visited Le Grenier a Pain. I was told that French pastries are colourful and sweet but I find it hard to accept but might be a different story if I visit France since I am prepared to try the “authentic”. To condemn shops that cater too much to local taste to earn their bucks? I guess this statement is what my responders find it harsh.
I am not saying who is right or wrong, in fact like what Ice point out; the whole objective of this blog is to share the good food we can find in Singapore. As for my entries in HK, I was there for a short trip and I thought it might be interesting to let my readers know what the patisseries found in other countries.
P.S. I will paste the content of the cbox over here so that it appears clearer what everybody is trying to drive at...
“anonymous: K ki's strawberry tart is more French than is French-Japanese. Tell me if you see any Japanese customers.
Fen to Anonymous: Personally, I dunno see why there is a debate targeting the style Kki adopts. Kenneth is a self-taught baker so I wld presume his creations are inspired from his trips to Jpn & to suit local taste
anonymous: Fen: glad you realize Kki is suited to local taste. Many with limited cake knowledge don't realize French-Japanese cakes are very different in Japan.
ice to fen & anony: It doesn't matter whether K ki's cakes are Japanese or French or French-Japanese, or Italian etc for that matter. As long as they're delicious.
anonymous: you know what happens what shops cater too much to local taste just to earn their bucks? They 'create' customers with false sense of international foods. No true cultural food integrity you know. If customers keep on demanding foods to suit their 'local taste', I wonder when we can actually get more 'real food' from abroad. No wonder Fen travels to HK, she is sick of local DIY cakes probably. The most infamous one is the Lana Kueh shop. best of the best FAKE!
harris: by the way, i'm amazed at someone's thoughts here. it seems suiting to local tastes is being scoffed upon while him/herself assumes there is a "pure type" (Chua & Rajah, 2001) to all foods. there should be a proper appreciation for hybridisation and adaptation of foods, which subverts dominant cultural forms through creolisation. it is what makes food such an interesting subject. any tendency to racialise or categorise food, hybrid or pure, is in Pierre Bourdieu's (1977) terms a form of "méconnaissance".
glenn: Fen & Yuan, I love your blog and while I am certainly not one one who craves for desserts, I tend to read up your blog if that craving does indeed popup. For lack of a better word, harris' academic but succint statement certainly does put things in perspective here. Could my learned friend here, who claims that, in his words, prove that what u procur from a cake shop in Japan, be the 'true' version and not one that was created to suit the local tastes of that city/country? If yes, my learned friend, on what grounds can you so, or otherwise?
Goh: If the Japanese is allowed to be influenced by the west, why s'porean are not allowed to be influenced by the Japanese or the west. In short, we are all talking about fusion cakes, how you know the French are not influenced by others? Which cake comes with a pedigree certificate? Adulterated from 邓小平's quote, regardless of it being a black cake or white cake, as long as it tastes good, it is a 好 cake.
Yuan: Interesting discussion going on here. 2 issues: First is there such a thing as "Pure Type"; Second if there is such a thing as "Pure Type" do the "pure-ist" devour to maintain their style or do they really enjoy what they are eating? For point 2, I think this is really subjective but nonetheless it is interesting to read all your views.
anonymous: Are there actually any good points addressed to me? If I want to pay for cakes that are branded as French-Japanese, then I better get what I pay for, because I eat to appreciate- the meaning of eating. People who lack the skills to appreciate different types of food will not have clear distinctions between them. I wonder what is their point of eating? Maybe just to feel good? Food is not sub for sex. Even sex can have many types from different races. So I think at the end of the day, people who are not picky about sex are also not picky about food. Thank goodness I have leverage. Getting foreign foods to taste like local ones is like getting a foreign sex partner to act local during sex. Now do you realize how pathetic that is? What is the point then? Open your eyes kids.
ice to anony: We are all here to share good food & eat good cakes, not to engage in out-of-topic discussions. Please keep your comments polite, it's only respect to the blog owners.”
- Lastly, I hope that nobody takes it personal and please be neutral and fair to Kki, Lana Cake Shop or any other mentioned patisseries. -
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