Grand Cru Alpaco from Peaberry and Pretzel

Grand Cru Alpaco from Peaberry and Pretzel

As mentioned in my previous entry, the dessert platter did impress and thus Yuan has decided to order one of the two cakes that has caught his attention when he first stepped into the cafe. Since we have tried Peaberry espresso chocolate cake in the dessert platter, we settled with their bestseller, the Grand Cru Alpaco ($5.50 excluding 7% GST and 10% service charge).


Basically, this is a dark chocolate mousse and a layer of chocolate cake coated with glossy dark chocolate glaze.

For those who are wondering if macarons are available in this cafe, the answer is no. Those macaron shells seen in the glass display are only for decorative purposes.

I didn't take a close-up of the display as there were dining guests earlier in the evening and as it was closer to closing hours, there were a handful of take-away customers. Moreover, from my understanding from the staff, they don't usually allow customers to take pictures of the place and thus it would be appreciated if the intention was made known right from the start. They didn't stop me but I have decided to ask for permission before firing my camera.
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Fen's comments

Grand Cru Alpaco is a typical combination of dark chocolate glaze, chocolate mousse with a layer of chocolate cake. Since it is available in various bakeries such as Aroma, BakerZin and BreadTalk, what will make such a cake outshine the rest, is an additional ingredient to bring out the chocolate combination. Aroma has a vanilla brulee inlay and since milk chocolate was used, it is generally on the sweeter side. BakerZin, on the other hand, introduce lavender essence, thus appeal more to females. BreadTalk though has a similar combination but its texture was just too rough to reach any verdict.

So where does Grand Cru Alpaco stand? For a price of $5.50++, I would say it is definitely one of the better few. Using dark chocolate mousse, this is not sweet but the chocolate cake fails to stand out. In my personal opinion, I always thought that chocolate cake should be sandwiched between chocolate mousse and not layered at the bottom.

I would recommend this cake if one prefers Caraibe for its high chocolate content as this is a dark chocolate creation but with a softer and smoother texture.
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Yuan's comments
Without doubts, this is one of the best dark chocolate creation which I have eaten. As I mentioned before, a cake which can make you crave and finish when you are full is really good. This cake has just the right composition - rich but not overly rich. Smooth chocolate mousse and chocolate fudge... I am craving for it again.
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Peaberry and Pretzel
Blk 106
Clementi Street 12,
#01-52
Singapore 120106
Tel: 6777 3477

Operating hours
12:30pm to 10:30pm (Tues to Fri),
10:30am to 10:30pm (Weekends),
Closed on all Mondays except PH
http://www.peaberryandpretzel.com.sg/

Peaberry and Pretzel has closed but re-opened as Buttercake N Cream.

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Peaberry and Pretzel

Peaberry and Pretzel

I trust my guts instinct that this place is going to be good and thus explains my enthusiasm to pop by the place. Frankly speaking, I have always thought that Sunset Way is just a sleepy HDB town but never did I expect this place to be a hippy dining spot. What makes this place different from Holland Village and Clarke Quay is the surrounding tranquility and serenity, making this location a romantic place for couples, a quiet place for gatherings and a complete different perspective of city life.

The indoor dining area is warmly lit with the English lamps and decorated with the embroidered lamp shades. The use of golden framed mirrors and cushioned seats provides comfortable seating for gatherings. It kind of provides a similar feel like Sweet Indulgence. In short, it is a dimly lit, nicely decorated, small and slightly expensive dining place.

Judging from the comments posted on HungryGoWhere, most felt that this is not a recommended place for main course, particularly if budget is a factor. Moreover, the limited selection of main courses offered may not justify a trip to this place.

Anyway, it was alittle disappointing that they ran out of pork knuckle and thus we have decided to order a THE HUGE PLATE which is basically a huge assortment of sausages and cold cuts accompanied with traditional sauerkraut and potato salad. I wouldn’t recommend this dish since it gets very cloying to eat so many sausages in a go. They were just too salty but have to admit it was a wide selection, ranging from cheese sausages, mutton sausages and beer-flavoured ones.

The huge plate with a selection of sausages, ham, salami and accompanying traditional sauerkraut and potato salad ($34.90 excluding 7% GST and 10% service charge)

Decided to settle with a dessert platter for one despite Yuan’s pleas and this is basically 5 desserts of petite portions of the best P&P’s chef has to offer.

Dessert platter with Varlhona warm chocolate pudding, Raspberry crème brulee, Strawberry tiramisu, Peaberry espresso logcake and Strawberry Cheesecake ($14.00 excluding 7% GST and 10% service charge)

Since the café adopts an open-kitchen concept, the eggy whiff of the chocolate pudding can be smelt in the air and the attention in which the chef gives to each creation can be observed from where we were sitting.

Before I forget, they do serve complementary bread, nicely warmed up with margarine, they do refill upon request but we were saving room for desserts.
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Fen's comments

Despite a disappointing main course, I have to say that I am satisfied when it comes to the desserts I had for that evening. Unlike weird tasting ones from Pastry Bar and Nectarie or extreme sourish from Obolo, the 5 desserts served for the evening was light and refreshing. When this was eaten individually, I would say there is nothing to rave about and it would not have justify a return trip. However, it wasn't the case since we have ordered a dessert platter.

The Varlhona Warm Chocolate Pudding and Raspberry Crème Brulee were served warm in whisky glasses. Although the chocolate pudding was to be a dessert with molten lava of chocolate with vanilla-bean sauce, there was no molten chocolate lava oozing out. Thus, the overall taste was soft, moist and bitterly rich like a chocolate souffle.

The Raspberry Crème Brulee, on the other hand, was a direct opposite of a rich custard base. Beneath the layer of crispy caramel was a light raspberry mascarpone mousse. I only guessed that it was a Crème Brulee due to its crispy layer of burnt sugar. The good thing about this dessert is it being not too sweet and light.

Strawberry Tiramisu, served in the martini glass was a good variation of the layered Venetian dessert. This refreshing and summery desserts has just the right number of layers and thickness of light mascarpone cheese that melts-in-the-mouth and strawberry flavoured finger sponge are of the right texture and balance of sweetness and sourish.

On the contuary, I didn't like the Peaberry espresso logcake, which is supposedly an espresso-infused chocolate mousse and milk chocolate mousse with chocolate fudge cake. It has a similar taste to the Bailey Parfait from Pastry Bar, smooth mousse but its chocolate and espresso lacks the omph factor. Too mild to my liking.

Strawberry cheesecake was a complete disappointment. It lacks the cheese factor and is completely off from what I have from Obolo and Checkers Deli. For good cheesecakes, this is definitely not the place to go.

Though there are food that I didn't in this place, it is understandable that there are always hits and misses in any eatery. Thus, I would say I have fallen in love with the place and I will be coming back for their Pork Knuckle.

Don't miss out on my next entry as I didn't write the last dessert in which Yuan and I have ordered...

And of course, I am definitely not the first to blog on this place so do check out SD Food advisor for better pictures, the lovely dessert pictures on Singapura Daily Makan Photos, Timeless facade (apparently P&P didn’t impress him that much) and yellow & her true colours.
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Yuan's comments

The huge plate was certainly not recommended unless you are really a fan of sausages. This is also the first time which I have eaten mutton sausage. The down side is that it should have come with some sauce. Either mushroom sauce or BBQ sauce. It is kind of dry on its own.

The real star was really the dessert platter. I have previously mentioned that dessert platters tend to be disappointing. However this one left me dumbfounded. Fen and I compete to finish this platter. The good thing about this platter is that it does not use extreme flavours. Not too sweet nor too sour. Generally light and refreshing.

My personal favourite is the chocolate pudding. It taste similar to the bakerzin warm chocolate cake except that this one is more mousse like.
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Peaberry and Pretzel
Blk 106
Clementi Street 12,
#01-52
Singapore 120106
Tel: 6777 3477

Operating hours
12:30pm to 10:30pm (Tues to Fri),
10:30am to 10:30pm (Weekends),
Closed on all Mondays except PH
http://www.peaberryandpretzel.com.sg/

Peaberry and Pretzel has closed but re-opened as Buttercake N Cream.

[ ... ]