Hediard

Hediard Cafe and Restaurant - a little French shop tucked at a corner of Tudor Court, just beside Tanglin Mall. We have walked past it countless times, but never once did we step in to take a look. And yesterday, the day which marked our first visit to Hediard, turned out to be the turning point in our relationship with French macaroons.

Other than its own cafe-restaurant, Hediard has its own boutique store, which sells a wide variety of food items, e.g. foie gras, bottled soups, bottled sauces, tea leaves, pralines, chocolates, coffee beans etc. Being our first time there, we were quite impressed with the spread of items Hediard offers. And just beside the boutique store was a little cafe-restaurant. The selection at the cake counter was pretty limited, but what caught our eyes was the huge French Macaroons!! Each macaroon spanned a width (diameter) of 6cm! Sprinkled with gold dust and topped with a little “H” chocolate, the macaroon looked so enticing! We have never been fans of macaroons, in fact, we disliked macaroons. The biscuits of the macaroons were usually too sugary, airy and overly sweet. The buttercream sandwiched between the 2 layers of biscuits was just sweet, with no distinct taste at all (no matter what flavour). It was a confectionery with absolutely no substance at all.

But we were so tempted by this huge macaroon from Hediard that we did not hesitate one bit and immediately picked the Chocolate and Earl Grey flavoured. And this decision changed our relationship with macaroons forever. The Chocolate and Earl Grey macaroon from Hediard was essentially a “Chocolate Burger”. The “conventional layer of buttercream” in macaroons was replaced with a thick generous slab of chocolate fudge. It was a very dense layer of filling. Rather than just being sweet, every bite of the macaroon revealed dense chocolate fudge complemented with a distinctive earl grey taste. And this thick layer added chewiness to the entire macaroon. The biscuit was not that airy, but was more flaky instead. For many macaroons, the typical taste would just be pure sweetness, with no strong flavours. Hediard’s macaroon is a macaroon with substance, and not just air.

This 6cm diameter macaroon is a definite hit with chocolate lovers. It will totally change your opinions about macaroons. Forget about macaroons from those commercialized cafes/bakeries, try this one at Hediard. After which, you would never try another macaroon from anywhere else.

At $6.20, this macaroon is on the expensive side, but the surprise and substance which came with it, this is definitely worth the money.

For photos and more reviews, please visit http://foodphd.wordpress.com!

Bluff.

One of those overhyped & overpriced place. Banking on its atas name and supposedly reputation. Bluff.

Coffee ($8) - Badly foamed milk with appalling coffee.

Mocha ($8) - Badly foamed milk, appalling coffee, and probably a drop of chocolate.

Rum & Raisin ($7.80) - To their credit, the taste of rum was rather strong and was much creamier than those I've tasted. Home-made I was told. Although true, still overpriced.

Raspberry sorbet ($4.80) - Too tart for my liking, although some may see it as refreshing.

The chocolate square that came along with our coffee reminded me of cheap milk chocolates. The display for the cakes etc was tacky and simply uninspiring.

Small place with limited seating for the cafe; the other part of Hediard being the retail for its products. There were a group of tourists being talked to when I was there and later exited with bags of Hediard stuff. This surprised me; didn't know Hediard was part of such a touristy affiliation.

Service was bad with la-di-da staff. Requests for ice water was forgotten although we were the 2nd occupied table that afternoon. Serviettes were not provided. Staff sat around and preferred to chit chat than pay attention to customers.

Terribly overpriced. Do not go.