Laurent Bernard Chocolatier (The Pier at Robertson Quay)

One of the main attractions of Robertson Quay (to us) is Laurent Bernard Chocolatier. The place was very packed at 10pm on a Friday night but we managed to snag one of the last outdoor seats available. There were many tables of customers who ordered the soufflé. Well, to our knowledge, soufflés are light fluffy cakes. And all along, we tend to prefer rich, dense chocolate cakes. Hence, after much deliberation, we decided against the soufflé and ordered the following instead:

Rum Baba is essentially an yeast cake saturated in rum and topped with a layer of cream. There was a small plastic pipette filled with rum, placed at the corner of the cake. So with a little squeeze, we added more rum to the rum-soaked yeast cake. On its own, the cake was rather light sponge, which on normal occasions, we probably wouldn’t like it. However, in Rum Baba, the entire cake was soaked thoroughly in rum, and that made all the difference. Every bit of the cake was saturated with rum. The top layer of cream didn’t taste like whipped cream (which we dislike). Rather, it wasn’t cloyingly sweet, had a very smooth texture and tasted pretty good.

Yes, the all famous Laurent Bernard Chocolate Tart. Our all-time favourite Chocolate Tart. No matter where we went, how many tarts we have tried, we’ve always felt that this was the best. The dark chocolate cream was smooth, soft and simply melts in our mouth. You could really tell that it was made of premium chocolate and the taste was heavenly. We can never get sick of the chocolate. The crispy hazelnut base added crunchiness and a secondary texture to the dark chocolate cream. The only disappointment is that the tart seemed to shrink in size compared to the previous time we tried. Pure dark chocolate nutty base = simply divine. No wonder this is Laurent Bernard’s most popular pastry.

The 3rd and last cake we tried was Truffle. Moist with a strong chocolate aroma, guanaja 70% is used for this cake. We had Truffle from Toast before, and compared to that version, this was slightly denser and less creamy. Truffles are rather suitable for chocolate lovers who like their chocolate cakes to be simple, without any extra toppings like nuts, crunchy bases etc – just a naked chocolate cake. You can really appreciate the good quality of the chocolate Laurent Bernard uses in this Truffle. It looks simple, but each mouth we took is packed with the richness of premium chocolate. Not too sweet and creamy, it will be a hit with dark chocolate lovers.

3 cakes for $29.90. Every cent was so worth it!

On a side note, we saw Laurent Bernard himself at the display counter. We exchanged a couple of lines and from there, we could tell he had the flair of a top notch pastry chef. Well, he looked rather proud of himself, and he should, because the desserts from his chocolatier are indeed one of the better ones around.

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

I had read so many rave reviews about it from magazines and newspapers, so it was high time I tried it out for myself. Brightly lighted and immaculately done up with floor to ceiling windows, the interior sits probably about 10 people, with a couple more seats outdoor for those who prefer Al fresco dining. Chocolates are sold in a small room partitioned by a glass door and I found the variety rather limited. Same goes for the variety of pastries available. However, the selection of tea is rather unique and I had the Moroccan Mint Tea to try together with a slice of their famous Black Forest Cake and the ever popular Chocolate Tart.

I wasn't too impressed by the Moroccan Mint Tea as all I could taste was the strong mint taste. Peering into the teapot, I could only make out a few bits of tea leaves. So much for the tea. Well to give it credit, the tea was served in a nice and quaint teapot, but that's just about it.

My Black Forest Cake was greeted with oohs and ahhs from the neighbouring table as they had tried to order a slice earlier on, but it was sold out. Lucky me. First bite, I was cringing from the copious amount of whipped cream present in the cake. Essentially 2 of the 5 layers were whipped cream. Now that's a lot of whipped cream! The layers of cake were moist and tasty with the berries a little sour and accompanied by smooth milk chocolate. It would have been better if not for the obscene amount of whipped cream (too much whipped cream is bad for your health as well). I had high hopes for this one as I really like Black Forest Cakes and have been eating them since I was a kid, but it just didn't deliver. Maybe I'm just being picky.

Surprisingly, the Chocolate Tart shone and surpassed all expectations. 3 different layers of chocolate atop a biscuit wafer and topped with an interesting looking piece of baked chocolate, with a serving of whipped cream. This was simply heavenly and trust me, I don't use such words often. I don't even know how to begin to describe it. All 3 layers were smooth and rich, with the base being crunchy and slightly nutty. Just imagine that! The thin slice of chocolate, according to the waitress, is created by pouring a thin layer of chocolate into a mould, freezing it and then baking it in the oven. The result is a delectable slice of chocolate with a slightly burnt taste. You just have to try this!

The desserts cost $25.30, which is slightly on the high side. The waitresses were friendly, but seemed a little confused at times. The chef and his wife (I presume) weren't exactly very friendly though and I witnessed an incident where the chef stood arms akimbo when some customers were undecided on their orders. That gesture alone says alot! I probably will be back just for the Chocolate Tart and nothing more.

ps: I read somewhere that photography isn't allowed, so I had to sneakily take some shots, hence the poor pictures.