Amanda FooJapanese desserts are usually known to be dense and overly cloying (think Daifuku, a little glutinous rice cake with sweet filling).
However, Flor Patisserie has put a new spin on things, with Japanese revisions of classic French pastries. Tucked away at a corner at Duxton Hill, this cafe was opened by Chef Yamashita, a French-trained Japanese chef known for his patisserie in Nara, Japan, and this fusion is reflected in the exquisite cakes he makes.
UrbanWire knew we were in for a good thing when we saw the chef step out of the kitchen to present a slice of cake and a shy smile only to pop back in to continue baking. Any chef that devoted has our vote.
This shows in his cakes too, like the Napoleon ($6.20) we sampled. It’s a mille-feuille pastry with a twist of strawberries. Soft-beyond-belief sponge, plain cream (always a good thing), and strawberries were sandwiched between puff pastry.
The element that struck UrbanWire the most was the puff pastry, rolled out fresh every day using French butter (long thought to be the better butter). The creation is creamy and nutty from its stint in the oven, and at the same time, a hard crunchy counterpart to all the fluffy cake and luscious cream. While all this may sound very decadent, this is actually a very light dessert as the cream isn’t present in large amounts and it’s very aerated, the sort that you don’t have to run an extra 15 minutes on the treadmill to burn off.
Chocolate Tofu Chiffon ($11.20 for an 18-cm cake) is another health-conscious offering from their menu. Yep, you heard us, tofu. It supposedly keeps the cake moist and gives it substance while still keeping the calories at bay. The tofu can’t actually be tasted.
That said, the chocolate flavor, despite being a 58% Belgium dark chocolate, isn’t very obvious either. Nonetheless, it’s fluffy without being dry, though a dollop of cream does help things along. The flavors for the chiffon cakes are changed every 2 months, with previous flavors being Earl Grey, Orange and Green Tea, just to name a few.
The last item we sampled was the Marron Pie ($3.80). This is a muffin-sized pie with an almond cream, or Frangipane, center, topped off with a macaroon crust and a puff pastry shell. It’s best to arm yourself with a cup of water or green tea when having this dessert as you may find it too cloying, because all the components of the dessert, including the Japanese chestnut buried in the center, are sweet even by themselves.
Chef Yamashita says on Flor Patisserie’s website that he likes making cakes because he likes making people happy. We’ll be back soon for another slice of heaven.
Address: #01-01, 2 Duxton Hill
Tel No.: 6223 8628
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday – 11am to 7pm, Sunday – 11am to 6pm
Rating: ★★★★✩