When my sister came to visit me for my birthday, she wanted to try out the desserts from Koi Dessert Bar as the owner was from Masterchef. I myself only found out about Koi when I visited Spice Alley on my birthday and it was closed by the time we had finished eating so I didn't get to see or try any of their goodies.
We went back on the weekend to check it out and bought a few things to try.
The above was a Mango/Yuzu mousse cake. The yuzu portion was in the centre and quite small while the rest was the mango mousse. This was 'very mango-ey' as defined by my sister's boyfriend who doesn't enjoy/care much about mango so mango haters be sure to stay away. If you love mango though, you would most likely enjoy this. I preferred the yuzu portion of it because pfft, Japanese bias tyvm.
Next up - I can't remember the exact components of the cake but it had sesame and green tea in it I think >.< T
This was quite a nice one - interesting flavours and textures - mousse, cream and the base was a bit more biscuit-like. I didn't care much for the bit of dill used as decoration. Are we meant to eat it with the cake or take it off?? If it's to be taken off, why bother with it in the first place??
And the last one from Koi. A Calamansi mousse on top of an (almond?) biscuit base. When I say biscuit, I mean it as like a bit between a sponge cake and sable biscuit because it's not crispy anymore but it's not airy like a sponge either. I chose this because the blue streak looked soooooo prettyyyyyy. Plus, the Calamansi flavour got me interested. Calamansi is a citrus fruit that is used quite often in S.E Asia as a drink. Singapore hawker centres often had Lime or Calamansi drinks available. It has a distinct fragrance and flavour which is quite refreshing on a hot day.
Unfortunately, this cake was all about the looks and less about the flavour. The mousse was nice but lacking in Calamansi-ness. I wanted to have a hit of Calamansi but this was more of a soft poke. And the dill again! *makes giant X with both arms*
“7/10 - Prettier than they tasted which was sad.”
I only have the one cake from La Renaissance for review but we have tried other ones from them before and have been suitably impressed. They also do good croissants and pains au chocolat.
This is the Monet - "Layers of vanilla sponge and white chocolate bavaroise, raspberries and lychee jelly". No dill on this one!!!
This small cake is absolute perfection. It's pretty much a mini version of an actual cake which is very impressive in itself. The raspberry and blueberry on top are literally the cherry on top of this cake. The lychee flavour is subtle but strong enough not to be overpowered by the other elements and the raspberry in the centre gives it a balanced tartness. The soft mousse/sponge is paired with a thin crumbly chocolate crust.
The only downside is that you have to pay an extra $0.50 if you wanted to dine in but yay if you take away! It is still pricey though for such a small cake. It cost us $9 for take away. But still, I would totally buy this again.
“9.5/10 - Unassumingly brilliant flavour and texture.”
Till the next meal or snack...