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2010-02-01
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Wow I realize I have a hugeeeeeeeeeeee backlog of reviews I need to write because I've been incredibly busy+lazy for a while. This was eaten back in November, when Patisserie Yamakawa just opened for a while and there was still lots of hype & media about it. Being the dessert lover that I am, obviously I had to go check it out. This shop is famous for using ingredients imported from Japan, like their eggs, flour, etc, and their specialty is apparently matcha products as they use different concen
This was eaten back in November, when Patisserie Yamakawa just opened for a while and there was still lots of hype & media about it. Being the dessert lover that I am, obviously I had to go check it out. This shop is famous for using ingredients imported from Japan, like their eggs, flour, etc, and their specialty is apparently matcha products as they use different concentrations (bitterness?) of matcha for different kinds of desserts depending on whether a light or intense flavour is desired. They also heavily advertised their light-textured swiss rolls and Mont Blancs, which further emphasized their Japanese identity.
Before arriving at the shop, I actually couldn't decide whether I wanted to order a Mango Roll or a Matcha Red Bean Roll (why not both, you ask? well...I do try to keep my figure while enjoying sweets at the same time everything in moderation!); I usually like to taste the blandest, most original flavour of something first before venturing towards more exotic flavours. You can always taste the quality of something better when it's unadulterated. However, when I arrived, the shopkeeper was informing a crowd that the matcha red bean roll was just sold out and the next batch would be ready in half an hour. Not being able to resist fresh-out-of-the-oven goodies, obviously my decision was made for me right there.
A walk through City Super and half an hour later with a handful of groceries in tow, I headed over to the patisserie counter to pick up my roll. All the aunties crowding around the counter with me half an hour ago had already picked up theirs, and mine was the last piece - yet again. Oh, they also have an open kitchen, so you can see your goodies being made in real time. When demand was still high a few months ago, the chefs were constantly rolling and rolling and rolling cakes! Don't know about now though. The cake was packed nicely in a paper box and nice bag and I headed home with my treasure.
I refrigerated it for a while before tasting it, as I enjoy my cream very cold. Nevertheless, the cold did not affect its light texture. As mentioned before, this shop markets its rolls as very fluffy, and you can definitely feel it's airiness and sponginess as you fork a bite. Compare this to the Hong Kong style swiss roll, which is much denser and with less "bounce". I actually like both kinds...sometimes I want light and fluffy, sometimes I want dense and eggy. The egg taste was not prominent in this cake, the matcha flavour being quite pronounced (but without bitter notes). I really enjoyed the moistness of the cake...it was like eating a just-wrung sponge.The cream was of a more creamy whipped-cream type rather than a butter-cream like filling in the Hong Kong style roll. I like this milky-tasting cream a lot, and I wish they could put more in it. Same with the red beans...there were only 2-3 pieces in the ENTIRE roll! I guess since they import it from Japan as they so blatantly publicize, they cannot afford to put more? lol anyhow the lack of fillings made the cake a bit boring as it's called a matcha RED BEAN roll after all.
The cake is huge...eating the whole thing made me very full (and satisfied). Would I want to eat it again? Well, I have to say it's quite enjoyable, but nothing that really WOWs me. I haven't been compelled to go back to try it's other offerings as well (no cravings at all =S rare for a dessert freak like me), which include various typical Japanese-style cakes with OK-presentation. I guess it's the lack of originality and personality which has prevented a cult following despite its heavy publicity when it first opened? Even its Openrice reviews are scarce. Perhaps its lack of a seating area also contributes to its mediocre popularity as a dessert store (but there IS the food court seating area...). Anyways, hope they survive and won't die out like the last in-house dessert store CitySuper had!
張貼