Nectarie: a congregation of dessert monsters

Nectarie: A Congregation of Dessert Monsters

without much further ado, I shall present my review for the most recent outing to Nectarie. Thank you to Ladyironchef, Vicki and Fen for providing the photos. It gets so much easier when you have all those DSLRs flashing around. I pity the cakes though. All the papparazi action probably contributed a little to its drier than usual textures.. *bah*

I'm sure it wasn't pure coincidence when a last minute invite sent to 7 of us, Fen, Vicki, Evan, Brad, Weili, Claire came through. Seeing the throngs of happy faces and gleeful smiles behind the camera lens on a lovely (but HOT) tuesday afternoon sure was nothing short of a miracle. The company was indeed precious as much as the stimulating conversation that flowed between the tastings and the horrible remarks being thrown around. Commends going out to the staff who turned a deaf ear to the racket we were creating at the corner of the elongated shop front. Perhaps silently, they shared the same sentiments regarding their products?

moving on to the 'stars' of the day, first up, we had the fortune of ordering 7 cakes to share amongst us since there was a tea time promotion for all cakes at half price with the purchase of a drink. First up (not in order of merit), the Pistachio White Chocolate (pistachio creme brulee between vanilla sponge and raspberry jam). To be honest, this was VERY VERY disappointing. The pistachio flavor failed to come through. The layers of colors though thoroughly vivid and captivating, was lacklustre in term of taste contrasts. overall, too sweet for my liking.

Next up, the Dark Chocolate Opera. Upon first glance, the parched texture couldn't have fooled anyone. Reluctant to try this, I took a tiny forkful at the tip of the rock-hard slice and nibbling the edges of the dry almond sponge, trust me, i never headed back for any more after. SKIP!

Moving on to the next platter. I was distinctively happy to spot this piece of cake perched beautifully in the middle of the plate drizzled with raspberry sauce (actually all the plates were decorated the same way.. *yawn* ..) The Carmelized Banana and White Chocolate (chunky caramelized bananas in white chocolate on a crunchy base with light banana sponge) was to be the primadonna of the entire cast. Excellent in its combination of flavors and contrasting textures. I fell in love with the slight bitterness of the caramelized bananas together with the sultry sweet flavor of the white chocolate mousse. This as Fen recommended was the star attraction. I say she was probably lucky for having picked the only two good cakes during her last visit. haha.


Shifting my fork across the table after a dreamy bite of the last cake, I attacked the Chocolate Terrine with Coconut Mousse . This had a dubious image entirely with two fudgey layers of chocolate sandwiching a white slice with a bit of agar-agar consistency. But with my first bite, I was sold. The chocolate sponge was incredibly moist, almost bearing resemblence to a cakey brownie and the traces of coconut rum soaked within highlighted the infusion of coconut and chocolate in this harmonious assembly. Many of my companions favored the coconut mousse within but i much preferred digging into the chocolate sponge.


Tiramisu.. bah.. nothing can hold a candle to the one I always have at Galbati. And true as it is, the Nectarie version was a bit odd with the ladyfingers within reduced to mush after being oversoaked in coffee syrup. The mascarpone cheese lacked a little somethin' somethin' and the liquor taste was almost invisible. SKIP!


introducing to you the poor Granny Smith's Apple Crumble that underwent the oven heating up procedure not once but twice.. gosh.. that probably explains why the overall texture of the dessert was a little on the dry side. And please.... be more generous with the apple fillings would you? gosh.. I'm not paying to eat a mouthful of dry crumbles.. Could do better with a scoop of vanilla bean icecream on the side. Give this a miss next time.

Last of all, the Parfait of Dark and White Chocolate. I don't even want to talk about it. This was such a let down. With its shiny and omniscent appearance. I was expecting much more. Only to be stumped by dry innards with an overwhelming taste of whipping cream. *bleah*

Nonetheless, despite the horrible remarks being thrown around. What matters most is the company. For which i can safely say that was the best thing out of the entire afternoon. Looking forward to more meetups!