Canele : Taste Test

originally uploaded by shangz.

First off , i don't really know what is canele in french and the only thing i can think of , is the actual bordeaux dessert called canele that resembles those jelly thingy you buy from the supermarket , so as to the origin of the name , i guess it shall remain a mystery . Hmm .. perhaps it was suppose to be cannelle , which is french for cinnamon ... Anyhow .

Canele, as i keep hearing positive things about the place (authentic french desserts , yummy etc) , i decided to go check it out together with my fellow food connonsieur (read : greedy pigs), vanessa to try their gateaux. We had 2 marcarons , one tarte citron , one berry pie thing ( can't remember what is called) and this featured cake , called the le royale. (note to self : in singapore , don't bother pronouncing your Rs with a rolling H sound the way the french do because nobody understands you, even if u are you in french pastry shop)

First off the Canele at paragon has a relatively tiny area or customers to sit down and the design of the place is nice and cosy . Perhaps a bit too cosy as i could hear the next table having an intense discussion about Lord Voldermort . (i kid you not) , but nontheless , it's a tastefully decorated venue . The cakes however were less than satisfactory .

The marcarons were a bit too dense for my liking . Underneath the crunchy flakey shell, the marcaron was slightly chewy which needless to say did not sit well with me. Good marcarons i suppose, should melt in your mouth without requiring you to actually chew it . I shall refrain from commenting on the filling because i had orange and coffee flavour , not my favourite flavours . Perhaps when i go back to try the framboise parfume , i shall make my decision .

The filling of the tarte citron was good . In fact , better than i expected , but it was not soft and light . it still packed a punch with a good balance of sour and sweet , but everything was marred by the meringue . I dunno what was wrong with the meringue , but the texture of the meringue was like chewing gum , thick , stretchy and with an overpowering taste of eggwhite . Very odd . Scrap off meringue before eating . That's my advice .

The berry tart was nice but as usual , in typical singaporean kiasu fashion , the crust was too thick and the filling too little .

Next comes the le royale . According to the nice cheerful staff , the le royale is one of the signature cakes at canele and it was definitely the best out of the lot . The multiple layers in the cake gives the palate an interesting sensory experience , until u reach the base layer of the cake , the actual cake portion of it . Tasted like really bad cake , the rough , dry cake one would find at the worse of breadshops in the neighbourhood. Try to ignore that layer and the cake is not that bad. I strongly recommend the chocolate tarte from the chocolate factory at Robertson quay instead.

Overall , considering the price of the desserts (an average of 6 bucks per cake) , i expected a lot more , especially after all the hype of the place. Nonetheless , it has been one of the closest substitute to the legendary desserts from Paris one can find in Singapore