tarte by cheryl koh, shaw centre.
wanted a little something else to eat after lunch. somehow couldn't think of what to eat in the tiong bahru area (dropped by forty hands and flock cafe, but the brunch items weren't tempting enough.) i've wanted to try tarte by cheryl koh ever since seeing it pop up on instagram, so since we were relatively nearby, went over to shaw centre.
we were greeted by a minimalistic display of tarts, all simply done but gorgeous. had a hard time deciding what to have- the chocolate was a sure thing (i always have to have chocolate) but it was a toss up between the cherry and caramel hazelnut. i'm always scared of caramel being too sweet, but i love hazelnut. our minds were made up when a female customer who'd finished her tarts came back to the display to speak to the girl at the counter, commenting that the caramel hazelnut was really good. she saw that we were trying to decide what to have, and told us to get the caramel hazelnut.
we dined in, having the tarts in the adjoining caveau bar. took a table by the window next to the sidewalk. loved the space and the lighting, and that the place wasn't too cramped or crowded despite it being a public holiday.
the woman was right- the caramel hazelnut tart ($9) was awesome. the caramel wasn't cloyingly sweet, and there was the crunch of hazelnuts and feuilletine. kind of like ferrero rocher in tart form, which can never go wrong. there was just something about it that made me keep going back for spoonfuls. the tart base was good as well- crisp, light and buttery. the filling to crust ratio was just right. brilliant stuff.
we also ordered the dark chocolate tart ($9) which was equally good. it was all gooey dark chocolate which went perfectly with the crisp tart shell. also got a cappuccino ($5.50) that i quite liked- apparently they use beans from nylon.
usually towards the end of cakes/tarts i get a bit tired of the taste and push the rest to the person sharing to finish. this, however, was different. i gladly finished up... and even wanted some more.
very, very good tarts that made me very happy. almost wanted to order a cherry tart (i'm a glutton) but that would probably be overkill, so next time. too bad they're only open until seven thirty at night, else it would make a good place for after dinner desserts.
i totally want to have another caramel hazelnut tart right now.
tarte by cheryl koh
shaw centre #01-12
