REVIEW: Antoinette's latest mind-blowing Fetish Chocolat collection of 23 savoury and sweet chocolate dishes and desserts

ROASTED CARROT WITH BALSAMIC AND DARK CHOCOLATE DRESSING ($18)

1/23

This pretty starter is a kaleidoscope of colours with oven-roasted carrots, serrano ham, strawberries, capers, feta cheese, quinoa and little florets of broccoli dressed in a mixture of 55 per cent chocolate with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. 

There's no lack of texture, but the flavours seemed a bit disparate even though we heeded the instructions to try everything together. And for $18, the portion is rather dainty. 

But don't be discouraged but this was just one of the rare quizzical items on an otherwise strong chocolate menu. 

CHOCOLATE RAVIOLI FILLED WITH WILD MUSHROOM RAGOUT ($22)

2/23

Almost as if to prove a point, that the chocolate element in savouries doesn't always have be in the sauce, chef Pang turns our misconceptions upside down with this chocolate ravioli. 

Here, cocoa powder and 66 per cent Caribe chocolate are worked into the dough to give those pasta parcels that mysterious dark hue and bittersweet edge. In the same contrarian vein, the veggies (minced wild mushrooms) are in the stuffing, whereas the meat (homemade pork sausage) stays outside in the sauce. The cream sauce, prepared with chicken and veal stock, grounds the whole ensemble with its comforting quality. 

This is just one of many dishes that you'll be scraping clean. 

CEREAL CRUSTED CHOCOLATE FRENCH TOAST ($18)

3/23

French toast. Done to death, or so we thought. But then we slit it open, the dark chocolate molten lava flowed out, and we ate our words.

And loads of that chocolate brioche too. We slathered them thick with the cool, vanilla-flecked chantilly cream. 

Hot-cold contrast? Check. Molten lava effect? Check. A bold chocolate hit? Definitely.

BRAISED WAGYU BRISKET WITH MUSTARD AND DARK CHOCOLATE SERVED WITH BUTTERED PAPPARDELLE ($30)

4/23

Sometimes, pasta plays second fiddle to the meat, but not now.

The ribbons of homemade pappardelle were so silky and buttery that we wished the pasta were available as a standalone order. 

There's no faulting the cubes of tender, braised wagyu brisket either, but it's the sauce ─ intoxicatingly oaky from the combination of 70 per cent Guanaja chocolate and Pommery grain mustard ─ that we'll be reminiscing long after this promotional menu is over. 

 

SOUS VIDE SALMON WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE HOLLANDAISE ($28)

5/23

We loved this one way more than we'd expected to. There's none of the saccharine taste we tend to associate white chocolate with; nor even the cloying richness we've encountered in too many poorly executed hollandaise sauces. 

The white chocolate hollandaise was amazingly ethereal, with a soft citrus tang that played marvellously well with the salmon fillet. A 24-hour brine helped to dial down the heaviness of the salmon, and the sous vide treatment kept it a perfect supple pink, leaving just a sliver of fatty flavour in the form of the crisp, pan-seared skin. 

The crunchy salad of green apple and fennel shavings livened things up with tart and herbal nuances, while the potato puree provided creamy dimension, but what's remarkable is that it was nearly as light-as-air as the hollandaise. What sorcery. 

FLAMING CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM ($22)

6/23

When the theatrics are over, can this flaming number hold its own, we wondered? 

We were skeptical on several fronts. The term "exotic fruits" always gets the stinkeye from us, since too many ang moh chefs use it to refer to tropical fruits that frankly, just aren't exotic for Singapore. And setting desserts on fire was beginning to be commonplace.

But surprisingly, this found its way into our hearts ─ with the zesty wave of Grand Marnier that lingered long after the flambe action, the lusciousness of the dark chocolate gelato, and most unexpectedly, the exotic flavour of the fruit compote. 

Although passion fruit, mango and pineapple were clearly not exotic as fruits, the overall combination was indeed exotic for being so refreshing and so different from the usual renditions. It's ambrosial from the mango, tart from the pineapple, and rich from the banana. 

CHOCOLATE PANCAKE ($18)

7/23

Tall, dark and handsome with a fluffy heart. What's not to like? 

This one's another round of contrasts. The sweet profile comes not from the cacao pancakes, but the chantilly cream and those caramelised bananas. After meeting too many bland bananas on our pancakes, the honeyed, almost kueh pisang-like sweetness here is such a welcome change. And those clusters of banana nut crunch brings back memories of morning cereal breakfasts. 

CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE $10 

8/23

As strawberry shortcakes go, this one's pretty decent. 

But compared to everything else, just adding chocolate into the sponge and cocoa powder to the whipped cream seemed a little pedestrian, a little token, a little too safe. 

MACARON BURGER ($12)

9/23

It lookied so uncannily like a resin replica of a burger, that we couldn't help but peer and inspect it in detail. 

The "burger buns", not surprisingly, are chocolate macarons. Then you have a "patty" fashioned out of chocolate ganache, raspberry "ketchup" sauce, salted caramel "mustard", apricot jelly "cheese", and white chocolate "lettuce" that even manages to look vaguely green! 

While the sweeet and tart flavours overwhelmed things a bit, we were just super fascinated by how chef Pang got all the mind-boggling details down pat. And the textures were pretty similar too. Hats off!

ORANGIER ($10)

10/23

This four-layer stack looks dense, but it's pleasantly light on the palate. The pairing of chocolate ganache and orange maramalade is very reminiscent of a jaffa cake, but with more pronounced citrusy notes. The crunchy hazelnut feuilletine base scored another tick in our book. 

 

INVADER INSIDE ($15)

11/23

Yes, there really is a space invader inside! 

 




 


A video posted by Simply Her Singapore (@simplyhersingapore) on Sep 6, 2016 at 12:10am PDT




 

For 90's kids, there's lots of nostalgia enveloped around and within this tinned treat ─ from the tongue-in-cheek reference to those "Intel Inside" stickers on clunky desktops, to the old school arcade game (it's a chocolate now!), to the morsels of popping candy embedded among the 10 textures of chocolate. It's creamy and rich and cakey and crunchy and crumbly and sour all a once. 

Plus, the jolt of coolness was a delicious surprise, since that's the last thing we expected from tinned food. 

TARTE CHOCOLAT ($10)

12/23

This coquettish, erm, tart, hits the spot. The dark chocolate character of the almond tart has a better crumb than the usual buttery base, and the combination of dark chocolate ganache and salted caramel has an almost mysterious, come hither effect. We appreciated the depth that the roasted nuts add too, but the chocolate chantilly was a little dense for our liking.

TRUFFLETE ($15)

13/23

It's not for naught that the confectionery is shaped like a truffle. Layered inside dark chocolate mousse, inside another shell of chocolate sponge cake, was black truffle-infused cream. It spring out to the oral and olfactory senses immediately upon first bite, a glorious mix of salty, buttery and earthy tones. 

And although it looked massive and dense on the outside, the Trufflete was so airy the sensation was almost akin to eating clouds, with everything ─ save for the hazelnut feuilletine ─ melting instantly on the tongue. 

WHITE CHOCOLATE MATCHA WITH SMOKED MACADAMIA NUTS ($12)

14/23

Instead of going for the bittersweet angle, chef Pang opted for a more mellow, slightly sweet matcha jam-like pitch, and it worked out great. The smoked macadamia nuts were quite an unexpected twist that brought complexity to the table. 

CRISPY BACON ENROBED IN DARK CHOCOLATE ($15)

15/23

Bacon and maple is so passe. 

The new thing ─ we're praying this sparks off a trend ─ is deep-fried bacon encased in a dark chocolate shell. It was every bit like you'd imagine it to be ─ crisp, salty, caramel-like, with a tinge of char. 

We reckon it would make great beer food too, but you'll want a sturdier brew like a stout or amber ale for that.

And if you go order it, please do us a favour and nudge them to retail this during the CNY period too. Your relatives will thank you for it too.

 

CHOCOLATE RICE CRISPIES ($12)

16/23

With candied orange and meringue clusters, you can't really pass this off as a healthy snack, but if it eases your guilt a little, these rice crispies are low on the sweet meter. 

CHOCOLATE VANILLA MILK JAM ($10)

17/23

Don't say you're buying it for the kids. You'll be mopping up loads of it too. This vanilla-scented milk chocolate jam is so thick ─ the crunchiness keeps it from being cloying ─ that a thin smear goes a long way on toast (or even plain sandwich bread, really). Or have it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! 

CHOCORON ($3.50)

18/23

How do you make a chocolate macaron even more decadent than it already is? Seal it in a robe of dark chocolate that is.

While that sounded good on principle, it turned out to be really just another chocolate macaron, and a rather sweet one at that. Maybe you should save your calories for something else.

ALMOND BUTTER RUSK ENROBED WITH CHOCOLATE ($2.50)

19/23

You know how rusks are awesome dipped into milo or coffee, because they're a trifle too hard on the gums otherwise? 

Well these almond butter ones are just the right crunch, which makes them much better for snacking on their own.

SALTED EGG TRUFFLE ($28 for a box of nine)

20/23

THIS IS THE BOMB, GUYS. Just when we thought we were over the whole salted egg yolk craze, this came along and renewed our faith all over again. Something like that.

You get a whole, custardy ball of salted egg yolk in a gold-dusted dark chocolate shell. We loved the gau salty hit, and frankly, we were glad that this doesn't try to be another oozy salted egg yolk lava item.

Remember when we asked you to badger them to put this on the retail list for CNY? Please add this to your prayers too.

TEA-FLAVOURED CHOCOLATE BONBONS ($2.50 each)

21/23

We're really partial to tea-infused desserts, so these were pretty much up our alley.

There are four flavours to try: jasmine, earl grey, assam, and lapsang souchong.

The Jasmine version was a bit of a let-down as the aroma of the blossoms weren't discernible, and was too sweet on the whole. 

But thankfully, the Earl Grey had the signature melange of fruitiness and citrusy accents.

The Assam turned out to be our favourite of the lot, with a familiar teh tarik flavour.

The Lapsang Souchong bonbons were quite the treat too, really nailing that characteristic smokiness.

HOT CHOCOLATE YUZU WITH MARSHMALLOW CLOUD ($9)

22/23

We really wanted to like this, especially with that super cute cloud of house-made marshmallows. But we got walloped by the yuzu, which was too sour and threw the balance off-kilter.  

The drinks are handled by the floor staff, so that might explain why this one wasn't quite in line with chef's exacting standards.

HOT CHOCOLATE EARL GREY WITH CROISSANT CROUTONS ($9)

23/23

That mushroom soup-like presentation is simply adorable, and the flavours are right on the mark too. It's soothing to take in the lingering Earl Grey fragrance, those buttery croissant croutons are toasted sturdy for dipping.