Laurent's Cafe & Chocolate Bar (formerly The Chocolate Factory)

It's a place where I can quietly read my book in the afternoon and sip tea, have a slice of well-done chocolate cakes.

On cold weather, the hot choc warms me.

I fell in love with this place since I first visited it.

I love its souffle too and don't mind the waiting time.

I have been there twice. I am a big critic on service, if i am paying you, please at least be nice. The servers are practically non-existent. No smile, no thank-yous, no response, no nothing basically. It is also too warm to sit outside, the inside is too small and you hardly have space to walk. the overall setting of this cafe and "bar" is not that appealing at all.
Having said that, the chocolate cake is passable, and reasonably priced. I wanted Apple Tart, but they are sold out. The chocolate puffs are passable too. right, i don't even want to mention the wine list.
Bottomline: Not crazy about this place, but if you want to try a place that sells beverages and dessert solely, and you have never been here, then try going ONCE. go back if you really like what you eat.

Laurent Bernard Chocolatier at Robertson Quay is definitely something you would not want to miss if you're in the area, and it's certainly a personal favourite amongst the many dessert places here in Singapore.

Chocolate Tart: Of course, no trip would be complete without meeting my first love. So here the chocolate tart continued to dazzle with its three layers of distinctive tastes and textures - delicious smooth dark chocolate, crunchy hazelnut praline feuilletine centre and crisp, biscuit-like pâte sablée crust. A best-seller surely.

Pleasure: A simplistic description would have it that this interesting creation is the milk chocolate variation to the chocolate tart, since it keeps the hazelnut praline layer and replaces the dark chocolate with milk chocolate ganache. I thought this was equally satisfying for a chocolate lover like me.

Choc Souffle: There's something amazing about Laurent's Chocolate Soufflé that leaves you smiling so widely even after having to part with more than seventeen dollars, a premium price surely when most soufflés I know go for about ten plus. The seductiveness of this expensive lady lies in the quality chocolate lying inside that protective bread coat, and the way the sour sherbet continues to tease your senses as you work your way through this fabulous dessert. Pour the vanilla cream in slowly, stirring the hot chocolate contents inside for maximum aphrodisiac pleasure. Even Aphrodite would be thrilled.

Strawberry Souffle: No other soufflé after the Chocolate Soufflé can do much to impress, and indeed the Strawberry Soufflé paled in comparison. After such strong cocoa, the raspberry essence was just not impactful enough. Either that or I was already in heaven drowned in chocolate.

Lesson learnt: Go for anything and everything chocolate at Laurent Bernard Chocolatier! Chocolate heaven indeed for any chocolate lovers or potential converts ;)
For pictures and full review, head on here.

Went back again for chocolate overindulgence =)

 

I really wanted my favourite Chocolate Tart again but for the sake of variety, Guanaja Chocolate Truffle ($7.80++) it was!

 

Absolutely no regrets at all cuz this was so moist and the ganache was impressive, very smooth with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

 

A kid was happily licking his ice cream cone next to our table and I’ve got a sudden craving for ice cream too, hah. Although there are quite a few flavours available like mango and caramel, the spirit of chocolate calls for Chocolate Sorbet ($4.50++) which totally satisfies with its deep and rich chocolatey flavour, mmm.

 

I wouldn’t know where to find the best chocolate sorbet in Singapore but at that moment, Laurent Bernard’s fitted the bill perfectly. It still does!

 

The Rum & Raisins Soufflé ($11.85++) was nice enough (read: boring), light and fluffy with a hint of rum. But the number of raisins was miserably miserly, about 6 just scattered on top for show?

 

This can’t hold a candle to the chocolate soufflé, the bestest one in my limited book of tried-and-tested soufflés so far.

 

For photos/reviews, do drop by www.myfoodsirens.wordpress.com =)

 

Stopping at the threshold of Laurent's, what first greeted us wasn't the service staff nor the "Plz wait to be seated" sign, rather it was the wafting aroma of to die for dark chocolate and like sailors to a siren's song, 5 adolescent guys were lured into the abyss, the dark abyss of sore throat inducing chocolate paradise.

Al fresco is definitely condusive for people watching, especially in this part of town where the young at heart wonder about in their hip get-ups and sassy clubbing attires but we decided upon a nice quiet air-conditioned indoor environment since this was the driest and imo hottest month in recorded history.

Creme Brulee - The cream was rich with a nice consistency but I felt the top layer of caramel was a little too burnt. Burnt carbon is a no no but overall still ok.

Pleasure - I wouldn't dare give it such a name if it wasn't good. Fortunately it was, with the layers of praline, hazelnut cream and milk chocolate. It brought me back to my childhood days where I was hooked on Kinder Bueno.

Warm Valrhona Choc Cake - Served with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream, I thought it was nice but would have preferred a crispier chocolate crust to contrast with the decadent warm valrhona within.  

Rum and Raisin Souffle - Unlike the rest of the desserts, we liked this because it was very light and eggy though I still prefer the chocolate souffle. 

Chocolate Souffle - A visit to Laurent's is never complete without sampling it's signature chocolate souffle. With it's smooth texture and bittersweet chocolate, it definitely has our stamp of approval. The raspberry sorbet was also good in quelling any developing dryness in the throat from digging into the chocolate souffle.

Service was not efficient and we were often left with empty cups.

One day on and I have actually developed a sore throat but given a choice to turn back time, perhaps this sore throat is well deserved.

Bon Appetit!

“A new British survey has revealed that 9 out of 10 people like chocolate. The tenth lies.” – Robert Paul

With that, the 4 of us (Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac, Elaine from Divine Essentials and Kaelyn from My Food Sirens) met up for after-dinner desserts at Laurent Bernard, Robertson Quay.

I’ll be first to admit that desserts never really been a my kind of thing but there is one type of dessert that never fails to go out of favour with my tummy, and that can only be – souffles.

Laurent’s version of the Chocolate Soufflé ($16.50++) was definitely to die for. chocolate The souffle tasted of good quality bittersweet dark chocolate. The accompanying raspberry sherbet perfectly matched the souffle, cutting the sweetness, in symphony.

While laurent does put a lot of emphasis on chocolates, there are other dishes on the menu that, surprisingly, does not come with chocolate. For example, the Strawberry Soufflé ($12++) that we had was equally up to the mark. However, one disappointing fact was that the first souffle that we arrived on the table deflated before we could go, “This strawberry souffle looks …” All of us, having had our fair shares of souffles, raised this issue with the waitress, who gladly offered a replacement. 30 minutes later, a replacement was served and oh boy, what a difference  30 minutes make! (Unfortunately, I only have the picture of the replacement. For pictures of the souffle the we sent back, please head over to My Food Sirens.)

Souffles aside, we ordered a cake and a tart to share. First up, we had the Pleasure ($9.80++) Unfortunately this failed to deliver. If you are a fan of “milk-tasting” chocolates, you wil most definitely like this! Having said that, I do like the way this dessert looked when it first arrived to the table.

The other tart we have was the Crispy chocolate tarte ($6.80++). Layered with hazelnut praline, dark chocolate and crunchy almond base.

For full review and photoset, please visit HungryEpicurean at http://www.hungryepicurean.com/

Came here in a small group. We had Pleasure, Warm Chocolate Cake with Ice-Cream, and something else that I can't remember. Pleasure is a big kit-kat chunk with some chocolate fudge and other condiments. It's decent; but if you don't like kit-kat, stay away from this one. The warm chocolate cake with ice-cream cost me almost $10 before tax, but packs a really good punch in terms of taste. The ice-cream is pretty standard (good thing actually) and it complements the cake rather well. The cake itself, though having a consistent texture, isn't layered too consistently. The 'lava' chocolate inside was clumped to 1 side. Nonetheless, this dessert was awesome. Service was decent - smiling faces and adequate water-refill reaction times. Decor was standard.

My girlfriend and i LOVE this chocolate bar.
Whenever she drove passed that place,
she never fail to takeaway a chocolate tarts.

I went back there several times and it never disappoint me
with it's chocolate tart & authentic hot chocolate.
Good for bringing your date on weekday night.
And on weekends, expect the service to be a lil slower.

For service wise, it's much worse last time.
But it's way better now.

Chocolate can somehow cure headache.

So, sink your teeth into the oh-so-sinful chocolates there!

Log Chocolate Cake ($7.8)– Tasted exactly like their black forest cake, minus the berries. The chocolate of was course of good quality and yummy.

Souffle with Rum & Raisin ($11.85)– Yucks. It was nice, light and fragrant at first. The rum was evidently in this dessert. However, after the “puffed up” part, what we had just below was; a wet and runny base instead of a light and moist texture. The taste of raw egg white was overwhelming. With the taste of rum, the end result was like the smell of algae. Fren A termed it as “chao qi” – “smelly green”.

2 scoops of Sorbet ($7.50)– The mango was delightful. The strawberry sorbet tasted like our local childhood preserved snack “shan cha”. We concluded that the sorbet was made with frozen fruit puree instead of fresh ones. A tub of frozen fruit puree was in the display fridge anyway.


Guanaja Truffle ($7.8) – Guanaja is a bittersweet chocolate of 70% cocoa of the Valrhona brand. Thus, it is fragrant and not too sweet. I like the dense& moist and not too spongy texture. Good. The best for the evening!

Bourbon Vanilla Tea ($7.00) – My favorite and usual tea whenever I visit this café. The colour of the tea is light, yet the taste and the vanilla fragrant is still intact even after a 3rd refill of water. Found this tea at TWG Ion! It's going at $22 a box. There is about 12-15 teabags (4got the actual number).

Black Coffee ($4.80) - Regular.

Suggestion: The menu is grimly. Time to change the menu since the paper is not even laminated.

Will return for desserts and tea as it is one of the better place for an after dinner hangout in that area.

*There is GST & Service Charges.

Perhaps I wanted a palate cleanser after tze char dinner (I know people usually eat something light and refreshing but I tend to crave for rich and heavy dessert even after a very heavy meal). Perhaps it was a natural progression for I heard friends talking about Laurent's several times this week. Perhaps I was stress about going to work on Mon although it was only Sat evening. Perhaps these are all excuses for I just want to spend more time with you.

A dear friend recommended the chocolate souffle ($16.50) and it was certainly great. The souffle was soft, fluffy and puffy so the rich chocolate taste came rather unexpected. We are so conditioned to expect rich flavour to stem from dense stuff so the juxtaposition of rich taste and light texture was fantastic. While you found the accompanying chocolate sauce too cloying, I found the sweetness coy.

We also shared the warm valrhona choc cake and the chocolate sauce oozed out generously. I found it too bitter while you think it was just right. I wanted my vanilla ice-cream outright sweet and creamy while you were satisfied with the bitter chocolate and easy-on-palate ice-cream. You like the coyness of this while I crave for desserts that you find too cloy.

You always prefer this while I prefer that. Perhaps it's good that we have just called the whole thing off.