Well i've been there twice. First time, the service suck to the MAX (cos i kena a bottle of grape soda spilled onto me by the waiter) but the 2nd was still decent. However, despite having quite a handful of serving staff around, the service in general was still not as prompt as i expected. Soooo let's just zoom into their desserts...

Stepped into Nectarie, you will be charmed by their array of tantalising desserts along the counter. And their plasma TVs, nonstop screening of their tempting cakes (it's like Dessert PORN lor!), will just make u drool and wanna grab a seat asap.

My favourites there were the mango strudel and the strawberry shortcake. Cubes of fresh mango with layers of crispy puff pastry and cream, yummy and yet not so guilt-feeling.. hahaha

As for the shortcake, I just can't resist the red glistening strawberries, esp LOTS of them. The sponge was really soft and whobbily with layers of cream/custard. Overall, it was satisfying without the feeling of a sugar rush overdose.

I strongly reccomend their gourmet teas especially the peony jade and pomegranate ruby. Smells heavenly....

It wasn’t merely a coincidence when the seven of us stepped into Nectarie Patisserie, fate has brought us together. The group of us; all dessert enthusiast, were looking for more after our previous encounter. Our eyes literally light up at the mention of desserts, our saliva flows at the thought of desserts, and our imagination run wild at the sight of desserts.

Just like the number 7, while some sees it as their lucky charm, others dismissed it as pure speculation. Things could gone either way, and our adventure was just the same. Some people could have feel that the place was great with its nice ambience and pretty cakes, while others might have given their verdict that it was crap and terribly expensive for the petite slice of cake. But for us, the company’s was all that matter, even though the cake didn’t exactly deliver, to our lofty expectations.

We were supposed to be in Seventh Heaven, but that failed to materialise, & we found ourselves in Nectarie instead. While the core of us were the original members behind this, we found new friends who shared our common interest.

Choices. Often people had to make their decision in an instant flash. Inside and outside. We were torn between both sides, until reality stuck. The sun had decided for us.

The inside was a long narrow streak, quite unlike what you’ll normally see. The use of mirror and glass to elongate the place, plus the tall table and chairs were clever, and necessary.

We started with the Pistachio white chocolate ($7.50) eagerly, egged on by one of us who was a fan of pistachio. For the pistachio purist, this was unacceptable. The taste of the nut wasn’t strong enough, and the whole cake was sweet. However for the neutralist, the cake was not bad. The green layer did taste more like kaya than pistachio, but the cake was very smooth, i like the thin layer of raspberry jam which contributed to the sweetness of the cake. Althought some might have felt the cake was too sweet, but personally i like the overall subtle taste.

We favoured the Parfait of dark & white chocolate ($7) over its chocolate cousin, the double chocolate mudcake. There was dark chocolate, white chocolate, and the rather chewy layer. Everything seemed perfect, chocolate with chocolate is after all a fail-proof option. But somehow, the whole dessert couldn’t click, something was amiss.

Whether the Granny smith apple crumble ($6) was created by the granny or not, we do not know. But what we know was the crumble skin was crispy and flaky. Served warm, this dish wouldn’t disappoint you. The only gripe, the apple fillings were too little compared to the thick crumble skin.

I have been told that the Caramelized bananas with chocolate ($7.50) here is good. In fact, it ranked among the top 50 cakes by Sunday Times. Undoubtedly the best cake Nectarie has to offer, the banana and white chocolate mousse was velvety and rich. But that wasn’t the best part, eaten together with the crunchy base, the taste was divine. And all of us unanimously agreed it was the star.

If the caramelized banana with chocolate was the best, then the Dark chocolate Opera ($6) would definitely be on the other end of the score sheet, the worst. Even before we got started on this, our dessert enthusiasts already noticed the cake was too dry. Indeed, the texture and taste was almost dehydrated. Disappointing.

We can’t possibly neglect the unique combination of chocolate and coconut in the form of the Chocolate terrine with coconut mousse ($6). I’ve no idea what’s a terrine, my best bet would be chocolate layers. The whole cake was on the sweet side, just like how desserts are supposed to be. The chocolate actually covered the taste of the coconut, so the others were actually eating them layer by layer to discover the coconut mousse.

I have a love-hate relationship with the Tiramisu ($7). I adored them, and they are definitely listed as one of my favourite desserts. Thus I’m always easily satisfied by the simplest and often i ain’t a good judge between an excellent tiramisu and the normal one.

Nectarie’s rendition was unusual for the fact they didn’t have the the typical layers found in others. The sugar & coffee icing were very beautiful indeed. The finger biscuits soaked in kahlua and espresso were right in the middle of the mascarpone cheese. I thought they were too soggy, a fairly average one, just as we suspected.

Total bill was $73 for 7 people, 7 slices of cakes, & 7 beverages. The promotion of 50% off per slice of cake with each drink meant that we need to get 7 beverages to enjoy the discount for our 7 cakes. This is only applicable during weekdays 1-3pm. With most the drinks fairly expensive, it made it seems like we were still paying for the cake, only that it came with a “free” drink.

I’ve noticed one thing, most of the cakes are decorated with raspberry dips on the white plate which made the whole dessert looked pretty. But while it’s nice as a decoration, to have it on every plate of dessert is a tad too much. Simple is beautiful. Yes?

Nectarie Patisserie actually wasn’t that bad, their desserts were generally okay, but for the prices you are just expecting something more, and they failed to come up with that x factor. The ambience is nice. Check. The cakes are pretty. Check. But somehow the taste failed to surprise us. I ain’t sure whether i’ll go back again, but for you people who hasn’t been there, this might just be one cool place to check it out, once.

You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!

nectarie hs a wide range of cakes and pastries to choose frm. It looks nice and cute to be eaten but taste wise is a let down. It was not very bad but on the average side. The only selling point is the display and presentation of the cakes. I have tried 3 types of cakes so far. They are the Milk Amaretto truffle, choc mudcake n dark and white parfait. The first two is quite ok but the latter was a let down. The mousse is sticky n not smooth.

Service wise u will have to depend on ur luck. If u r lucky, u will be served by a friendly staff. If not, all the best!

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*

Probably won't be heading back there again. Perhaps the shop would do better with customers in a semi-drunk state who aren't so particular about the quality.

head on to my blog post here for more pictures

One of my favourite dessert places around! Been there just once and I've been dreaming of a second visit ever since. On a friday night, served by a chirpy waitress...People watch was what I did for the most part of the night, pretty good feeling it is, sitting in a glass house (at least it felt that way!) watching the world roll by.

Nectarie's got a good view of the clubs opposite. Nice ambience.

My order of Caramelised Bananas with Chocolate ($7) topped with rum & raisin ice-cream ($4). The cake's got a creamy mousse layer on top, sandwiching the caramelised sliced bananas between the mousse and chocolate biscuit base. I love the biscuit base best, it's got a "weetabix" bite to it. Utter delicious! The rum&raisin had no hint of alcohol to my disappointment. Very normal ice-cream however.

I'll be back for more of their other delicious looking cakes.

http://thefoodchapter.blogspot.com/2008/10/nectarie-boat-quay.html