Review of L'Atelier TiramiSu (The Central - Clarke Quay)

I've heard of L'Atelier TiramiSu before in the press and had even walked past its shop before but never managed to try any of its products. It will be difficult to miss this place as you walk from Exit F of the Clarke Quay MRT station towards The Central. By chance, I was in the area today and got tempted to try its tiramisu. However, due to the small shop space i.e. there is a limited number of tables, you might not be able to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea there if there are no available seats. As such, I observed that most people who came in did takeaways rather than eat-in. It would have been nice to have a bigger place but then again, it will probably make this quaint cafe-cum-confectionery become another Starbucks. When I arrived, all the tables were taken up but luckily, one of the tables' occupants left soon after so I managed to grab a place and enjoy a short break.

The highlight here is of course the tiramisu. Besides the classic version, L'Atelier TiramiSu also offers three other flavours i.e. lychee, matcha and dark cherry. As this was my first visit, I thought it was best to try the classic version which would have been a good gauge of the quality. The slice served here is actually quite big compared to many cafes which serve a very thin slice for around the same price. The benefit of this is that you can also taste the contrast between the biscuit fingers and the cheese. What struck me was how well these two layers were in harmony with each other. The biscuit fingers were flavourful yet not overly soggy so the texture matched the cheese which was also firm and just right in terms of its moisture content. It is not easy to achieve this because I tried making tiramisu before in the past and it was so difficult to get the balance and texture correct. There were also many occasions when I had versions of tiramisu where either one of the levels were good and the other mediocre. L'Atelier TiramiSu has indeed impressed me with its version of the tiramisu and I believe I'll be back to try the other flavours very soon.

In case you want to try all flavours at once, I saw a sampler selling for $15 where there were small cups for each flavour put together in a set. That might be a safe option to ensure that you don't end up buying a slice or the whole cake of a flavour you don't particularly like.

What also impressed me about this place was their drinks. I had ordered the chamomile & honey chilled tea and was expecting really straightforward like tea made from a tea bag and filled with ice cubes. However, a stone slab with three cups or rather two beakers and one cup was served and the friendly lady at the shop took the time to explain what the contents were. The smaller beaker at the side was the honey which is surprisingly clear rather than the yellow versions more commonly seen elsewhere. In the middle was the chamomile tea while the cup on the right contained ice cubes not made of water but rather the same chamomile tea in the middle! According to the lady, this is to prevent the dilution of the tea when the ice melts and I thought that it was quite impressive that they took pains to prepare this version of the ice. I've had similar experiences when I was in Japan recently when the freshly-made fruit juice I ordered came with ice cubes made from the same juice and the aim was to prevent dilution of the drink but in Singapore, I've not encountered this until today. As such, I was pleasantly surprised that this cafe actually went to the trouble of doing this. Seeing the beaker also brings back memories of my schooling days because it has been more than 10 years since I last saw or touched one during science experiments so it was fascinating to see it being used as a tea holder this time.

As for the taste of the tea, I thought that it was a good choice against the tiramisu which was rich thus left a lingering taste in the mouth. The tea offered a refreshing sensation and was a really good palate cleanser in the sense that the aroma went straight to the nose to clear the alcohol left behind the tiramisu while the taste removed any lingering richness by the cake. The honey was not overly sweet too so I thought it was a great combination. Next time, I'll have to try other beverages and see how they match up against the tiramisu.

On the whole, it looks like a lot of thought has been put into this place because despite being small, the quality of its food and drinks is pretty impressive and service is rather good too. The only thing is, due to the limitations imposed by its size, there is a likelihood that people who pop up during the weekend will likely not be able to dine in and enjoy the ambience while the mall where it's located at is simply too quiet during weekdays. I hope that it continues to stay in business for a long long time and serve delicious tiramisu at affordable prices with nicely-crafted beverages.