Chouquette

Whilst having a leisurely walk around New Farm we stumbled across Choquette. Though we had heard good reviews from friends, we had never tried it for ourselves.

There was not a lot of seating but the casual-eating layout allowed for communal eating with strangers along a bar type setup. It was about 12:30pm and the place was packed so we decided to take-away some of their delectable pastries.

After much consideration (indecisive us) we selected:

• Chocolate Tarte
• Pain au Raisins (Raisin Pastry)
• Pastry with apple filling

The Chocolate Tarte was very rich and chocolatey (as you'd expect) but was more gelatinous than we expected. It was still enjoyable but not the best chocolate tart we've ever eaten.

The raisin pastry was 'just ok' and perhaps slightly overcooked. We were a little disappointed as we fell in love with these things during our trip to Montreal.

 

The pastry with apple filling however was delicious and had just the right balance of light, crispy pastry and apple filling.

Having now tasted a few of the items on offer, I can understand why Choquette is so popular given the relatively limited pastry choices around town. Perhaps we will make our way back there again to try a few more...



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Chocolate Pavillion

Last weekend, we visited Westfield Carindale to check out their new wing. Not being a regular shopper at Carindale, I can’t really comment on what had changed. However, the only thing I can say is that it is starting to look a lot like Westfield Chermside.

Their new food court featured quite a number of restaurants and cafes. Since we have already had lunch, we decided to try out the dessert at Chocolate Pavillion.

Our first impression was that it was quite an impressive dessert bar with a ‘dessert train’ concept. However, upon closer inspection, there weren’t many dessert options on the train which was a bit disappointing.

There is a chocolate store at the front of the shop and some emphasis that they were selling Mary Chocolate from Brussels. Reading reviews online, some called it the ‘best chocolate in the world’. However, I didn’t get to try that and might check it out another time to see if it lives up to the hype.

We ended up ordering the Jaffa Dome ($13) and a Chocolate Butterscotch/Caramel frappe? ($7.50). Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get the exact name of the drink. Gosh, it sounds like I was rather disorganised that day.  :)

No doubt, the Jaffa Dome was rich and flavoursome - chocolate and orange are a perfect match.

Overall, the experience didn’t really ‘wow’ us. We found the menu items to be slightly overpriced and menu options quite repetitive (with minor variations). The service was alright and some staff was more attentive and friendlier than others. Would I go back again?  Hmm...maybe not.


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Chocolateria San Churro

Chocolateria San Churro is yet another chocolate cafe that recently opened up in Southbank. Each time I have walked past there has been a long line of people waiting for table.

I visited this chain in Melbourne a few years ago but wasn’t particularly impressed. However, I decided to give it another try as there was no line and I felt like something sweet.

We were seated almost instantly, with our orders taken shortly after. We ordered the churros for two ($13.95) and a passionfruit macaron ($2.50) .

The macaron was served almost instantly. I liked the two-tone colour on the shell. Unfortunately, that was where the goodness stopped. I found it to be quite dense, chewing and sickly sweet.

We waited for another half an hour or so before the churros arrived. Whilst not particularly photogenic the churros were crispy on the outside and ... actually they were just crispy. They were very thin so the soft inside didn’t really exist but they were quite delicious.

I quite like the churros, but found that the service could be improved. We overhead a few customers complaining about items not being served or waiting too long for their order.

It is worth a try, but I wouldn’t rush back.


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Meet Fresh Sunnybank Plaza

We heard of a new dessert shop opening in Sunnybank Plaza and decided to join in the craze. Yes, the queue was crazy and it almost became a traffic hazard in the middle of the shopping centre.

Meet Fresh is a Taiwanese Dessert franchise that has a few stores in Sydney. This is the first store in Queensland, which explained all the hype about it.

After waiting in the line for about 20 minutes, it was finally our turn to order. We were enticed by the promotional poster on the entrance and decided to share the ‘Supreme Mango Crushed Ice’ ($8).

The concept was simple: order, pay, get a buzzer, find a seat, buzzer go off, collect your dessert.

I must say that I was a little bit disappointed with the mango ice. There was too much ice and the mango tasted like it came from a can. I am a big fan of mango, so canned mango just tasted weird. :(

I will give this place another chance and return when the queue disappears to try their Taro Balls.


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