Laurent Bernard Chocolatier, Portsdown Rd, Singapore

While I was back in Singapore, a good friend took me to this dessert place at Portsdown Rd. I was pretty fascinated cos it's located in a rather out-of-the-way yet very charming place, nestled in an extremely old estate where former black-and-white colonial houses were located. The name of the dessert place: Laurent Bernard Chocolatier.

We ordered the chocolate tart, and we had wanted to try their chocolate souffle. However, the chef wasn't in that day to make the chocolate souffle, so we settled for their black forest cake instead.

I must say I was impressed by their chocolate tart. I've tried chocolate tarts before, but this one really stuck in my mind. I was expecting ... well, chocolate on a tart, and was wondering what the fuss was about this particular chocolate tart. Then ... I took a bite, and I knew why my friend had driven all the way here to treat me to this chocolate tart!

It wasn't just any other chocolate tart! The tart shell was unusually crisp and there was a layer of caramel between the tart bottom and the layer of chocolate that gave it that extra oomph! I liked it so much, I went to their outlet at Takashimaya, Orchard Rd, to get another one before the end of my stay in Singapore :)

Black Forest cake ...

A nice little courtyard behind the eatery ...

Some old buildings in the vicinity reminiscent of the black-and-white colonial bungalows ... they now house art studios, small businesses etc ... very charming ...

Directly opposite Laurent Bernard Chocolatier was Colbar, which I'm told is pretty popular due to its very retro interior (unfortunately, I was caught up with looking around and forgot to snap pics). It reminded me of what our old classrooms were like in the 1970s.

From the outside, it sure looked like our local neighbourhood provision shops (or "mama" shops) in the 1970s.