[Review] Gateau Chocolat Cake from Ken's Cafe Tokyo

Last Tuesday, we were so fortunate to be invited to a pre-launch exclusive tasting of The Gateau Chocolat Specialties from the acclaimed chocolatier Ken's Cafe Tokyo.

With such beautiful packaging and great taste, we highly recommend this as a Christmas gift. Below are our 5 reasons why!

1) Limited Quantity

Requiring a 3-month waiting time for pre-orders in Japan, this award-winning Gateau Chocolat Cake now available in Singapore! It is gluten-free and uses specially selected high quality grand cru chocolate. During the tasting session held at Watanabe Coffee at Shaw Centre, we discovered not only the deep flavours in the chocolate itself, but also the richness, sweetness and bitterness brought out by a unique processing that was devised to let us enjoy this trinity of tastes. 

We learnt that in Japan, The Gateau Chocolat Specialties are only produced exclusively in the kitchen of Ken's Cafe Tokyo. And for the first time in Singapore, this limited production delicacy will be handmade, one by one, in the kitchen of Watanabe Coffee by their very own chef who studied under Chef Kenji Ujiie, the founder of Ken's Cafe Tokyo, on site in Japan.

2) Award Winning

Starting from 1 Dec 2018, Watanabe Coffee will be selling The Gateau Chocolat Specialties in a limited quantity of 20 cakes per day for both dine-in and takeaway. We believe that this limit is to ensure that the quality of the product is maintained.

Indeed, the gateau chocolat was selected by Tablelog as Japan’s No. 1 chocolate store. This award winning chocolate was also the winner of The Japan Sweets Award 2016, category “Top 50” chosen store and winner of the Japan Gift Award 2015, “Tokyo Prize”.

We heard that many discerning chocolate afficionados have found Gateau Chocolat Specialties from acclaimed chocolatier Ken's Cafe Tokyo to be a luxury chocolate cake. No wonder it is worth the 3-month wait!

3) One Cake, Three Tastes

Three different variety of textures, sensations and melt-in-the-mouth goodness can be explored with The Gateau Chocolat Specialties – as Terrine Chocolat at room temperature, Chocolate Ganache when chilled in the refrigerator and Fondant Chocolat when heated slightly in the microwave.

We had the opportunity to try all three types and found it to be a bespoke experience. More on that later.

4) Premium Ingredients

On further enquiry, we also learnt that the chocolate is made from Valrhona Grands Crus de Terroir, Arguani 72% & Echire Unsalted butter from France.

For chocolate lovers, Valrhona chocolate needs no introduction as it belongs to the chocolate elite. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the world of luxury chocolate and not able to distinguish the differences between a Godiva chocolate and a Guylian Belgian chocolate, you may wish to know that Valrhona is a French premium chocolate manufacturer based in the small town of Tain-l'Hermitage in Hermitage, a wine-growing district near Lyon and is one of the leading producers of gastronomic chocolate in the world.

In Venezuela, the birthplace of cocoa, Valrhona had selected and combined several cocoas with rare aromatic power, born from the contrasting lands between the Caribbean coasts and the Andes mountain range. From its strikingly bitter essence, Araguani 72% offers a rich and complex aromatic profile featuring warm notes (raisins, chestnuts) and hints of licorice.

Our everyday chocolate is not in the same universe as Valrhona, which has subtle and complex flavors far beyond it. This is food for the Gods and ranks up there with the likes of Teuscher chocolates. If Valrhona were a luxury watch, then it certainly belongs to the top tier brands such as Patek Phillipe, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet and Grand Seiko. It's not even your everyday Rolex.

There is also no flour, no alcohol, no added flavourings. Just pure unadulterated bliss for chocolate conoisseurs.

5) Our Verdict: Moist, Rich and Simply Decadent

As mentioned, we had the opportunity to enjoy the chocolate cake in three different textures. The chilled texture was like a ganache Au Chocolat, while the classic option at room temperature had a moist and rich texture like a terrine Chocolat. When heated up, it becomes a chocolate fondant. We also had the chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream, raspberries and blueberries, as well as a sprinkling of cacao nibs and cacao powder.

This chocolate cake was reminiscent of the highly acclaimed Teuscher or Laurent Bernard Chocolatier and best accompanied with Watanabe's signature brew coffee.

Watanabe's Signature Coffee

On a side note, Watanabe's signature coffee is also so good that you don’t need to add any sugar or milk. It is lightly aromatic and has a perfect balance between astringency, acidity, sweetness and bitterness. It makes you just want to savour the pure coffee on its own as to add milk or sugar would be to ruin its purity.

This divine offering of premium chocolate and artisan coffee is a potent combination and sure to delight anyone looking to relax after some Christmas shopping over this festive period. This is food for the Gods and one of the most decadent, indulgent, bespoke experiences you can find this festive season.

Product Description

• Name of Product: The Gateau Chocolat Specialties
• Net Weight: Whole cake (280g)
• Price w/gst: $48.15
• Dine in: $8++ per slice
• Ingredients: Chocolate, Egg, Echire unsalted butter, Granulated sugar/ Emulsifier (derived from soybean)
• Best Before: Lasts for 3 days at room temperature (below 18°C), for 2 weeks in the refrigerator (below 10°C)

WATANABE COFFEE

350 Orchard Road
#01-01 Isetan Scotts Shaw House 
Singapore 238868

Tel: 6235 0608

KEN’S CAFÉ
http://www.kenscafe.jp/

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