Henri Charpentier - Financiers & The Shortcake @ VivoCity [Singapore]

I sure hope I am not the only person in Singapore who had always mistaken the Charpentier in Henri Charpentier as Carpenter! Thankfully, I took a closer look at the signboard this time; if not, readers might wonder if am talking about a new dessert store.

Renowned for its little yet expensive French pastries known as financiers, some of you would be surprised that  originated from Japan even though it borrows the name from a famous 19th century French chef. 

Coming back to the bite-sized financiers, I first encountered them when a pop-up store appeared at Northpoint, outside Cold Storage and was tempted to purchase until I saw the price which was like more than S$2 apiece! Heck, it's like a few dollars gone in one mouthful and my big mouth can easily stuff 3-4 at one go.

Nevertheless, I was lucky to Alex who decided to give me a treat and of course I am going to miss this rare opportunity given that he is the kind who doesn't quite splurge on food except for maybe crabs. 

Cafe Latte - as many of you are aware, I am not that particular when it comes to Western style coffee but Alex likes it enough to return back the following week to the same branch and have another cup of cafe latte. For a dine-in cafe, however, I would have expected something non-disposable.

Financier - giving you a perspective on its size.

Turned out to be way beyond my expectation; dense texture with a crispy, caramelized outer layer that could be even nicer if we can give it a short session in the toaster. There's an amazing buttery flavour mixed in with a unique taste that turned out to be almond flour! Ingredients seemed simple enough, I guess; maybe I can try making a batch on my own. 

The Shortcake - said to be Henri Charpentier signature cake, it's a given that we must give this a try, especially when the financer is not likely to give us a fulfilling satisfaction given its miniscule size! 

What I didn't realize was that it cost S$10.20 a slice! 

Luckily, I am not the one paying for the food. 

Large strawberries that looked like they came from a storybook; they were sweet and complemented well with the light fresh cream and layers of soft sponge cake. So good, I would count it as one of the best strawberry shortcakes I have in recent times! 

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Address

1, Harbourfront Walk, 

#02-K4, VivoCity, 

Singapore 09858

Website

https://henricharpentier.oddle.me/

Pricing

Cafe Latte - S$6.40 a cup

Financier - S$2.50 apiece

The Shortcake - S$10.20 

(Inclusive of GST)