Antoinette, Mandarin Gallery

The amazing dessert display at Antoinette always calls out to me on the few occasions that I'd find myself at the Mandarin Gallery. I made a plan to have desserts there after my birthday lunch but due to the delay that I wrote about here, I wasn't able to squeeze a visit here in.



Before entering the restaurant, you are treated to more baked goods. This set-up is brilliant as you can just grab and go. Although, I personally wouldn't do that, their pastries are quite expensive so you might as well sit in and enjoy the ambience.



The restaurant is designed to make you feel like you're dining in at a rich English man's house. What first came to mind is a tea room so it was quite understandable that at 2 in the afternoon, the place was packed; It's nearly time for high tea.



The menu isn't as extensive but I wanted to try so many things. Too bad Em-J just had something to eat before meeting up with me so all he had was a cup of hot chocolate.







I tried their mushroom risotto which was so good! The seemingly small serving was more than enough for me but I couldn't stop eating.



After ordering, we lingered outside looking at their desserts as we couldn't decide what to order. I finally settled on Antoinette while Em-J had Chloe.

Antoinette is a chocolate cake infused with earl grey tea. The cake wasn't too sweet and the earl grey tea complements the chocolate taste pretty well. It sits there with all its sheen, I almost didn't want to disturb its smooth texture.



The cherry-looking marble on top was a surprise as I initially thought it was hard candy. It turns out that its a raspberry sauce enveloped by gelatin, I assume. While a nice touch, I really didn't care much for it.



Chloe, vanilla sponge cake with Yuzu creme, I couldn't be sure with my description but that's what I think it was. I found this a bit too tart and that's from someone who loves key lime pie. Em-J liked it but I found the Yuzu flavor in the middle to be a quite strong. It also sits on a hard butter cookie, don't even bother trying to break it with your fork. Finish the dessert and eat it on its own.



Overall, while quite happy with what we ordered, we found service to be a bit lacking. It took us several attempts to have someone attend to us and considering how small the place is, it's did bother us a bit. When we got their attention, we asked for our desserts. They cleared the table but no dessert came. We had to call them again after about what felt like 10 minutes. The same thing happened when we asked for water.

Overall, I did enjoy my meal so I'm willing to overlook the poor service. :)