Sugared & Spiced

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Chez Shibata Pâtisserie Salon de Thé Chocolatier

Address: 24 Ziyun Lu, near Zunyi Lu / 紫云路24号, 近遵义路
Tel: 5206-5671
Website: www.chez-shibata.cn
Price: Desserts 20~45 RMB, Drinks 23~38 RMB

Update: during my more recent visits, it seems like the quality at Chez Shibata has gone downhill. Messy presentation, mediocre flavors. Let’s hope it’ll pick up again.

Chez Shibata lured me back with their irresistibly beautiful cakes. Since my previous post, I have tried a few more of their creations:

Sunny afternoon at Chez Shibata

A specialty of the Chez Shibata Shanghai branch, La Venus, is a decadent chocolate mousse made from Araguani 62% dark chocolate. The smooth, rich, and slightly sour mousse envelopes a cube of vanilla bavarois and a scattering of crispy chocolate pearls and marinated cherries. The whole thing is then sprayed with red cocoa powder to create an elegant red coating.

La Venus, 46 RMB

La Venus cross section: chocolate mousse, vanilla bavarois, sponge cake, crispy chocolate pearls, marinated cherries, a thin tart base

The specialty dessert from Chez Shibata Nagoya branch, the Éclair au Caramel Beurre Sale, is an elongated puff pastry filled with caramel cream, brushed with a glistening caramel glaze, and topped with three pieces of Philippe Olivier butter and a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt. When I first met this eclair, I wasn’t too keen on the idea of eating three solid cubes of butter, Philippe Olivier or not. Then I took a bite. I could feel the butter and sea salt pressing softly against my upper palate, the luscious caramel cream came rushing into my mouth as I sink my teeth deeper into the puff pastry, and then the whole thing melted together. It was a blissful moment of perfect union.

Éclair au Caramel Beurre Sale, 28 RMB

Caramel cream filling

The non-specialty items at Chez Shibata are also worth a try. The tarte au citron achieves a delicate balance between sweet and sour, and the texture is gloriously thick and creamy. I recommend sharing this among two people as the flavor is very intense.

Tarte au Citron, 25 RMB

Creamy goodness…

The taer au chocolat is a three-tiered chocolate decadence. The top layer is a chewy chocolate/caramel/nuts mixture, the second layer a dark chocolate glaze, and the bottom layer a thick chocolate pate. An obvious choice for the chocolate lovers.

Taer au Chocolate, 30 RMB

Taer au Chocolat, top layer

Next on my to-eat list are the Mille Feuille Caramélisée, layers of flaky puff pastries sandwiching vanilla cream, and Colline, a banana cake wrapped in hazelnut mousse and coconut flakes. I will be updating as I try more of Shibata’s fun creations, you can also check my previous post for other flavors that I’ve already tasted.