D'zerts Cafe at 30 Jalan Pari Burong - Revisited with family

The Occasion - Revisit D'zerts Cafe in 2014

I brought my family - Bob, Graceful Gracious Grace & my MIL to revisit D'zerts Cafe this year to savour the delectable desserts at D'zerts Cafe at 30 Jalan Pari Burong, tucked away in the eastern part of little island Singapore. 

D'zerts Cafe is helmed by Chef Lemuel Tay & his dad Mr Tay Yong Seng who is an Engineer by training. Tay Yong Seng and Lemuel Tay is a father and son partnership on D'zerts Trading Pte Ltd - the company that operates D'zerts Cafe at 30 Jalan Pari Burong. Tay Yong Seng used to be an Electronic Engineer with SingTel for 25 years before he left to set up YS Travel with his wife, organizing tour packages to Batam, Malaysia, SE Asia region for SMEs, corporate companies, families, church groups, grassroots organizations. 

IT trained Lemuel Tay worked as a Chef with the Navy for four and a half years before he decided to strike out on his own to pursue his passion and love for creating and developing uniquely different, out of the ordinary pastry and desserts.

(Note *Not much has changed except that the Resident Chef featured in my feature write up for D'zerts Cafe when they first started in 2013 - Pastry Chef Yvette, has since left D'zerts Cafe to start her own Cafe called Hatter Street at 212 Hougang Street 21.**) 

Today D'zerts Cafe is growing strong with their regular customers coming in by the dozens, mostly families with kids, young couples on a busy Sunday afternoon, simply to savor the new menu & delectable desserts served here at D'zerts Cafe. 

The Ambience 

Decorating the entrance of D'zerts Cafe are wooden crates stacked neatly in staggered layers with fresh herbs & spices growing out of them - this makes for an edible garden and renders D'zerts Cafe pretty self-sufficient.

Hot Foods on The Menu 
Apart from the selection of freshly made desserts & cakes, D'zerts Cafe also expanded their menu to include hot foods - 

• Pasta such as Aglio Olio, Linguini with cream sauce & mushroom or chicken, 
• Soups such as Mushroom soup, 
• Sandwiches such as Chicken Ham & Cheese Waffle Sandwich.

Tucked away next to the gelato counter is the merchandise shelf where D'zerts Cafe retails Tupperware products.

Beverage Galore 
Besides the usual Espresso, Long Black, Flat White, Latte, Cappuccino, Mocha, Hot Tea, Iced Tea, Hot Chocolate, Ice Chocolate, D'zerts Cafe also serves up Italian Sodas in various flavors - Lychee, Strawberry, Green Mint. 

Besides all these D'zerts Cafe also serves Affogato - which essentially is a Classic espresso & gelato float. 

The Gelato Selection 
One thing to note - D'zerts Cafe is closed every Monday when Mr Tay & son Chef Lemuel Tay will spent the entire day making the gelato from scratch. Currently at any one time D'zerts Cafe serves up to 10 flavors made using natural fresh ingredients & real fruits.

The Desserts Selection 

Customers can choose from a selection of Artisan cakes & tarts : 

• Apple Crumble
• Mango Passion
• Lychee Heart 
• Bailey's Chocolate Mousse
• Salted Caramel Cheesecake 
• Salted Caramel Sauce**
• Earl Grey Caramel Sauce ** 

(**sold in limited quantity to ensure freshness - due to popular demand from customers)

• Lemon Dancing Meringues
• Seventy Fifty-Six
• Salted Caramel Seventy Fifty-Six
• Matcha Latte 
• Hazel's Delight 
• Chocolate Indulgence 
• Opera Cake 

• Tiramisu
• Kahlua-misu

Take a peek at our Dessert Panacea to satisfy our sweet tooth during this lovely sunny Sunday afternoon:

Mocha - warm brew with beautiful foam on top, and a dash of chocolate syrup at the base. 

Creme Brulee - lovely silky smooth, creamy texture & a melt in your mouth consistency with a mildly sweet lightly eggy flavor, and a crisp caramelised top scorched cover. I am an avid lover of Creme Brulee & is pretty adamant that a great Creme Brulee must be smooth, creamy, eggy & mildly sweet. D'zerts Cafe certainly makes one of the more unforgettable ones. 

Mango Passion - top layer is a lightly sourly tarty mango gelatin layer followed by vanilla mousse layer, resting on a thin Josconde layer followed by Mango mousse resting on final Josconde layer. All of D'zerts Cafe cakes come with a Josconde Sponge which has almond nuts blended into the sponge to give it a nutty taste.

Can't decide whether to drink Matcha or Latte, yet want to have your cake and eat it ? Well you can have them both in a cake at D'zerts Cafe. The Matcha Latte - made with green tea from real green tea bags that are extracted by lightly steaming the green tea, and the extract is then blended into mousse. The layer of Matcha mousse is thicker than the sponge and has a melt in your mouth texture that taste like green tea. All of D'zerts Cafe cakes come with a Josconde Sponge which has almond nuts blended into the sponge to give it a nutty taste.

D'zerts Cafe is located at 30, Jalan Pari Burong, S(488696)
Tel: 64486707
Opening Hours: 
11 am to 11 pm, closed on Mondays 

DONQ at Takashimaya Food Hall - The Beginnings & Origin, The Milestones, The Bakery & Pastry Chefs, The Breads Buns Tarts

The Beginnings and Origin of DONQ 

DONQ was established 108 years ago in Kobe, Japan. On 8 Aug 1905 Founder Motojiro Fujii opens Fujii Bread in Hyogo Ward, Kobe Japan. In 1947, DONQ was established. 

The third in succession to the company - Yukio Fujii assumes the company in April 1947,  and begins DONQ in Sannomiya, Kobe. 

  

In 1954, Yukio Fujii attended lectures conducted in Japan by French Professor Raymond Calvel from the French National School of Milling and Grain Industries, and Yukio Fujii became fascinated with French Bread. Yukio Fujii engaged Professor Raymond Calvel as his mentor and teacher and underwent training under the latter, after which Yukio began producing French breads in his bakery, choosing to specialize in French breads including Baguette, Croissant, Pain de mie, Brioche and so on, while yet still selling some original Japanese inspired bread like Anpan.        

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Raymond Calvel (born 1914/1915 – 30 August 2005), a Bread Expert and Professor of Baking at  École Nationale Supérieure de Meunerie et des Industries Céréalières (ENSMIC) in Paris, France, was credited with creating a revival of French-style bread-making. His key research interest was on the improvement of bread-making techniques, and he did in depth studies on comparing the differences between European and American wheat flour. Raymond Calvel played a key role in the development of the Autolyse, a hydration rest early in the mixing and kneading process designed to relax gluten in the dough and simplify the kneading process. This serves to render the dough more expandable, hence simpler to mould into shape. Raymond Calvel acted as advisor to the Bread Bakers Guild of America during its founding and early competitive efforts in the early 1990s. He wrote the book Le goût du pain (translated into English in 2001 as The Taste of Bread) as a summation of his work.

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In May 1957, the Kobe Sogo store is established. (The first shop opened in a Department store).

In April 1965, French bread artisan, Philippe Bigot was invited to Japan, and French ovens and other machinery were imported for the first time to sell authentic French Bread in Kobe. 

Interestingly the bakery changed its name in 1966 from Fujii Bread to DONQ which is derived from Don Quixote, a character in the book <<Don Quixote>> by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes due to the fact that Yukio Fujii has a personality that resembles that of Don Quixote. 

In May 1966 DONQ Tokyo Co., Ltd is established and in August 1966 the Aoyama store is established in Tokyo. 

In June 1968 Sapporo Store is established whilst in August 1969 Nichifutsu Shoji Co.,Ltd is established to manage the DONQ Group's Trade affairs.

In February 1970 DONQ Nagoya Co., Ltd is established. In February 1970, Kyoto, Kita-shirakawa store is established. 

In May 1983 the Johan Store is established (First Johan Store).

In May 1985 DONQ (Hong Kong) Ltd is established, with Hong Kong Sogo becoming DONQ's first overseas store. 

In March 1991 DONQ (Taiwan) Ltd is established.(80 years since the formation of Taiwan).

In March 1993 Dominique Geulin Co., Ltd is established. 

In 1994 Mini-croissant Popularity Explosion 

The mini-croissants are a brainchild of the Sapporo Sogo Store. The new in-store pay-by-weight system becomes extremely popular with consumers.This system expanded from the Sapporo Johan store across the country. Mini-one is still a popular brand up to this day. 

In February 1996 Received 4th place for Japan in the 3rd Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie Viennoiserie category (Team Leader- Hiroki Sato), Baguette & Specialty Breads category (Jun Tamaki).

In February 1999 Received 3rd place for Japan (Team leader- Koichi Ezaki) 

In March 2001 DONQ Co.,Ltd celebrates its 50th Anniversary. 50th Anniversary Commemoration Project (Commemorative Thesis/Symbol Mark Recruitment/"Book of Pastries"/Commemorative publication) 

In April 2002 Wins 1st Place for Japan in the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie Baguette and Specialty Breads category (Naohiro Kikuya) 

In 2004 Fumio Tomochika assumes the office of Company President. 

In 2005 DONQ commemorates 100 years since its foundation. 

In 2009 DONQ (Shanghai) is established. 

In 24 April 2012, DONQ (Singapore)Pte Ltd is established.      

The Scratch Philosophy at DONQ   

Japanese French Bakery DONQ does not fail to draw the crowd at its Takashimaya outlet at B2-03 since its opening on 24 April 2012, with its amazing delectable spread of custard tarts, gourmet buns, bread, baguettes, pastries, both as feast to the eyes as well as to the palate. Now DONQ is really big in Japan, boasting of more than 180 outlets to date, and has its humble beginnings in Kobe back in 1905. 

The philosophy of "SCRATCH" - The bread craftsman at DONQ have the technology cultivated through a history that spans more than 100 years. In order to maximize of the flavor of flour from kneading powder to baking, we at DONQ completes the process no matter how much time it costs us.  This method is called "SCRATCH", and we believe that is the best method.

The Bakery 

The Bakery & Pastry Chefs 

Daily the Bakery & Pastry Chefs at DONQ churns out more than 100 types of tarts, buns, bread, pastries, using authentic, finest, freshest ingredients imported from Japan. 

The Breads, Buns, Tarts

The breads, buns, tarts range from savory to sweet, and portion sizes are pretty large. One unique feature to note about DONQ breads and buns is the presence of innumerable air pockets that makes the bread so fluffy and tasty. There are so many flavors to choose from and try out you'd never ever gonna get tired of chewing on DONQ breads, buns and tarts. Personally, I do not have any favorite flavors, because I find all of them deliciously satisfying. But if you must try I would recommend the custard tarts !

DONQ Bakery is located at :

391 Orchard Road, 

Takashimaya Food Hall, 

#B2-03 Ngee Ann City, 

Singapore 238873 

Opening hours: 10:00am – 9:30pm (Daily)

D'zerts Cafe at 30 Jalan Pari Burong - Movie Combo

Movie Combo - To make the popcorn mousse, Chef Yvette pop the popcorn in house at the kitchen then crushed the popcorn into bits. To the crushed popcorn bits are added milk, cream, egg, sugar, gelatin to make the popcorn puree. The concentrated popcorn puree is then added into the mousse. As for the Coke flavored cream, Chef Yvette reduce the Coke flavor into an extract by steaming the Coke, then incorporate the Coke extract into the whipped cream. 

Food Tasting Notes – Movie Combo mousse tastes distinctly like popcorn, is lightly eggy, custard-like in texture and is lightly sweet. The light brown color cream on top is made from Coke that is condensed and whipped into the cream and tasted like mildly flavored Coke. 

D'zerts Cafe is located at 30, Jalan Pari Burong, S(488696)
Tel: 64486707
Opening Hours: 
11 am to 11 pm, closed on Mondays 

D'zerts Cafe at 30 Jalan Pari Burong - Guinness-misu

Guinness-misu - The sponge fingers are made at D'zerts Cafe kitchen so there is quality control. Pure plain-flavored sponge fingers are dipped in Guinness Stout for 30 seconds till they are soft and soaked up in the Guinness Stout flavor, then placed as the base layer, they are then topped up with mascarpone cheese mixture, followed by a second layer of sponge fingers, finally topped again with mascarpone cheese, then dusted with cocoa powder. The second layer of sponge is dipped inside of Guinness for 30 secs as well. 

Food Tasting Notes : distinct taste of Guinness Stout, the fragrant after-taste of the Guinness Stout lingers on. The mascarpone cheese mixture is lightly flavored. Dark chocolate layer gives a chocolatety flavor. Double layer of Guinness permeates through the mouth.  Have your stout and cake and eat them all ! 

D Zert's Cafe is located at 30, Jalan Pari Burong,S(488696)
Tel: 64486707
Opening Hours: 11 am to 11 pm, closed on Mondays 

D'zerts Cafe at 30 Jalan Pari Burong - Salmon & Leek Quiche

Salmon Quiche with Leek – the salmon is first steamed, then the cooked meat is flaked and added to the circular crust base with quiche mix. Quiche filling consists of milk, cream, egg, salt, pepper, salmon meat. Quiche is baked at medium heat  for 25 mins. 

Food Tasting Notes : Salmon & Leek Quiche tastes lightly sweet due to the leek, and mildly salty. Salmon meat tastes fresh, moist. Quiche mix tastes creamy, buttery. Crust is sweet even on its own. Smell is eggy. 

D'zerts Cafe is located at 30, Jalan Pari Burong, S(488696)
Tel: 64486707
Opening Hours: 
11 am to 11 pm, closed on Mondays