Tampopo Deli: Sweetness in Moderation.

Written by Mu Yao
You know boring Wednesday afternoons. Those lazy, hot afternoons where all you want is to laze about reading the paper or doing something totally mindless instead of remembering all these little things when you're reviewing food. Oh well, this is my first official food review here, so here goes.


I heard about the rave reviews towards the cakes and puddings from this pretty nice little gem at the basement of Liang Court. So, being the very opportunistic me, I took advantage of my friend's treat and conveniently chose this place where I could do this review. (thanks edwing!)

I initially expected this place to be as elaborately decorated as its sister restaurant, Tampopo (located upstairs). The images of those cute little wooden huts and tacky cute giant japanese cut outs were not to be, but instead were replaced with a fairly clean and almost clinical, fuss-free black and white ensemble. Oh well, who cares if there's good food right?


Taking a quick look at the place, I found they do sell some pretty expensive looking bento set lunches besides the assortment of confectionery items sold fresh from the busy bakery. I soon quickly dismissed those, thinking that those were inferior in value compared to the bentos sold at the nearby japanese supermarket, Me-Di-Ya. I was here for the cakes anyway. Looked nice, at starbuckish prices. Hopefully it'll be better than Starbucks cakes (they make the most mediocre cakes for un-mediocre prices anyway.)


So, the food.



I first tried the Milk Tea Pudding ($3.20) which I found to be pretty good, if not the fact that it got a little too sweet at times. You know, the kind of sweetness that's nice at first, but makes you kinda sick and sian of it after awhile. Like a baby pink hello kitty doll. Texture was smooth, but i certainly thought the packaging could be improved - then again, I didn't expect much .







I tried the famed cream puffs ($2.60) next. Well, it was pretty much decently sized (compared to the other pastries on offer), to say the least. But what was more surprising was the very pleasant fluffiness of the pastry itself - very soft, like a pillow, but with a little faint crunchiness on the outside that just subtly, and barely held everything together. The custard cream that was inside was lovingly sweet as usual, but it was pretty light and well balanced with the slight saltiness of the puff pastry outside. I was also impressed with the consistency and texture of the cream - no air bubbles when you bite into the puff! At least I know they don't 偷工减料！





Last up was the "Magic" Pudding Cake ($6.00). It was basically a rehash of the cream puff, with a whiff of whipped cream on top placed on a more solidified custard body, sitting on top of a biscuit like base. The biscuit base (I think) provides a good contrast to the otherwise soft, jelly-like consistency of the whole 'cake', and it gave me welcome relief to eating the same custard cream again. (same taste, my tastebuds were really getting a bit gelak and sian of it). I suspect they use the same custard cream for almost everything - but strangely, this cake smelt a little sweeter though. Maybe its because they put some mysterious sweet liquid (reddish) over it, which I suspect maybe maple syrup. It tastes pretty sinful overall, but I couldn't taste the cake properly after being overwhelmed from the sweetness of the custard cream from the cream puff.

Thankfully, I think there's no GST or Service Charge (its bloody self-service, I'll kill them if they charge). Bill came to... aiya, count yourself, I'm a H1 math student!

Certainly, Tampopo Deli lived up to its reputation somewhat - good and pretty nice desserts, if not a little pricey for the type of ambience it offered. Good for a sit down with friends to seek refuge from a hot afternoon, especially after shooting, if you don't mind the no-frills vibe it gives. But of course, sweetness is to be taken in moderation - like its desserts. I personally won't mind coming back for more.


Overall rating: 7.5/10
Ambience: 5/10
Desserts: 8.5/10
Value: 6.5/10

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:

Date Visited: Wed, 14th April 2010

Address: 177 River Valley Road, Liang Court Shopping Centre, #B1-16

Contact No.: 6338 7386

Operating Hours: 11AM - 9PM Daily