Black Sesame Tart Ciel Patisserie is one of the those names that those whom have been following the local F&B scene should find especially familiar — having first established their presence in their original shop space at Blk 124 Hougang Avenue 1 (near Lorong Ah Soo) since 2012, Ciel Patisserie has always been known as the hidden patisserie that is situated within the heartlands. There was a short period of time where Ciel Patisserie has had their second outlet; the now-defunct second outlet was situated Blk 146 Jalan Bukit Merah — that shop unit is now currently occupied by Hoang Hau Vietnamese, which is a concept that is run by the same folks behind the now-defunct Empress Porridge. Ciel Patisserie had recently announced the temporary closure of their Hougang space; a location which they had been sighted at for a decade — while there are days of which that Ciel Patisserie will announce the opening of the Hougang outlet for takeaway operations, Ciel Patisserie has pretty much since made its move to Thomson V One which is a short walk away from Upper Thomson MRT Station along the Thomson-East Coast Line. Ciel Patisserie takes over the former premises of the now-defunct Maison’s Bowl at Thomson V One; the space decked in shades of white, grey and wooden accents that is minimalistic yet tasteful. All food items available for patrons to order are all displayed at the counter; being a patisserie at heart, there isn’t much of a hot food option that Ciel Patisserie serves — the only item closest to being a hot food option at Ciel Patisserie would be the Quiche. Otherwise, Ciel Patisserie does serve up a wide variety of entremets, sliced cakes and tarts, as well as Madelines and a tiramisu cup. Beverages available at Ciel Patisserie includes sparkling tea sourced from Danger Close Beverage Company (these folks also do operate their own stall at Alexandra Village Food Centre), as well as coffee brewed from a Nespresso machine.
We recalled having been to Ciel Patisserie a couple of years back at their Hougang outlet and remembered that we weren’t quite impressed with the bake that we had went off that time. That being said, we had seen quite a number of posts on social media mentioning about their Black Sesame Tart — whilst we typically would like to try something outside of what most folks are talking about, we decided to stick to our preferences and ordered the Black Sesame Tart anyway; we just simply cannot resist a dessert that comprises of black sesame as the main element here. Based on the description mentioned in the description card detailing the elements of the Black Sesame Tart, the Black Sesame Tart features elements such as Sesame Frangipane, Sesame Cremeux, Baked Tuille and Charcoal Tart Shell. The entire tart carries a jet black appearance; the Sesame Tuille even contributing to the whole look of the tart giving it a rather gothic sort of vibe. Digging into the Black Sesame Tart, we did feel that the Black Sesame Tart gave us a better impression of what was left in our heads from the previous visit to Ciel Patisserie — the charcoal tart shell is does hold up much of the elements above pretty well, though crumbles softly as one digs in further. While the Sesame Cremeux comes all smooth and creamy with a consistent texture that was not too gritty or jelat, the Sesame Frangipane sits in between the charcoal tart shell and the Sesame Cremeux — this adds further texture to the tart, and gels all of the elements together. The entire flavour profile of the Black Sesame Tart is one that would appeal to that of black sesame lovers; this was pretty straight up black sesame on black sesame — just pure roasty flavours that leaves an alluring aroma behind after each forkful.
With so much competition in the F&B scene these days, Ciel Patisserie belongs to one of those rare breed of establishments that is still pretty much in existence after having set up shop since a decade ago — all that whilst still being true to their roots being that humble patisserie that is located within the heartlands. There might possibly be a time where Ciel Patisserie wasn’t particularly consistent with their food quality at one point of time several years ago, though we do feel that the quality of their tarts did seem to hit the spot this time round. Apart from trying out their Black Sesame Tart, we had also went for the Quiche; based on the description card detailing the elements included in the Quiche, the Quiche features chicken ham and mushrooms. Their Quiche comes with a fairly interesting aesthetic that sees quite a high puff pastry against its fillings — probably works better for light eaters considering how the serving portion is on the smaller side. We thought the Quiche was a little bit more average; the puff pastry being soft and somewhat lacked texture, while the filling was a little bit on the saltier side. Most of the bakes at Ciel Patisserie are priced around the same range of which that other establishments would price such offerings at — the cakes / entremets are mostly priced between $6 and $8. While Upper Thomson is a spot that is well-filled with cafes, Thomson V One / Thomson V Two are locations that have seen a high turnover rate over the years; a place that had always seemed to be a little bit more challenging for businesses as compared to the main stretch of Upper Thomson Road where Upper Thomson MRT Station is located at. Nonetheless, we do hope that the folks behind Ciel Patisserie have found a home here just like how they did with Hougang — no doubt a good addition to the Upper Thomson neighbourhood indeed.
