La Petite Boulangerie by My Selection

Yet one of the few places that have been making its way around social media these days. Located at the ground level of a mixed-use development named Studios @ Marne at Marne Road just a short walk away from Farrer Park MRT Station, My Selection is a furniture and home accessories shop that has a cafe element as well in its operations. Whilst most of its space is dedicated to the retail section, the cafe, named La Petite Boulangerie,occupies a small spot at the back of the entire shop. Primarily meant as a takeaway kiosk of sorts, La Petite Boulangerie does have a small dine-in area that comprises of two two-seater tables for those that intend to enjoy their bakes on the spot. Working with a French pastry chef to develop the recipes for the bakes served here, the highlight at La Petite Boulangerie would be their Merveilleux — a French meringue-based dessert that is not particularly commonly found in Singapore. Apart from serving up the Merveilleux, La Petite Boulangerie also serves up other viennoiserie such as croissants and escargots as well. Their escargots and Merveilleux do come in classic French flavours, as well as some locally-inspired ones to cater to the local palates as well.

La Petite Boulangerie serves up their Merveilleux in two different sizes here; there is the Mini Merveilleux, as well as a standard-sized Merveilleux — the former is being sold in sets of six pieces, one the latter is sold on a by piece basis. Whilst there were only three flavours of the Merveilleux being available when we made our visit (i.e. Hazelnut Praline, Valrhona Chocolate and Tropical Passionfruit), we note that they do serve up other more interesting flavours such as the Cheesecake and a Tiramisu flavour as well. Opting for the Hazelnut Praline Merveilleux, one can think of the item as a meringue-based cake that comprises of alternating layers of pastry cream and cake; all that whilst featuring chopped hazelnut all over the exterior. Slicing up the Merveilleux, we found that the layers of hazelnut pastry cream and meringue within — whilst the hazelnut-infused pastry cream is subtly sweet and nutty with a light and smooth texture, we really enjoyed how that first layer of meringue carried a similar consistency to the pastry cream despite being that of a baked meringue that is supposed to carry a crisp texture akin to that of rice crackers — absolutely delightful. Moving on to the thicker layer of the hazelnut-infused pastry cream in the middle, the meringue layer at the bottom carries a slightly more crispy texture than the one atop; provided a variance of textures alongside the chopped hazelnuts which gives a good crunch.

Despite being a simple operation in terms of the size of its dine-in space and the number of items that they have to offer, La Petite Boulangerie feels like a spot where there seems to be a lot of care and detail placed into bringing the patrons an experience unique to themselves. Not only are they seemingly attempting to bring the Merveilleux to the masses, they have also told us how they have tried to tweaked the recipes to align with what local consumers typically would prefer (i.e. less sweet). Their bakes do come with quality in mind; all of which pretty well-executed — all that in a great environment to chill in and get some solitude from the hustle and bustle. Not sure if they would be continuously innovating to create more flavours that would resonate well with the local audience, but their efforts and passion for the craft, as well as serving their patrons the very best — all these could be easily felt; a spot that is worth making the trip down for!