Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Excuse me? What La Cure Gourmande?

[Media Invite]

I had never been to Paris, and the closest I had been would be Bali, and that's only because Bali sounded like Paris in Mandarin! So sorry for being so ignorant and so "mountain tortoise". When we got the invite from La Cure Gourmande, my mind went "erm... what's that?" I had to google and later found out that it is actually a famous french confectioner of sweets and traditional french cookies, with fancy names such as Navettes and Mantecaos. That sounded interesting and having a sweet-tooth myself, it was enough for me to haul the kids down for a visit after work!

Pre-packed chocolates with Almonds and Hazelnuts.
The kids got to try out some yummy chocolates!
So there were milk chocolate,white chocolate and dark chocolates to choose from.
I would usually not have any business walking pass all the "atas" boutiques on level 3 of Takashimaya, since everything would be too high class for me.  To have a boutique selling cookies and sweets between rows of fashion boutiques was kind of weird, but I guess the confectioneries definitely got class too! The friendly staff or "Sunshines" as they were called, introduced us to the many different types of cookies, cakes, sweets, caramels and chocolates, out of which many, their names I can't even pronounce properly (or remember now)! But I do know that all of them were made in France and flown in weekly to ensure the freshness!

I loved the filled cookies and there are quite a few varieties to choose from.
The chocolate-filled ones are yummy too. Much like giant "panda" biscuits.
Lemon-filled ones would go well with a cup of tea!
There are bite-sized ones that comes in a beautiful tin. Great for gifts!
There's even a special tin just to commemorate the opening of this flagship store and for SG50 perhaps.
Safe bets like artisan chocolates tasted delicious to me while many others such as the Calissons and spiced Navettes are probably acquired tastes. Although I wouldn't mind having some of those savory ones as snacks. I tried some spiced ones that reminded me of garlic bread, while others tasted like Indian cookies! It was definitely an eye-opener for me, and it was fun trying out the different types of confectioneries the store offers, and learning more about them too.

Madeleines I do know, and they come in a variety of flavors as well.
Super excited kids when told that they each get to choose ONE Choupettes each.
The Choupettes are also available in tins printed with the images of the founder's children.
Happy kiddos with their Choupettes (French lollipops) and the friendly "Sunshines"
Now the question is, will I return for more of these cookies? I am always price-sensitive hence I decided to check out how much these would cost me. The filled cookies were nice and I loved those with chocolate fillings, as well as those with raspberry or lemon jam! 6 big pieces of these filled cookies would weigh around 200g or $11, not exactly expensive if you compare them to high class macaroons but yet not cheap enough for our regular consumption. So the answer would be a yes, I wouldn't mind buying those filled cookies from France, albeit only on special occasions or whenever I feel rich!

Anyway La Cure Gourmande, may just be the cure to your sweet cravings!

Delicious artisan chocolates!
Lots of different flavored caramels.
As well as nougats with different fillings.
These are Navettes alongside the filled cookies etc.
There are some with chocolate chips too and they are all eggless.
These are the savoury ones. Quite unique I must say.
All the different cookies are displayed here for selection.
And this is how you select your cookies at $5.50 per 100g. Free tin for purchase of 900g.
Useful Information 

Address: Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Road, Takashimaya Shopping Centre, #03-09, S(238872)
Operating Hours: 10.00am –9.30pm daily
Telephone: 66842983

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