A Summer In Paris: Gorgeous French Desserts From Award-Winning Pastry Chef In VivoCity

There is always space for dessert. Especially when those desserts are from A Summer In Paris.

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Located on the first floor of VivoCity, this dessert parlour is as pretty as the cakes it peddles. The baby pink and Tiffany blue walls, coupled with the multi-coloured fabric flowers blooming from the ceiling, exude a Parisienne chic.

Together with marble counter-tops and gold-accented furniture, A Summer In Paris is an Instagrammer’s paradise.

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I couldn’t help but smile gleefully to myself as I surveyed the kaleidoscopic range of pastries lined up in neat rows behind the glass display. Full disclosure: I have a huge sweet tooth. Each pastry looked exquisite and almost too pretty to eat.

A Summer In Paris is helmed by Chef Yann Brys, who was awarded the highly-coveted Meilleurs Ouvriers de France. Just to give you an idea of how prestigious this award is, only a mere 200 have been given the title since the 1920s.

Having won all these accolades, there is already some pomp surrounding these delicate creations. With a dessert fork in hand, I was ready to indulge in these desserts and the inevitable sugar high.

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The sugar trail begins ironically with an apple, one of the healthiest things you can eat. Affectionately called Pompom (S$9.30), this hyper-realistic apple is one of the best sellers at A Summer in Paris.

The ‘apple’ looked glossy and shiny, very much like a Granny Smith apple you’d find in a supermarket. Filled with green apple cream and jelly with a citrus shortbread bottom, I couldn’t wait to try it.

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The green apple cream was unbelievably light and refreshing, with the acidity from the green apple cutting through the richness of the cream. Right at the core, we have a pistachio tea cake.

Dense and rich, this layer provided a good contrast to the airiness of the other elements. Additionally, the citrus shortbread had a good bite and texture, which rounded out the entire pastry.

Citrusy and light, I see why this cake is a hit amongst Singaporeans.

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Up next, we have this pink beauty, the Tourbillon Fruit’Thé(S$9.30).Tourbillon’ refers to those neat, elegant swirls on top of this pink delight created by Chef Brys in 2009. This particular method of piping is now used in patisseries worldwide.

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Similar to the PomPom, this pastry had clean and light flavours but with a berry and floral slant. The Tourbillon Fruit’Thé is made up of a fragrant citrus shortbread, jasmine tea sponge and a raspberry and grapefruit compote.

The pastry is then surrounded by a light jasmine tea mousse and lychee crémeux.

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I got soft floral notes from the pillowy jasmine tea sponge and a nice tartness from the raspberry and grapefruit compote. Each mouthful was a melodious mix of flavours and textures, from sweet to citrusy to acidic. The creaminess from the jasmine mousse also went well with the flaky, buttery citrus shortbread.

I can just imagine long afternoons sipping tea and nibbling on this sweet treat!

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This next one is a staple you’d find in most patisseries, the Tourbillion Lemon Tart (S$8.80). This is one of my personal favourites, and I always order one if I see it on the menu.

To many, the lemon tart is perhaps too basic a dessert, but I beg to differ. Deceptively simple, the lemon tart, at least for me, is the true test of any patisserie.

In true French fashion, the Lemon Tart from A Summer in Paris is a sweet darling, to say the least. It featured the same perfect tourbillion meringue swirls, and topped with a couple drops of lemon oil and zest. Its sides were also torched to a lovely golden brown.

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Instead of just using lemons, A Summer in Paris has incorporated yuzu into the curd and meringue. Yuzu has a much more muted citrusy note compared to the ordinary lemon, but yuzu is also more fragrant. 

This added a dainty floral note throughout the tart, which was different and refreshing.

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Another little twist to the traditional lemon tart is the inclusion of an aromatic coconut soft sponge.  Most lemon tarts would often just consist of the lemon curd and tart. I love anything coconut-flavoured, but I feared that it would overpower the lemons. 

Well, my fears were unwarranted. Not only was the coconut sponge light as air, but those intense coconut-ty notes were also nicely toned down. The bright and zesty lemon flavours shone through and surpassed my expectations, so it’s a huge win in my book.

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No dessert review is complete without assessing the chocolate section. The Choco’Dough (S$8.80) is great for you chocoholics out there. 

Shaped like a chocolate doughnut, this indulgent treat has a crunchy almond and milk chocolate bottom and an almond tea cake centre, all covered with milk chocolate mousse. The chocolate is further elevated by a lick of orange and mandarin marmalade. This has to be the ultimate milk chocolate treat.

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The Choco’Dough was certainly decadent and sweet. I wish I could appreciate it a little more but I’m more of a dark chocolate gal, so this was my least favourite of the bunch. Still, this would make an excellent dessert nonetheless.

When at a French patisserie, I think I should mention the most quintessential French dessert of them all: the macaron. As a macaron aficionado, I was intrigued when I saw what A Summer in Paris had to offer.

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Presenting: the Zanzibar (S$3 for one, S$11 for three), which came with a sprinkling of gold leaves.

This looks nothing like your normal macaron. Instead of two macaron shells, we had little chocolate macaron shells adorning a mound of dark chocolate ganache. 

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Luscious and smooth, the dark chocolate ganache was infused with ginger which accentuated the richness and bitterness of the chocolate. In contrast, the macaron shell still had a bit of crispy texture to them. It was quite an interesting interpretation of the macaron, appearance-wise. 


With such skill and expertise used to produce these exquisite creations, the pastries’ prices do run a little higher than usual. I’d say they are worth it and if you are feeling fancy, this is the place to be.

A Summer In Paris ticks all the French dessert boxes, and even if you don’t have a sweet tooth, I think you will still be able to enjoy the desserts.

Expected Damage: S$10 – S$20 per pax

Price: $ $

Our Rating: 5 / 5

A Summer In Paris

1 Harbourfront Walk, #01-13, VivoCity, Singapore 098585

Price
Our Rating 5/5

A Summer In Paris

1 Harbourfront Walk, #01-13, VivoCity, Singapore 098585

Telephone: +65 9813 8575
Operating Hours: 11am - 10pm (Daily)
Telephone: +65 9813 8575

Operating Hours: 11am - 10pm (Daily)
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