Pierre Herme in Singapore!

Alright I admit it, I am an utterly useless fan. Shamelessly in love with his macarons, where I might possibly sell my future children for them, I was too lazy to reserve a table at Mezza9 2 weeks before to meet the genius of a man - the passionate Pierre Herme in full frontal glory.
But I was still subconsciously and secretly hoping that he might still be around and we might catch a glimpse and perhaps, if it was not too much to ask, a hug and a personal photo for keeps. =) Alas, if only we were so lucky. But at least we got to see the Ispahan again after a year.

The macaroons were lovely, in 3 very rich and exotic combined creations. True to form, you don't get your regular chocolate or passion fruit flavours. If Master Chef Herme dapples in chocolate, you get them with guanaja ganache with cocoa nibs (I didn't even know such refine chocolate existed!) If he twists towards citrus, its lemon with citrus curd. Not the usual "cringe-face" level of sour but a really refreshing and light combination.

But my absolute favourite for the night was the white truffle with piedomont hazelnuts. Everyone knows my absurd obsession with truffles so imagine my glee when it's actually been paired with my favourite dessert, but my favourite chef!

I'm sure most people would cringe at the idea of experiment pairing of savoury earthy truffle with the sweet crisp of almond and sugar. L made a face, B didn't care for it. Meaning more for me!!! I loved it. The first bite was sheer heaven. And the hazelnuts provided the perfect crunch. I can't even put it down to meer word descriptions. The taste was just excruciatingly marvellous.

The Ispahan was nice, but not as mind-blowing as our virgin experience in Paris. The macaroon shell wasn't as crispy as we had hoped. But the rose petal cream with the lychee was as good and the raspberry sherbet was tart but refreshing.

So the world gourmet summit is over and Mr Herme, I believe, has long packed his suitcase and gone from our tiny shores. But the good folks at Mezza9 have kept their blow-torches and oven flames going and are still offering his inspired desserts in their menu. A little pricey but would be worth trying if you have never had desserts from the Master pastry and chocolate chef before.

It would be a very 'sweet' experience.

Mezza9

10/12/06 Scotts Road

Grand Hyatt Singapore

Singapore 228211

6732 1234