The Dark Gallery @ Millenia Walk – Launches New Limited Edition Christmas Range Of Chocolate Desserts

Opened in July 2017 and located along the aisle of Millenia Walk in an open-space concept kiosk, The Dark Gallery is a chocolate specialty cafe, specialising in gourmet chocolate-based desserts and drinks, with a strong focus on premium single origin dark chocolate. A plethora of their unique creations are differentiated based on various cacao origins and flavour profile, and its highly prized cacao content makes for their selection of single origin chocolates desserts to be of the richest and most luscious sort that will surely tempt chocolate lovers and satisfy every sweet tooth.

Available from 1 December 2017 onwards, The Dark Gallery launches a new limited edition Christmas range of chocolate desserts for the coming festive season. The campaign, known as The Lustre of Christmas features an exclusive collection of artisan dark chocolate offerings decked out with glistening adornments, infused with Christmas accents. It is definitely pure indulgence with their gorgeous creations ranging from galaxy-inspired bonbons, festive Christmas ice cream cakes, sables, platters and cookies.

Galaxy-Inspired Bonbons 4/5

There are three different types of Galaxy-inspired Bonbons ($3.50 per piece, $31.50 in a Christmas giftbox of 9). Beautifully shaped in the form of a jewel and aptly decorated to resemble a sparkling galaxy pattern, the bonbons are named after stars of the same colour found within the galaxy. The red star Kapteyn is essentially white chocolate with raspberry ganache and pop rocks, while the white star Arcturus is made up of milk chocolate with praline and toasted almond nibs. For dark chocolate lovers, the blue star Vega is an ideal choice – made with dark chocolate, french earl grey ganache and peppermint bits, it plays out a perfect balance of bitter and sweet, with a hint of earl grey and a refreshing christmasy peppermint. Both gorgeously presented and delectable in taste, these artisan bonbons make for great Christmas gifts as well.

Pearlescent Dulcey White Chocolate Log Cake 4.2/5

There are two types of festive Christmas ice cream log cakes available. We had the Pearlescent Dulcey White Chocolate Logcake ($89) which comes in the form of a smooth and luscious 32% dulcey white chocolate ice cream body, with a dark chocolate cake and chantilly cream swiss roll centre with white chocolate perles, adorned with caramelised tuile, berries and mini macarons. The creamy ice cream and fluffy cake combination delivers an excellent textural contrast, with just the right amount of crunch and sweetness.

You can opt to delve into the darker side with their Opalescent Dark Chocolate Log Cake ($89) as well, which features bittersweet 72% Venezuela dark chocolate ice cream with a dark chocolate cake and chantilly cream swiss roll centre and crunchy chocolate perles, adorned with dark chocolate shards and caramelised nuts on top.

Dulcey Chocolate Toffee Nut Latte 4/5

The Dulcey Chocolate Toffee Nut Latte ($10) comes in the form of a deconstructed latte, on a thoughtfully plated drink platter, featuring a trio of frozen dulcey chocolate cubes, double espresso shot with a hint of toffee nut syrup, and a jar of warm milk. Pour the warm milk and espresso shot over those frozen chocolate cubes for a luscious bittersweet drink with a subtle mellow nuttiness of the toffee nut. Simply the perfect pick-me-up for that Christmas caffeine fix.

Christmas Pastries Platter 4.2/5

The Christmas Pastries Platter ($14) features four exquisitely curated petite pastries, consisting of a white chocolate rose tea eclair, a milk chocolate hazelnut macaron with milk chocolate sauce in a pipette, a milk chocolate espresso macaron, and finished with a dark chocolate raspberry brownie. The white chocolate rose tea eclair is subtly sweet with a fragrant floral tea note, while the milk chocolate hazelnut macaron features a nutty tone with its sweetness further accentuated with an addition of the sweet milk chocolate sauce. The milk chocolate espresso macaron boasts a bitter sweet balance, though it leans more towards the sweeter side. For the dark chocolate lovers, the dark chocolate raspberry brownie is an ideal choice – with a decadent dark chocolate flavour and the raspberry to undercut some of its richness. All the pastries on the platter are freshly baked in-house, with each pastry recipe thought out with the distinctive flavour profile of chocolates used in mind, in order to both bring out the uniqueness in the taste of each yet seamlessly complementing as a platter.

Double Ice Cream Scoops 4.5/5

Their ice cream offerings which include a wide variety from various different cacao origins and percentage levels are available on their regular menu, and you can have it at any day within their operating hours. However, exclusive toppings are available from 1st Decemeber 2017 just for the coming festive season. I had a double scoop ($9.50) with their 80% Signature Dark Chocolate and the 75% Tanzania on a chocolate coated waffle bowl, and also spruced it up with their christmas toppings – macarons and caramelised almonds. Smooth, dark and creamy, the strong bitterness of their 80% signature dark chocolate flavour is perfect for a serious dark chocolate lover, while the exotic 75% Tanzania has a subtle fruity aftertaste admist the bittersweet cocoa flavour. The Christmas macarons added a good portion of sweetness to the strong bitterness of the dark chocolate ice cream, while the caramlised almonds added a subtle sweet crunch for a different mouthfeel, which complements the ice cream well.

Despite being a pretty new establishment in the F&B scene, The Dark Gallery is indeed a promising café, which does well in what they do best – artisan chocolates, and also features a wide selection to keep customers coming back for something different every time. Not to be missed, these limited edition festive highlights from The Lustre of Christmas are the perfect indulgent sweet treats this christmas.

Words and photos by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


The Dark Gallery
Millenia Walk
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-K5
Singapore 039596
Tel: +65 62550368
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Promenade (CC Line, DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Promenade MRT station. Take Exit A or B. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Mei Mei Roast @ Ubi Road - Roast Meats Stall By Kay Lee's Younger Sister

Many of you may know of Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint at Paya Lebar which sold their business to Aztech group for $4 million. Since then it has expanded into may outlets across the island but somehow I find that it has lost its authenticity, not to mention the stingy portion of roast meat that comes with a higher price tag now.

I got to know about Mei Mei Roast at Ubi Road 1 when I came across a posting by my fellow foodie kaki, Uncle Bob. It got me even more excited to read that the stall is operated by Kay Lee's younger sister. Hence I decided to make my way down to the stall on a Sat to check it out since it is now more accessible with the new Downtown Line 3.

Roasted Duck 4.5/5

I ordered a platter of roasted duck, char siew and sio bak. Among the 3 different roast meats, my favourite is the Roasted Duck. The bird is given a coat of crispiness with a nice hint of charred smokiness. The meat was also tender and juicy. I enjoyed so much that I gone back to packet a whole duck back for my parents.

Char Siew 4/5

The Char Siew was also very enjoyable with the right proportion of lean meat and fats, with the bittersweet charred bits. However I felt the marination was a bit too sweet for my liking.

Sio Bak 4.2/5

To my little surprise, the Sio Bak turned out pretty good too. The succulent pork belly has a enjoyable layers of lean, fats and char. On top of that, it is crowned with a layer of crispy and crackling skin.

Besides the different roasted meats offer at the stall, Mei Mei Roast also offers noodles, kway chap, braised duck and soups. The humble stalls sell quite a lot of items indeed. Thanks to Uncle Bob's posting on facebook, I have discovered a new found love for roasted meat, especially the roasted duck.


Mei Mei Roast
Blk 3014 Ubi Road 1
#01-308
Tel: +65 98208391
Singapore 408702
Nearest MRT: Ubi (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 10am - 5pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Ubi MRT station. Take Exit. Walk down junction of Ubi Ave and Ubi Road 3. Cross the road and walk down Ubi Ave. Walk towards block 3021. Turn right and cut across the industrial estate to block 3014. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]