Superb Sandals

Date: 16/03/10

Venue: Sandals.

Hai Ba Trung. D1

After last week's limited cheesecake supply, CT members were hoping for a more plentiful spread this week and so we eagerly headed to Sandals, sister chain to the Sailing Club in Mui Ne, in search of what we hoped would be a classy cheesecake.

Sandals is located on Hai Ba Trung, close to other fashionable haunts such as Pacharan, The Refinery and the Park Hyatt hotel. Spreading out across 3 floors, incuding a spacious rooftop terrace, the restaurant offers an ambient atmosphere in which to relax with a cocktail or two.  Incidentally, Tuesdays is $2 cocktail night at Sandals, an offer which also extends to some beers and wine- an offer that CT members were quite keen to take advantage of whilst waiting for the cheesecake..

Despite an extensive food menu and some sumptuous sounding desserts, we were disappointed to find that cheesecake was not on the menu, something that came as a surprise as the Sailing Club offer a fantastic cheesecake.  Help soon came in the form of a weekly set menu which offered Blueberry cheesecake, which we were able to select individually.  This satisfied some members of the CT team, although one member was unhappy that there would be no chocolate in the selection this week.

CT would be getting some cheesecake after all but as the Blueberry cheesecake is not part of the standard Sandals dessert menu, it is not guaranteed that it is always available.  At 85,000vnd for a standard wedge of cake, it is one of the most expensive options so far but is it worth it?

Consistency:  a firm and well-formed cheesecake that holds its shape well throughout.  The actual consistency had the team stumped as to how best to describe it, lacking the thick creaminess of some but avoiding the dry sponginess of others - 'neither cheesy nor cakey: in some ways, a perfect balance.  The baked crust on top adds a great homemade touch to the cake.

Base: an adequate layer of biscuit.

Presentation: Simple and elegant.  The cheesecake is a plain New York cheescake topped with a generous layer of blueberry compote, garnished with a solitary strawberry and sprig of fresh mint.

Taste:  The cheesecake itself is very plain without the usual hint of vanilla or lemon but this works well with the sharp tang of the blueberry.  This cake would work with any other fruit topping or a chocolate sauce.

This cheesecake is one that initially seemed plain to tasters but actually improved throughout the tasting, not a crumb was left on any of the plates.  The team did feel that the price of the cake set a higher expectation than was delivered.

Verdict: a very honourable effort from Sandals
8/10

Cafe Evita

Venue: Cafe Evita, Nguyen Van Huong, D2 
Date: 09/13/10

Most expats in Saigon are familiar with late-night-venue Vascos, - located in the Refinery on Hai Ba Trung, many have also eaten in La Camargue, and those who live in An Phu will almost cetainly have lunched at Cafe Evita at some point.  These three establishments, all under the same ownership, are long-time favourites on the Saigon scene - Vasco's pizzas even being voted Saigon's best by AsiaLife magazine.

Monday to Friday; Cafe Evita is frequented daily by teachers at the British International School all seeking refuge from a busy schedule and enjoying lunch from the school-themed sandwich menu (the 'Director' being highly recommended) on the cosy sofas.

However, neither pizza nor sandwiches were at the forefront of CT member's minds as we gathered at Cafe Evita after a long and tiring day at work - we were after a good cheesecake.  The chilled dessert cabinet at the front of the restaurant is laden with creamy cakes and chocolatey mousses by day but, maybe unsurprisingly, looked rather empty by early evening and CT were disappointed to discover that only one solitary slice of cheesecake remained, to be split by 6 tasters.

Consistency: This cake is thick and crumbly with a spongelike texture, particularly on the baked crust.  The cake did not seem to keep well in the cabinet as it was quite dry by the time we tasted it.

Base:  Another sponge base which, like the cake itself had begun to dry out, leaving the cake with no contrast in texture.

Presentation: Plain and simple with a single fresh strawberry to accompany.

Taste:  This cake actually tastes better than it suggests by looking at it.  Not too heavy or sickening, it is a plain New York cheesecake - simple but tasty.  This cake would be best eaten fresh.

Verdict: No crying over this cheesecake (very tenuous link: Don't Cry for me, Argentina = Evita...) but not our best yet.  6/10

Blind Bakery Testing.

Date: 2/03/10   
  

Venue:  Regular CT member Mieke's An Phu home.

There are many restaurants in the city in which one can enjoy a fine cheesecake but let's not forget that there are also other options available.  Saigon has more than its fair share of bakeries and patisseries that offer an eclectic range of our favourite dessert and as CT members enjoy a bit of variation every now and then, we decided that this week we would do something a little different.

Meike kindly invited us to her lovely home in order to sample a selection of cheesecakes from 4 well-known bakeries around town:  Voelker (Thao Dien, An Phu), Pat-a-Chou (Thao Dien, An Phu), Schneiders (Pasteur D.1) and Tours Les Jours (Hai Ba Trung D.1).  In order to add a little mystery to our otherwise dull lives, testers did not know which cakes were purchased from which bakery.  The selection of cakes looked very impressive, excitement was in the air and spoons were poised ready for action.  The tension mounted.

The results are hereby listed in order of appreciation.

In fourth place is Korean chain, Tours le Jours:  CT members were disappointed to find two creamy sponge cakes being labelled as Cheesecake by the bakery.  Whilst the cakes were very nice, they did not fulfil the criteria of a Cheesecake (the main issue being that they were not made from cheese...) Needless to say, we ate them anyway but will not be giving them a score.

In third place is German Bakery, Schneiders: These cakes are very heavily decorated and look exquisite, the thick chocolate fudge swirl is particularly tempting.  However, the hardened edges of the cake put CT testers off and whilst the cake is generally tasty, it is nothing special.. 6/10

Taking Second is French pattisserie, Pat-a-Chou: This cake has a particularly spongelike consistency, to the extent that CT found it difficult to ascertain whether the cake is actually made of cheese.  The general consensus stated that it did actually classify as cheesecake leaves the cheesecake addict feeling somewhat underwhelmed. 7/10

Storming into first place is French pattisserie, Voelker:  CT testers agreed that this cake really does have it all.  A thick and creamy consistency with a buttery, flaky pastry base.  The cake is an elegant cylindrical shape - larger than most of this shape - and has sophisticated chocolate and shortcake decorations.  The taste is out of this world!  Voelker's cheesecake is one of the most expensive of Saigon's cheesecakes but you get what you pay for. The only thing that lets this cake down is the thickness of the outer crust which had hardened after a day in the chilled cabinets; maybe fresh this would not be the case. 9.5/10

Verdict:  Voelker is Victorious!
An absolutely AMAZING 9.5/10

French Fancy

 

Date: 23/02/10

Venue: Givral, Nguyen Hue, D.1

As the majority of CTs tasting sessions of late have taken place in Saigon's more recent coffee shops, we decided that this week we should address the balance and visit a long-standing favourite.

Standing proudly in what is arguably the best possible location in the whole of Saigon, Givral cccupies the corner space on the crossroads of Nguyen Hue and Dong Khoi - where, incredibly, it has been serving fine food and delicacies for over five decades and stands as a testament to Saigon's French Colonial past.  Whilst casually conversing over coffee and cake, diners can enjoy landmark views of the Opera house, the gardens and the Caravelle hotel.  Located conveniently closely to the Rex, Continental and Caravelle hotels, Givral served as a regular meeting place for journalists throughout the war, and still remains a favourite place to catch up on all the latest news today.  Phillip Noyce's 2002 adaptation of Graham Greene novel, 'The Quiet American', even used the restaurant as a location for a scene in the movie.

CT however, was not going to allow the history,or the scenery, to distract us from our important mission - to find Saigon's greatest cheesecake.

Givral offers a wide selection of cakes, tempting customers with a range of 5 or more different cheesecakes.  Somewhat spoilt for choice, CT members eventually settled on a plain New York cheesecake and a chocolate cheesecake.

Consistency:  The Chocolate variety has a firm melt-in-the-mouth texture that avoids being too heavy.  The NY cheesecake is softer and more airy than the chocolate, creating a light and fluffy texture.  The topping could be a little thicker.

Base:  Both cakes have a sponge base, which testers found a little too 'chewy' and felt that it distracts from, rather than compliments, the cheese topping.


Presentation: Both cakes use straightforward and simple chocolate swirl patterns, which in themselves are attractive to the eye but Givral loses marks for the overly flexible plastic spoons given to eat the cakes.

Taste: The chocolate cake offers a pleasant chocolate hit, enough to satisfy most chocoholics and whilst the NY cake has a pleasant vanilla flavouring, neither cake offers that special cheesecake magic that the CT members so ardently seek.

It must be mentioned that, at 28,000vnd a slice, this is the cheapest cheesecake that CT has so far tasted and Givral certainly offers value for your money. 

Verdict:  It may be Saigon's greatest location, but, alas, it's not Saigon's greatest cheesecake.

                                                     Not a bad effort - 7/10