Mumbai food: This Bandra dessert bar has yummy sugary treats to die for

Chocolate-dipped French biscuits. Pics/Snigdha Hasan

It is difficult for a tiny dessert bar in bustling Bandra to make its mark, especially when it shares space with a Chinese eatery whose food hogs the limelight already. Unless, of course, it is exceptional or showered with such love that within a year and a half, it takes the bold step of being on its own. This time, in an even swankier spot in Bandra. That's the story of Daniel Patissier, whose standalone takeaway opened at Pali Naka last week.

Some of the offerings at the new outlet

With its elegant white and gold finish and window display, the new outlet gets as close to resembling a French patisserie as it can. A red and white awning, and some real shrubs instead of the artificial hedge would have been more authentic, though. We step inside and are greeted with a warm welcome by a lady (a family friend of the owner, Daniel Hsuing) and an attendant, who both know the offerings well.

Elderflower, Rose, Dark Chocolate, Morello Cherry, Key Lime Pie, Mango and Passion Flower and Salted Caramel macarons

Appetising nibbles
A jar of Almond Rochers is kept at the counter for sampling and when we enquire about their Langue de Chat, out comes a box of chocolate-dipped French biscuits (Rs 350 for 250 grams). There is nutty goodness in every bite of the rochers (Rs 390 for 100 grams) and the biscuits are crisp and light like tuiles. If there were a full dessert meal, we'd happily call these the entrees.

Nippon and neon
While we'd heard some rave reviews about their Kyoto Cheesecake (Rs 490 for an oval slab; not available in slices), let's just say it didn't live up to the hype. The preparation is soft and light like it is meant to be, but we would love for the cheesecake to have some more character. Our disappointment, however, is soon forgotten when we bite into the macarons packed in a cute florescent green and fuchsia box. While all the flavours from the Jim-Me's Kitchen outlet have been retained, some new ones have been introduced. We try the other new flavours - elderflower, rose and morello cherry (they'd run out of the olive macarons by 12 noon) and find the fruity tartness of cherries remarkable enough. But our favourites remain the key lime pie and salted caramel (speckled with popcorn bits) flavours. The macaron shells crack at the first bite, which is not something one comes across often.