Chez Shibata
Add: 24 Ziyun Lu, near Zunyi Lu / 紫云路24号, 近遵义路
Tel: 5206 5671
Website: www.chez-shibata.cn
Price: [pastries] 20~45 RMB [drinks] 23~38 RMB
Visited: Nov 2010
I love Japanese-French pastries. The alluring colors, fancy garnishes, and flavors out of the ordinary. It just so happens that Chez Shibata, the only patisserie in Shanghai serving such irresistibly beautiful pastries, is a mere 5 minutes away from one of my offices. I must have done a lot of good deeds in my previous life.
Standing in front of the Chez Shibata cake display is an utterly disorienting experience. I never know which one to pick. Fortunately, the waitstaff is quite patient in explaining each dessert, as long as you ask.
The cute heart shape and the flamboyant red are bound to attract the girly girls. Long story short, the Cœur des Bois (28 RMB) consists of raspberry jelly nestled inside creamy vanilla bavarois, which is made from Creme Anglaise base aerated with whipped cream.
The Dôme Jaune (33 RMB) is black currant cream wrapped in mango mousse, then glazed with passion fruit gelée, all sitting on top of a crispy almond bottom, which adds a nice crunch.
This is not really a fondant au chocolat as the center is not lava-like. It’s a sturdy heart of thick and rich cake made with 62% chocolate, then spiked with pink peppercorn on top of the whipped cream. The red pepper corn gives the cake a slightly salty flavor, which was a nice surprise.
La Chantilly (26 RMB) is a typical strawberry sponge cake. A good choice for those looking for a classic.
Chez Shibata opens at 10 in the morning, but its vicinity already smells like heaven every time I pass by at 9am. The tiny cafe gets busy in the afternoon, and since there are only 5 tables of two, expect a wait for seats on weekends. If you get the cakes to go, the staff will carefully pack your cakes inside a sturdy cardboard paper box with the necessary buffers, then attach a bag of dry ice outside the box to keep the temperature low.
If you are curious, check out the completely different assortment served in Chez Shibata Nagoya, on their Japanese website. Also see more of their Shanghai specialties at my visit 2 post.
wow, desserts in Shanghai is improving quite fast. although i’m more favor of Chinese desserts now, but those cakes sure looks delicious and more delicate from what i’ve seen in other parts of SH.
Yup, and unsurprisingly, it’s opened by Japanese :)
looking at that raspberry cake, my heart breaks a little bit.
I still need to send u pics of ur broken heart ;)