Chez Dre, South Melbourne - desserts to die for

After our meal at Seven Seeds, I wasn't yet satisfied as I didn't have any dessert. Seven Seeds didn't offer any particularly drool worthy cakes or desserts so Racheese and I ditched the boys and ventured out to South Melbourne where Chez Dre resides. It was a little hidden gem amongst the small alleyways.

I liked the decorations at Chez Dre. Even though it's similar to many cafes in terms of industrial high ceilings and walls, it somehow also had a chic and comfortable feel to it, especially the couches inside. From the entrance you can see the couches through the metal bars.

There's a long counter inside. One end is the coffee machines…

And the other is the desserts. Racheese and I took ages deciding what to order as there were too many choices available. All the mini desserts looked terrific. In the end we ordered 3 desserts between the two of us…talk about gluttony!

I love going out with Racheese as like me, she also loves to take photos of food and she's one who'd never complain if I take a few too many. :D

In the middle of the room is an open space where you can see into the kitchen. From there I saw talented chefs in the process of making delicious looking pastries.

We decided to sit outside as the inside was dark and hard to take photos, plus it was a beautifully sunny afternoon. The yard was surrounded by a cute herb garden which reminded me of the herbs I just bought for Yuye. Fresh herbs are the best!

I ordered a cappuccino ($3.50) instead of my usual latte as I already had one at Seven Seeds. I always find cappuccinos a bit prettier than lattes because of the darker surface and it's also easier to take photos of. Chez Dre's cappuccino was delicious, although I liked Seven Seed's latte a bit more.

I realised why I'm always so full at the end of a meal, especially when I have desserts. It's because I get full on the coffees! I will try dessert with a cup of tea next time.

The best dessert we ordered that day was the Milk Chocolate Blackcurrant Mousse ($8.50) with blackcurrant cream and praline crunch. It had the prettiest colours!

The inside was even prettier. We both liked this dessert best because it had a hint of sourness and wasn't at all too sweet. I could eat it all day. The mousse was soft and creamy and the praline crunch gave it that extra dimension and hazelnuty flavours. According to Racheese who is a fantastic patisserie chef, the praline crunch is made up of this thing called feuillatine flakes. I liked it so much I'm going to find some and eat it with a spoon. :D

The macaron on top had a hint of blackcurrant but wasn't that strong. I don't like very sweet macarons but this one was a good sweetness and very delicious.

The next dessert we ordered was the Earl Grey Tea Cremeux with chocolate mousse ($8.50). Although not as pretty as the blackcurrant, it was more elegant with the addition of the gold leaf on top.

It was a rich and creamy dessert but not too sweet. Again it was very easy to eat and if it wasn't because we ordered 3 desserts between us and we just had lunch, I would have happily chowed it all down. The tea flavour wasn't that strong although I could taste a small hint of it.

The third dessert was the Hazelnut Praline Crunch with hazelnut mousse and hazelnut meringue ($8.50). I love hazelnut flavoured anything. I used to eat nutella out of the jar and roast hazelnuts to eat as snacks. So when I saw this dessert, it became a must get. I was right that it was delicious as well. Similar to the little bits of praline we found in the blackcurrant dessert, they were crunchy and hazelnutty. It's a little tower of deliciousness that makes me crave for more!

This is where Racheese dumped all the cut out pieces. Looking at the table, I'm sure anyone would have thought we had an invisible friend. 3 desserts, 3 dirty forks.

It was sad that we couldn't finish it all in the end (duh) so we got a little takeaway box and left a few mouthfuls of each cake inside. We then proceeded to Chefs Hat just across the road for some kitchenware gawking. We were lucky enough to witness a TV show being filmed.

By the time we finished with Chefs Hat and walking around Spotlight, over 3 hours had gone by. Guess what happened to the left over cakes? They melted! Rather it was just the Earl Grey cake that melted and surrounded the rest of them with this gooey brown stuff. It wasn't at all appetising so I had to throw it out. It was such a shame.

Chez Dre serves up beautiful looking and scrumptious desserts coupled with beautiful coffees and teas. I love desserts but I usually can't eat too much of it. Chez Dre's desserts are light and not over the top sweet so were perfect for me. I can't wait to go back and try their other selections.

Question time: Do you have a habit of taking too many photos of your food? Do you have the perfect partner in crime who likes to do the same?

Chez Dre
Phone: (03) 9690 2688
287 Coventry St (rear), South Melbourne VIC 3205
http://chezdre.com.au

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