It was a quiet weekday morning when we decided to head on over to Chloe.co early, and in the heart of SS2, ample parking was still to be found. To my satisfaction and delight, we were the first ones through the door, a full selection of pastries and desserts was ours to sample.
But to my chagrin, not minutes after we sat down did the customers start pouring in. Within 10 minutes of the cafe opening, it was full! And the lines didn’t seem to cease until after we left.
Upon speaking to the manager, we discovered that not only did they offer over 80 types of pastries on a daily basis, but all of these pastries would usually be sold out by the end of the day too.
It was all this hype that really got us wondering, are the pastries really that good? Surely just a few croissants and strudels can’t be worth waking up early and the long queues?
Keep reading till the end for our verdict on what we honestly think about Chloe.co’s pastries and desserts!
Strudels
Anyone who’s anyone knows that Chloe.co is known for their strudels. Though not traditionally German, as traditional strudels involve wrapping a thin pastry dough around fruit and baking the whole affair, Chloe.co’s strudels are flakey in a different way!
Using layers of pastry baked on top of each other for that maximum crispy factor, dollops of French cream cheese pastry filling are piped on top of each of the thin pastry layers. Fruit is also in the mix too.
The Peach Strudels have a fruity tanginess to them; the Strawberry strudels, with Cameron Highland strawberries, are juicy and filled with a homemade strawberry puree.
Between the two, the Strawberry Strudels are definitely our pick. But it’s not all we tried. We had to take advantage of our early slot and try all the pastries.
Croissants
People often say that you ought to judge a cafe from their croissants. So we ordered two, the Signature Almond Croissant and the Strawberry & Creme Croissant.
The Signature Almond Croissant was flakey and buttery and comes with a generous topping of shaved almonds and powdered sugar. The filling? A genuinely luxurious almond paste that’s made in-house. We opted to pair it with coffee, a hot latte to be specific, which took it to the next level.
But the Strawberry & Creme Croissant was not on the same par. The flakey layers of the croissant had soaked up a load of moisture from the pastry creme, which, though bold in its notes of vanilla, was a tad too sweet for our liking. The tart strawberries on top did help to dissuade some of the sugariness from being too potent, but alas, it wasn’t enough.
Danishes
My personal favourite pastry, and something that I’ll order at every cafe, would be the fruity (or creamy!) danish. We opted for fruity: the Green Grape Danish. The bright bold green grapes stood out amongst a sea of reds, browns, and beiges.
The pastry on the outside had a satisfying chew to it, and yet it was still rather easy to cut through with a knife. The pastry creme on the inside tasted reminiscent of a cheesecake, which I’ll attribute to the French cream cheese and premium vanilla bean used. Paired with the plump green grapes though, the sweetness of the creme melded perfectly with the fruity twang.
A shame we didn’t get to try the other flavours of danishes, especially the Biscoff Danish with a creamy, smooth Biscoff creme filling. But that’s what re-visits are for though, right?
Tarts
The tarts though. The tarts. I am unable to stress how good they looked the second we walked through the revolving doors of Chloe.co. Especially the Strawberry Tarte. Succulent and gloriously glossy strawberries that were massive, perched atop a circular and crumbly tart crust.
And the taste? It definitely lived up to its visual expectations. The butteriness of the crust just complimented the tart strawberries so well, and the perfect accompaniment to the whole affair was the creamy filling in the centre. Fresh cream that’s light, refreshing and not too sweet!
Another tart that cannot be missed is the punch of vanilla compacted into the Flan A La Vanille, a vanilla flan, in other words. Flan, the French custard tart, is normally rather, well, custardy. The custard in itself in traditional flan is often more viscous than what we see in Chloe.co’s Flan a La Vanille. But you don’t see us complaining, no sir!
You can tell that they’ve used some seriously premium vanilla beans, and I mean real vanilla beans, not extract, as the specks of vanilla are sprinkled throughout the baked custard. The firmness of the custard itself is rather similar to an egg tart, though creamier, and the shell that it sits within is perfectly flakey and buttery. MFT approved for sure.
Berliners, tiramisu, and more!
Fans of Niko Neko Matcha will be pleased to know that it’s the only type of matcha that Chloe.co uses! I’ve been a pretty regular buyer of their houjicha series, so imagine my delight when the berliners were rolled out!
Pretty similar to bombolonis, this Houjicha Berliner was fluffy, and chock-FULL of deliciously light and earthy houjicha pastry cream!
We also gave their chocolatey desserts a try, like the Chocolate Financier, Tiramisu, and the Chocolate Shortcake.
The Chocolate Financier, which we ordered alongside the French Butter Financier, was a hearty and fudgy affair. Not crumbly whatsoever as it was so moist, whatever crumbs that threatened to fall firmly clung onto the financier!
While the Tiramisu came out a little dry (perhaps more espresso in the cake would have helped), the Chocolate Shortcake was a decadent tower of richness. Moist, dense, and yet cut so easily with just a fork, the Chocolate Shortcake was our favourite of the chocolatey desserts and pastries.
Hot food
Even a sweet tooth like me can’t handle all that sugariness in one go. At least not without a palate cleanser, preferably a salty, savoury one. Or maybe a few. Call us greedy ‘cos we ordered three hot dishes to the table, and call me one happy piggy when I took a bite!
The Giant King Prawn Gochujang Rose pasta was out of this world. Maybe the best thing we ate at Chloe.co. Creamy, spicy, just the right hint of sweetness that didn’t overpower the strong Korean gochujang flavour of the pasta! And the mini mushrooms were the perfect additional touch.
The Mushroom Soup came with two adorable mini croissants, umami and well-balanced, yet the lack of thickness and chunks of mushroom in the soup left a little something to be desired.
The Shakshouka, however, was a tomatoey punch of flavour. So much so that even when spread over bread it was the dominant taste in our mouths. Hearty, flavourful and somewhat healthy. Who could ask for more?
Environment
Chloe.co features some unique designs within their establishment. The owners were rather proud of their revolving door, which we can admit was a classy touch to the locale. And once you’re past the door, a massive croissant awaits you in the waiting area!
The fact that they have a waiting area earns them a point in our books. When you’re that viral, it almost seems necessary.
The establishment is also fitted with an upstairs seating area, the walls decorated with vintage-style framed photos of the famous (and delicious) pastries.
But the main selling point here is certainly the pastries on display. Rows and rows of anything you could ever imagine are presented beautifully. If you’re looking for that Instagrammable shot for your stories, this is it.
MFT’s Opinion
Suffice to say that we do enjoy the pastries here, but do they live up to the hype?
The answer is, well, -ish? Whilst most of the pastries are certified ‘good’, others are just ‘meh’, while some are spectacular. You have to pick and choose which pastries to go for, and the looks aren’t really a good indicator as it all looks so good.
The general consensus? Read up on reviews, and pick and choose to your personal preferences, most of it will not disappoint!
Chloe.co
Halal status: Currently in the process of applying for halal certification
Opening hours: Closed on Mondays, 10am – 10pm
We should also check out: What is “kumpir”? We headed to Bukit Bintang to taste this viral Turkish street food for ourselves!
The post Chloe.co in SS2 is always packed, here’s what we honestly think about their pastries appeared first on Malaysia Food and Travel.
