[Review] Châteraisé, Senayan City

Two words should attract anyone with any semblance of sweet tooth to this place: Japanese. Dessert. And here I don’t mean the traditional kind of dessert, which are delightful in their own league — I’m talking about the popular, youthful, feast-for-the-eyes snacks that entice you with their promise of indulgence.

I’m talking cakes. Cream-enveloped, soft pillows of goodness, filled with juicy fruit that bursts and melts on your tongue. See the following pictures if you’re not sold yet.

I’m not much of a sweets fan really, but looking at the consistent array of cakes on display at any Châteraisé (pronounced sha-tuh-ray-say) outlet told me that the patisserie is not kidding around with their cakes, and thus worthy to try.

After all, Châteraisé is the largest patisserie group from Japan, established since 1955 with reportedly over 500 stores now running globally. Since 2017, they have been opening up shop in Indonesia through Gobel Group, who are otherwise known for operating Panasonic Indonesia.

The outlet I visited at Senayan City is the first one opened in Jakarta, but currently there are 4 other locations at Kelapa Gading Mall, Pondok Indah Mall, Kemchicks Pacific Place, and Central Park Mall.

Among the things that interested me about Châteraisé was their claim of using fresh ingredients from Japan with little or no preservatives, and this includes their fruit, eggs and dairy. Although the wording from the article is a bit ambiguous — it doesn’t explicitly state that their Indonesian stores operate under the same procedures, does it? — their Instagram profile boasts a “100% imported from Japan” tagline.

Is that truly possible for their overseas stores? The company claims a sophisticated “farm factory-to-patisserie” processing system, which has allowed them to maintain quality while keeping prices affordable. The 64-year-strong company has been expanding aggressively throughout Asia (and Dubai) since 2015, so their business poses an interesting case study.

As for the cakes themselves, I had a slice of their best-selling Legendary Fresh Cream Cake (IDR 49k), which is a sponge cake with cream and strawberry filling. Najla had the Roll Brûlée (IDR 38k), a caramel-flavoured roll filled with cream and a brûlée top.

Both cakes were, to our delight, very light and just the right amount of sweet. I finished my slice in no time, and I didn’t feel compelled to push any of the cream away, as I am wont to!

The cream was delicious, and eaten with the strawberries, it combined to deliver a smooth, sultry flavour on my tongue. However, the Roll Brûlée top was very slightly burnt — we set it aside since we aren’t fans of the bitter taste.

But all in all, the cakes are among my favourites within the similar price range in Jakarta. I will surely return, and even maybe order the full pieces for special occasions.

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Châteraisé Indonesia

Senayan City, LG Floor, Jakarta

(021) 727-815-20

Official Instagram account