You cannot possibly miss this iconic landmark when you travel down Nevsky Prospekt, St Petersburg. At first glance, you might mistake the whimsical window display of fairy-tale-like characters as a toy store. But upon closer look, Yeliseev’s Food Hall is actually a cafe and food hall that sells fresh

oysters, caviar, confectionery and pastries.

When I was in the store, I couldn’t help but to feel as if I was in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.  The music from the grand piano, the colourful display of sweet desserts, and many pastries are all trying to distract you from your diet. And after looking at all the desserts display, I gave up my fight and decided to settle down for an afternoon tea.

I had a pot of Earl Grey tea with a Royal cake and a macaron. It took a while for the waitress to take my order as she spoke very limited English (which is rare now in St Petersburg). I’m not sure whether she misunderstood me but my tea was very weak and the flavour was no way near an Earl Grey.  I was a bit disappointed when they used tea bag instead of tealeaves.  I had expected tealeaves especially when it costs more than 150 Russian Rubles (about SG$6).  But I didn’t let it bother me and I took it as a case of miscommunication.

The real treat was the Royal chocolate hazelnut dessert.  For chocolate fans, every mouthful of Royal is pure orgasm. The crunchy hazelnut cake was coated with a thick layer of melted chocolate. The presentation was very nicely done too. I would have gone for a second piece but I just had my lunch and had ordered a macaron as well.

As for the macaron, the outer shell is slightly crisp and the innards are more creamy than chewy.  Maybe because I had the Royal chocolate cake earlier, the macaron didn’t taste that sweet.

I would have eaten more if I were not conscious of my weight! The only consolation was that I had walked the whole day and I had depleted some calories before I sat down to indulge in those sweet temptations.

Yeliseev’s Food Hall, St Petersburg
Nevsky prospekt 56, St. Petersburg, Russia