Friday 2 March 2012

Asian dessert delight

Having a big sweet tooth, I love just about any type of dessert. Asian desserts is one of my favs!

One of my must go places when visiting Sydney is Meet Fresh in Chinatown, for its taro desserts. I would always say to S at the end of each visit: "Wish they would open one up in Melbourne."

Hello Dessert Story

So you can imagine my excitement when I found out a dessert place dedicated just to Taiwanese and Hong Kong desserts recently opened up in Melbourne's Chinatown. I was so excited to be reunited with my taro desserts again! :D

Signature desserts

Going on a Friday night, we probably picked the wrong time, as there was a long queue of people waiting out front. Inside, it was bustling with people- more so teenagers looking for a night hang out place. We were told to take a number and wait for a table. We patiently waited for 20 minutes or so, giving us some time to study the menu.

Bustling inside

The menu is extensive with a range of options, each page dedicated to a different type of dessert. I suggest you decide on the type of dessert first (ie. taro, pudding, shaved ice etc), or you may be staring on the menu for quite some time.

Tofu puddings

Sago desserts

Taro desserts

Shaved ice

The house specialty is their taro desserts- it comes with taro balls as the main ingredient and then you can choose the different combination of sides like taro mash, jelly, pearls and beans. Other main options include the herbal tea series ( for the health conscious), mango series, shaved ice series and tofu pudding series (a popular dessert typically found in Hong Kong).


Without hesitation, I ordered the taro dessert. We also decided to order a couple of others to share. Orders are placed at the counter and it is shortly delivered to your table. They also cater for take away for those who don't have the patience to wait for a table.

First up- taro balls with pearls, grass jelly and honey beans. I loved the chewiness of the taro balls and pearls, although it lacked some flavor compared to the one at Meet Fresh. The grass jelly was silky and smooth. Serving sizes are quite generous and I struggled to finish whole dish. This may partly be because of the sugary soup, which after awhile felt like drinking sugar syrup .

Taro balls + herbal jelly ice + pearls+ cream

Taro balls + honey bean + pearls+ herbal jelly

The mango snow ice with popping pearls was next. A must try for mango lovers! Although a little more pricier ($10) than the other desserts- average price for others was $6, it was definitely a good choice! The texture of the shaved ice was smooth almost like ice cream and there were also a good portion of fresh mango. I had never heard of popping pearls before till I had this dish, the texture was so interesting- it was like having a mini explosion in your mouth. This was one of our favorite dessert and was gone within no time.

Mango snow ice with crystal jelly with popping pearl



Mango pomelo sago with green tea icecream was a dish which was given a "thumbs up" on the menu so was another must try. This was ordered by another friend so I didn't get a chance to try it, but took a photo of it anyway.

Mango pomelo sago with green tea ice cream

I'm so glad there's now an authentic Asian dessert place in Melbourne! We will never be stuck for dessert options again.. Definitely going back soon!

Dessert Story
195 Little Bourke St (Chinatown)
Melbourne

Yum: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Price: 8/10

Dessert Story on Urbanspoon

Scribble you later

Miss Scribble

3 comments:

  1. nice. need to try this :)

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  2. TARO BALL CRAVING! and finally, another option over cacao green...

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  3. Ooh hello! We write a dessert-only blog, and are searching for *good* Chinese desserts to feature on our blog. Thanks for the heads-up on this place, any other menu items you recommend sampling?

    ReplyDelete