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Showing posts with label Other desserts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Other desserts. Show all posts

5 Mar 2015

Nine Fresh Dessert Taiwan - Most Affordable Taiwanese Dessert in Singapore

Nine Fresh is the first local chain of Taiwanese dessert brand in Singapore, and the name derives from jiufen (jiu = nine), a place located in Taiwan, famous for its taro balls. The company decided to rebrand from the previous beanstalk to focus on the authenticity of the popular Taiwanese dessert. Best of all? The prices are so affordable and yet delicious!
 
The 4th outlet finally open in the north, located at the basement of the still renovating Sun Plaza (Sambawang). Crowd spotted taking away to enjoy in the comfort of their homes.
 
As recommended by the staff, the 3 most popular choice were No. 1, 3 and 5. I spotted other interesting options such as mango/durian beancurd and grass jelly with ice cream as well! *Drooling*
 
By this moment, my friend and I were already selecting our picks and guessing which bowl would suit our tastebuds! Typical of us when we are spoilt for choice. 

I was like 'hold on'! I want to take more photos first!
 
1. Grass Jelly Special ($2.00) - with taro balls, aloe vera pearl jelly, black sugar jelly dice and milk ball 
Since we got from the fresh new batch of grass jelly, it wasn't chilled enough (room temperature). The aloe vera pearl jelly is solid, so do not expect it to burst liquid out as some would assume. As for the black sugar jelly, expect something firm like nata de coco, with sweetness to compliment the grass jelly. 

3. Nine Fresh Signature ($2.50) - with beancurd, grass jelly, taro balls, red beans, green beans, pinto beans and peanuts
Known to be more filling, the silky smooth texture of the beancurd easily pleased me and you even get the option to choose either the soft or crunchy peanuts!

5. Black Sugar Aiyu Jelly Special ($3.50) - with taro balls (2 servings), red beans, pearls and milk ball
(This bowl is the latest creation, selling at $2.90 for a limited time only.)
I felt that this was the most refreshing dessert. It was light, soothing and definitely my favourite option! We realized that we had forgotten to add in the milk ball for this dessert. =.='' This shows how good it was naturally! 

The so called milk ball is a bit misleading. I don't see any milky ball in the dessert? It is actually the pourable milk given in a small packet, to give the dessert a mild flavour enhancement.

O man, I did not expect my dessert to be so filling! Must be those chewy taro balls? No wonder I see so many ladies take away these to substitute their lunch when I was at Toa Payoh. A healthier choice too since everything is not too sweet.
Pssst....the matcha milk latte is my favourite drink! Milky, not so sweet and a hint of matcha! 
 
Locations:
Toa Payoh Lorong 6 Blk 520 #01-50
Jurong Point Shopping Centre #01-17G
Jurong East Bus Interchange (bus 25, 7, 30e)
Sun Plaza #B1-36 (next to Sembawang MRT ; NEW!)
 
Operating hours:
11am - 10pm
 
Check out their facebook page here and also their webpage http://www.ninefresh.com/ !
 
Thank you Nine Fresh Dessert Taiwan for the tasting.
 

20 Jul 2014

Hee Kee (囍記) Desserts at Jurong Point (Giveaway included!)

Being a hardcore dessert lover, I grabbed the chance to attend the food tasting at Hee Kee Desserts, located at Jurong Point. (Nearest Mrt is Boon Lay and not Jurong East.) Hee Kee means ''treasuring happiness'', based on Hong Kong desserts style, offering a wide range of desserts to choose from. 

The vintage style interior design and its 40 seats setting! 

Before I go into details of the 6 signature items, here is a picture of them! I can't wait to share and seriously I think that the presentation wise already owned its competitors flat. Time for taste judgement...

First right up was the Traditional Steamed Milk Pudding served warm. I have to admit that it was my first time eating steamed milk pudding due to the fact that I would usually go for the more fanciful and extravagant looking desserts. Despite the minimalist look, the texture was velvety and the milkiness was an acquired taste. Despite it being my least favorite that day, the ladies were all complementing it and enjoying themselves. I guessed this must be a girl's kind of dessert.

Up next would be the Homemade Beancurd with Gula Melaka! Not exactly silky smooth, it was foolproof that the beancurd served here was homemade! The gula melaka syrup was diluted down (light in taste) and not the gooey type of consistency. The intent could be to impart the gula melaka flavor as well as still be easily mixed with the beancurd.   

Enjoying my bowl of homemade beancurd with gula melaka! Luckily I added less syrup for this one as I did not want to get a sugar rush so early! 4 more desserts to try though... 

The intensity raised as the tasting continued because the desserts were getting interesting! Suited to Singapore's hot weather, the Whole Coconut with Coconut Ice Cream and peanut crush was a hit among us! Who could resist such a dessert? I could already imagine myself having this dessert on the beach! Thumbs up for the effort of craving out the chunky flesh so that I could enjoy myself thoroughly without personally exerting any effort. Not to forget the glass of coconut juice I had that was given with this dessert!  

The Mango Cheong Fan was something that sounds questionable at first. Erase all thoughts of the savoury version you once knew because this silky-smooth sweet coconut infused skin could be an incoming dessert trend! Nicely wrapped like a parcel of a perfect gift and encasing a huge juicy chunk of mango within. This was one really slippery dessert of a kind. 

Saving the durian related desserts for the last, this D24 Durian Sauce with Sago proved to be too filling to non-durian lovers. I felt like I was drinking a 'Cream of durian' soup-of-the-day with the sago as well as the durian pulp adding textural contrast to the overall creaminess.  

Last but not least, the Durian Pancakes wrapped nicely in bright yellow fragile-thin skin. Filled with a mixture of cream and durian flesh, I stuffed half a piece at a time into my mouth, enjoying the intense burst of durian!
Now you guys know that I am a durian lover and I do not want to share this dessert!  

Right now I have 6 x of $5 Gift Vouchers by Hee Kee to give away!
Self collection location will be at Ang Mo Kio MRT station if you don't mind.
I will randomly pick 5 winners on the 19th of Aug to win 2 x of $5 Gift Vouchers.
All you have to do is to share this post on Facebook, follow me on instagram  
dessertingbeauty and leave a comment together with your email on this blog post.
(Vouchers expire by the end of this year, and I will follow back if you are a foodie too!)
(Note: I won't post your comment up.)

Not to forget, all readers who quote 'Alvin' will get a 10% discount at Hee Kee Desserts from
19 July to 19 August!

''In addition, Hee Kee will also be running an Instagram contest from 19 July to 19 August, where there’s up to S$60 worth of Hee Kee vouchers to be won! All participants have to do is snap a picture and Instagram their dessert at Hee Kee, follow Hee Kee Desserts on Instagram, tell us what’s so great about the dessert they’re having and hash tag #heekeedesserts. Winners will be picked at random.''


Thank you alvinology.com, Hee Kee Desserts and Platform for the invite.
 
*Updates*
Winners of $10 Hee Kee Vouchers by me: elynchan1010, yongxian89 and greddy_sg10
                                                                            
                 
1 Jurong West Central 2,
JP2, #03-54/55,
Jurong Point, S(648886)

16 Jul 2014

Korean Corn Cane Ice Cream - Rare chance to try in Singapore


There was a temporary Korean Food Fest last week and by the time you have seen this post, I guess this 'rare' dessert would already be gone from Takashimaya. For someone who have not been to Korea before, I found this yellow wrinkled cane looking thing rather alien. After Kepo-ing (busybody-ing) around a bit, I found out that it was the corn cane ice cream that was imported from Korea, costing $3.50 each. 

I even went to video how she 'squeeze' the vanilla soft serve ice cream in these hollow centred corn canes.
Check out the video on my instagram account here!

Gosh! I just had buffet at Marriott Cafe less than a hour ago and I am eating this! Already ultra full and this corn cane did not show my stomach any mercy at all. While girls go crazy over K-pop bands, I got influenced by Meok-Band Trend, which is the latest online craze among South Koreans. It involves watching a gorgeous woman eat giant servings of food!
''Combine the elements of competitive food eating, voyeurism and online porn and you turn the banal act of eating into marathon livestreamed video that has become a growing trend out of South Korea.''
Nah, not into that extend yet since I only had pictures of myself enjoying my food...

Being a bit of an asshole here, I saw a couple of girls seriously enjoying themselves feeding on this yellow sticks. Guys eating this would naturally feel much more awkward. I told my friend to give his girlfriend a cane and he would be able to tell if she were good at SEX. (One of the criteria) 
Frankly, the corn cane was only slightly crisp, close to tasteless and containing fairly little soft serve. Don't judge the internal containment by its overall size!   

*Update* - There is an outlet at Vivocity basement 2 selling these for the same price too!

28 May 2014

Little Part 1 Cafe - A corner to cozy up!


Chilling in a cafe has always been my favorite hobby, especially when it was my friend who decides on the location. (So I need not crack my brain and stress on where to go!) Having been to Upper Thomson countless times to dine, I was surprised that I had actually missed out this 'Little Part I Cafe' which was located near Upper Thomson Plaza. Took a shot of the entrance since it portrayed a retro feel. (Stupid black car spoiled my photo!)   

Despite the range of beers and other alcoholic beverages available, the desserts option was quite limited, roughly about 5-6 choices only. My friend took the walnut cheesecake since he had cravings for cheesecakes that day. Every mouthful of cheesecake had plenty of walnut bits in them, nuttier than cheesey! He got an apple cider beer to pair with his cake!

As the selection of cakes did not persuade me to try them, I went for the waffle instead. The pale yellowish looking waffle came with a scope of vanilla and chocolate ice cream that tasted rather decent. However, the texture of the waffle was not what I had expected it to be - Crispy. It was soft, chewy and soon soggy. (Somehow my friend liked the chewy texture.) Anyway, I still enjoyed the dim, homely and cozy ambient, the company of my friend and the night view of the quiet road outside.   

9 Apr 2014

Orh Nee Roll - My Rendition of Orh Nee

Decided to do up a post before going to dreamland to recharge my energy for a crazy day of work tomorrow! It is FHA week and the morning crowd is so CRAZY! Too bad my off days are after FHA and I could not go although I had complementary ticket from my chef. (Gave away the ticket already...) I posted about my last day of school and my presentation previously (click here to view) and below is the dessert I created. The recipe I used included if anyone want to try making it?  


(Picture taken from my school instructor's album.) Nicely taken from his DSLR! 


A summarized version of my report (modified)

Orh Nee Roll is my rendition of the popular Teochew dessert that goes a long way back.
Orh Nee in Teochew means Taro Paste and memories of this dish come from attending
wedding banquets, where it is almost customary for it to be served as the last course in resturants.
The main ingredient used is yam, which is one of the oldest food plants known. It is also a common plant found around the rustic and rural kampung environment in the past. Yams are a good source of potassium, manganese, copper, vitamin C, dietary fiber, and vitamin B6.
The other secondary ingredients used are coconut cream, pandan leaves, shallots and pumpkin seed (to replace the actual pumpkin flesh).   
Since the past, coconut cream is added to Orh Nee to enhance the flavor, giving it a creamier texture. As for shallots, when fried, they produce a fragrant aroma which would mask the undesirable smell of the yam. Pandan leaves are used as additional flavoring for the skin.

To further depict the kampong style, I choose to present my Orh Nee rolled up in light pandan fragrance snowskin, looking like a piece of home made traditional kueh. It is also to break the monotonous habit of serving Orh Nee in a bowl, looking like a pile of unappetizing dull looking gooey mess. The spongy texture of the snow skin with fried shallots and pumpkin seed provide a slight contrast to the rich creamy texture of the yam paste itself. This sweet as well as savory dessert is made from scratch, just like from the kampung days.


Dessert name: Orh Nee Roll (About 100 pcs)
(Adjust oil and coconut cream base on your desired consistency.)

Ingredient List

Yam Paste 

Fresh Yam        1200g
Caster Sugar        200g
Peanut Oil            300g
Shallots             15 no.s
Coconut Cream    600g
Salt                    A pinch

Snow Skin

Fried Glutinous Rice Flour (Kou Fien)          600g + (100g for dusting)
Icing Sugar                                                   750g
Shortening                                                    180g
Water (Cold)                                                 600ml
Green Colouring                                            Few drops
Pandan Leaves                                              100g


Method

1)      Peel taro and cut into thin slices. Arrange on a dish/tray and steam for 20-30 min until soft.
2)      Once the taro slices are out of the steamer, mash them up with the back of a fork, adding caster sugar at the same time. Taste and add more caster sugar if required. Tweak the level of sweetness to personal preference. Cover with clingfilm.
3)      Peel shallots and finely slice them.
4)      In a wok or wide saucepan, add oil and sliced shallots. Gently stir-fry on medium low heat until the shallot discs begin to brown and crisp up. Strain the shallots from the oil.
5)      Return oil back to the wok, turn down the flame to low. Add mashed taro paste and mix until well amalgamated. Taste again and add more sugar if required. Also, if coconut milk is used, it can be added at this point with a pinch of salt. Cut back the oil by half if so and add accordingly until the desired texture is achieved.
6)      Allow the taro paste to cool down considerably. Transfer into a food blender and blitz until smooth. Chill the mixture till firm.
7)      Sift the flour and mix with icing sugar and add into a bowl
8)      Blend the pandan leaves for its juice, add into the cold water with a few drops of colouring.
9)      Add shortening and water to the flour mixture, mix together to form a smooth dough and keep aside for 30 minutes.
10)   Roll out the dough into a rectangular flat surface, spread the taro paste across it and roll it up like a swiss roll.
11)  Chill before slicing into portion and serve. 


(I had my reference from http://travelling-foodies.com)

22 Feb 2014

Maison Kaiser - A filling high tea set


It was a rather random choice that day as I picked Maison Kaiser for high tea with my mum. Being
tempted by a couple of other tables who had ordered the 3-tier high tea set for 2, I decided to go for the
similar set as well. I am a typical follow-the-crowd person indeed! When the 3-tier stand arrived with 3
large plates of food, it basically occupied most of the table space and it was so annoying to eat with such
limited table space. (See from the picture what I meant?)  

The set came with a pot of tea of our choice and we picked the Lemongrass and Verbena.
(Free refill of hot water available but reusing the same tea bag.) I really disliked the cup design,
as with such large surface area, the tea turned cold really fast unknowingly. 


We started off with the sausage quiche (quiche of the day) and we enjoyed it thoroughly! (My personal
favourite from the entire set.) The savoury quiche had a somewhat firm eggy custard (not watery) with not-
so-salty sausage chunks. The taste was well balanced and it was so addictive, especially for a fan of
savoury food like me. The smoked salmon side and salad were refreshing and gave the savoury part a
different texture.  

The desserts were sweetness overload to us, especially the eclair and the chocolate chip cookies. The icing
coated eclair was filled with vanilla flavoured ; custard-like cream, thick and sticky. I did not manage to
finish my piece of sugar-high cookie though. I loved the moist green tea cake with cream as well as the
large slice of mixed berries cream cake. Eat it early or you would witness the meltdown of the gelatin set
mixed berries compote (top layer).     

Last was not least, these assorted open faced sandwiches were decent and fulfilled their duty in filling us up
quite a bit. With such a filling high tea session, my mum and I probably had a bit of problems having dinner
at a standard 6+ timing that day.