Good Old Dessert

It does seem like there has been a slow uprising of the establishments that are focusing on serving up Chinese-style Tang Shui of the late; whilst we have written about Duke Desserts that had recently opened its doors at Fortune Centre and Tangyuan 糖苑 which had found home at the basement of Marina One, such establishments had also been sprouting up around the heartlands. One such establishment which we had come to know of its existence via social media would be Good Ol’ Dessert 街坊甜品. Located in a hole-in-the-wall shop space at the second level of Junction Nine within Yishun, Good Ol’ Dessert is one establishment that one might simply just walk by and miss out on if not paying attention; the shop is situated right across from D’Beef Noodle which is a kiosk-style eatery featuring a single table and a retail section of Muslim apparel. Good Ol’ Dessert is rather simply decked; the establishment mainly using white walls and wooden fittings for its decor — a pretty fuss-free look with simple furniture used for its limited dine-in area of four tables fit to sit two diners each. The menu at Good Ol’ Dessert might seem a little limited for some as compared to most establishments serving similar fare, though we did feel that it comes with relative variety for an establishment of its size. Desserts are split into Hot and Cold varieties here, with a separate list of add-ons that one can opt for to go long with their desserts.

Since we made our visit to Good Ol’ Dessert with one of our dining partners, we did manage to give one Hot and one Cold dessert a try during our trip there on a weekend afternoon; our choice for the Hot dessert being the Black Sesame Paste with Tang Yuan (2 pcs), while our choice for the Cold dessert was the Durian Mousse — D24. Between the two, our preferences were more towards the former; for the Black Sesame Paste with Tang Yuan (2 pcs), Good Ol’ Dessert does allow patrons to pick between two flavours of Tang Yuan despite it not being mentioned on the menu — the two flavours of the Tang Yuan being Sesame and Peanut though patrons are also allowed to go for one of each as well. For our order of the Black Sesame Paste with Tang Yuan (2 pcs), we went for one of each. It is well noted that the menu does indicate the Black Sesame Paste as one of their recommended offerings, and we felt that this was pretty much deserving of its given title — coming in a typical-sized bowl that Chinese-style Tang Shui establishments typically use for their offerings, the Black Sesame Paste here came with a jet black aesthetic; the Tang Yuan being buried deep within the black sesame paste. Digging into the Black Sesame Paste, we noticed how smooth the paste was with the grittiness of the ground black sesame being kept to the minimum here. Despite the smoothness of the paste, the flavours of black sesame are especially prominent — very roast-y with a slightly earthiness; also not too sweet and just sufficiently dense in terms of texture. When it came to the Tang Yuan, these felt more like commercially-made ones with the peanut-flavoured one coming in a pink hue, while the sesame-flavoured one coming in a white-coloured aesthetic. They are still pretty decent with that in mind though; still chewy whilst oozing with filling that helped add a sweetness to the Black Sesame Paste.

For the Durian Mousse — D24, the version we went for would be the one with the standard portion; there is also one that features double portions of durian flesh which is dubbed the Durian Mousse — D24 (Double Shot) that costs $1.50 extra. For the Durian Mousse — D24, it seems to have comprised of durian mousse, shaved ice and actual durian flesh; we felt that they were already pretty generous with the portion of actual durian flesh against the durian mousse here with sufficient durian flesh to go around all the durian mousse. The durian mousse also carried a decent hint of pungency from the king of fruits, with the actual durian flesh further enhancing the flavours with a fibrous texture for a bit of contrast. The only reason why it felt short was due to the shaved ice; a little inconsistent where there were some clumps larger than others — still something that would appeal to the typical durian lover. Being an establishment set-up in the heartlands, Good Ol’ Dessert does serve up their Chinese-style Tang Shui at a reasonable price; most items being priced below $5 with the most affordable ones being listed at $2.80 — only a handful like the Durian Mousse items, Peach Gum with Red Dat, Cendol with Durian and Mango Sago with Vanilla Ice Cream being priced that and to a price point of up to $7.50. Whilst Good Ol’ Dessert is a small-sized stall, we do feel that their offerings are on par with what some of the well-known Chinese-style dessert establishments have been serving up; definitely a gem for the residents whom are staying around Yishun for sure!