Deconstructed Eye Candy

A dessert that presenting different textures of strawberries and raspberries — there's Strawberry Meringue, Raspberry Sorbet, Strawberry Mousse, crunchy freeze-dried bits of fruit, chunks of strawberry and sauce. Each element here presents itself differently, a consisting of a different intensity of sourness and texture (e.g. crunchiness smoothness, creaminess etc.) that makes it feel pretty layered out and gel together. A pretty refreshing dessert that cleanse the tastebuds after the meal here.

Part of the set lunch menu where 2 courses are served at $25++ and the 3 course set lunch menu costs $35++. Usually one who is not particularly wow-ed by popcorn desserts but this really worked very well — definitely enjoyed this one a lot! Served with raspberry sauce, meringue and nibs of raspberry on the side, the reason why this seemed to have carried the popcorn flavour so prominently and well was probably due to the popcorn crumbs beneath the ice-cream with the pop rocks — it's almost akin to having the real deal. The ice-cream wasn't overpowering, and that the pop rocks created an interesting popping sensation to the dish. Despite the general tartness of raspberry, the combination here worked well with a balance of sweet and berry sourness that was pretty much in harmony. This dessert also works particularly well with the Flat White — coffee/tea/soft drinks come complimentary with the set lunch menu here.

Headed to Sunday Folks to try and grab my grubby hands on the Adzuki Soft Serve but saw that they had this plated dessert on their menu which is limited to 10 portions daily — knew I had to get one since it's been quite a while since the last time I had played dessert.

Adzuki ice-cream gateau, Kuromitsu sago, Hazelnut Milk Chocolate ice-cream, Black Sesame Financier, Orange Marmalade, Coconut Milk Foam, Matcha Soil and Edible Flowers. Despite the numerous components that goes into the dessert, it doesn't seem to get messy and felt like a good infusion of Japanese-y elements with bright flavours of spring. The Adzuki ice-cream felt like a more refined version of the red bean potong ice-cream we grew up with, but the deep, mellow sweetness of Kuromitsu made it pretty alluring and leaning more on the Japanese side as a result. The surrounding elements such as the coconut foam and orange marmalade gives it a tropical flavour; bright and tangy while the sesame cake was warm with light, roasty flavours (I would prefer stronger, but if one were to nitpick, it does feel a wee bit lonely here with the other elements). The Hazelnut Chocolate ice-cream is perfect though; smooth with a very rich nutty and slight chocolatey flavour that is hard to resist. Admittedly the price tag of $16 does make it seem a little pricey as compared to the waffle which is also more substantial in portion size, but this is a showcase of what the people behind Sunday Folks is capable of doing out of the waffles and soft-serve that they are already very well-known for.

Was quite inclined to give their Soufflé a try but they creeped up behind me again with a complimentary Apple Crumble. Pretty innovative in its presentation, their version doesn't come in a pie form but rather, a plated format that comes with Vanilla ice-cream drizzled with salted caramel, Crumbles, Greek Yogurt and a whole stewed apple — yes you read it right; a full apple. This was absolutely on point; the Apple was immensely soft, but not at all too sweet for there isn't any caramel in here; only flavoured by its natural sweetness. The crumbly bits gave it a nice touch, and the Greek Yogurt gave it a muesli-like touch. The accompanying vanilla ice-cream is specked with vanilla beans; immensely aromatic and delightful especially when you combine every single element to a spoonful as the sweetness is pretty balanced. Really, really well done. Be warned though; the seeds within are not removed so do exercise just a little caution while eating just in case ;)

One of the two options available for dessert in the set lunch menu (2 courses for $30++, 3 courses for $38++), also listed in the ala-carte menu at $15++ per portion. One of the really daring desserts that sees a familiar local infusion, it comes with Laksa leaf ice-cream, pomelo and green chili purée. Coconut ice-cream was refreshing and creamy, but the laksa leaf ice-cream felt more of the limelight for how interesting it tastes; so similar with the laksa we have all grown up with. Green chili was surprisingly zingy, and even came with mild spiciness that makes this dessert really interesting and different, while pomelo chunks exist all over for a juicy burst. The daring flavour combination is certainly not for everyone, but ordering this would definitely give your taste buds a ride into the unknown.

"Cheng Teng" Ice, Longans, Red Dates, Black Sago Pearls. This was pretty much a modern interpretation of the local Cheng Tng. Upon serving, the Cheng Tng will be poured into the Cheng Tng ice. Cheng Tng flavour was more prominent in the ice than the liquid, though still pretty light tasting as the other ingredients such as dates and longan were served together in the bowl with the pear. What makes this so appealing was the pear; subtly sweet from its own but with a hint of Jasmine aroma, which makes it pretty uplifting.

Yet another of the plated desserts available, though this is more of the usual type of deconstructed desserts rather than the more fancy and cute ones that are available in the menu. More towards chocolate, this dessert features Walnut Brownie, Whiskey-Infused Milk Chocolate Whip, Bacon Crisps on Chocolate Paper, Caramel Popcorn and Raspberry Sorbet. While the individual components all did quite well, there seemed to be a lack of integration for a more cohesive feel for this dessert. That being said, I really loved the milk chocolate whip a lot because they were not shy on Whiskey for this one; the alcohol flavours can get so strong it almost equates to having a mild cocktail and the Bacon Crisps on Chocolate Paper was surprisingly savoury. Raspberry Sorbet was also done pretty well; tart yet sweet and gives the dessert different dimensions of flavour.

Plated desserts are aplenty here and many feature more abstract designs, but this is one of the few that is pretty straightforward, yet fancy in its own cute and innocent form. Replicating a rubber ducky in a bathtub full of soap, the bright and cheery duck is actually a Frozen Exotic Cocktail that is set in lemongrass foam which covers the other details such as sago, fresh mango purée and Creme Fraiche pudding. This is a dessert for the Mango lovers; the flavour of mangoes were prominent through the whole dessert which was tart and sweet at the same time, with a zingy flavour from the lemongrass espuma around. Sago gives the dessert a bit of chew, but the Creme Fraiche pudding at the bottom is the one that helps neutralize your tastebuds at the end of the dessert by being eggy and cleans up the palate for a well-rounded ending.

Coconut Mousse, Coconut Crisps, Pineapple Chutney, Meringue, Passionfruit Coulis, Mascarpone Lime Sorbet. Seemingly plated as though there is a cheesecake, don't be fooled by the looks of the coconut mousse and crisps; light and smooth mousse accompanied by crunchy crisps with sweet and chunky Pineapple Chutney, tangy Passionfruit Coulis and the zingy Mascarpone Lime Sorbet which is absolutely addictive. A plated dessert which tasted as pretty as it looked, and carried its own character true to its name with its flavour and choice of ingredients. Will be back for more in the future; they seemed to have a lot of funky plated desserts which all seem worth a try!

Soursop Cheesecake, Malibu-infused Vanilla Cake, Meringue, Soursop Gel, Sable Crumble and Desiccated Coconut. Liked how they went all innovative with Soursop; a fruit rarely found in desserts despite being a tropical fruit. Plating was based off a more "garden-like" feel, with loads of green and flower-shaped meringue. Soursop Cheesecake came with half of the sphere being soursop and the other half being the cheesecake; overall felt more cheesecake but enhanced by the soursop gel on the side, while the sable crumbles act as a crumble base for the cheesecake. Particularly liked the vanilla pound cake that was surprisingly aromatic as it fills up the tongue with flavour. Overall an attempt on a plated dessert where effort can be felt, but somehow lacked a bit of character. Two Baker's plated dessert is only available as a special on Fridays and Saturdays from 6pm; note the time and days so you wouldn't make a wasted trip down for them!

Lola's Cafe recently expanded their shop space into the neighboring unit and 7 Simon Road serves as an extension that serves plated desserts and other sweets while also servicing the mad weekend brunch crowds here. Odd Fellow is one of the three plated desserts on the menu; Passionfruit Curd, Basil Ice-Cream, Cereal Crumble and Meringue. Notably the dessert felt loosely based on Thai flavours possibly due to the use of basil in the ice-cream which gives a sweet herb flavour, accompanied by the tart Passionfruit curd. Meringue was crumbly and sweet, though starts becoming sticky after a while. Wasn't really a big fan of the cereal crumbles which leaves an aftertaste; perhaps they could go with Graham Cookie crumbles instead which would round off the dessert better. At $7 though, this is probably good as all things go; after-all there aren't many around serving plated desserts in a cafe setting and certainly not in such price range.

Featuring a Kaya mousse with Chocolate Ice-Cream and Chocolate mousse. Chocolate flavours were overwhelming, covering most of the taste from the Kaya mousse which was strong of coconut flavours, but the dark chocolate ice-cream despite being rich and not too sweet seemed to have a rather airy texture within.