The Masses

With the descendent of Matcha cream cheese tart, here comes HOUJICHA, in collaboration with @matchayasg as well! 💛 Served along with salted milk Shao Xing Ice cream, dango and kuromitsu, the houjicha tart comes with a top layer of white chocolate and cream cheese dusted with houjicha powder (swipe to view the interior)! The white chocolate flavour was barely discernible here, which wasn’t an issue for me since I am not a major fan of it. The cream cheese was smooth, light and luscious , a great companion to the houjicha ganache which came with a distinct roasted, earthy flavour and pleasant lingering aroma. Personally prefer this flavour over the previous Matcha one, with its characteristic roasted flavour being more prominent than the latter. On the downside, both my dining partner and I felt that the salted milk Shao Xing ice cream wasn’t a compatible companion to the tart, and we didn’t really fancy the alcoholic flavour that was a tad too strong and pungent for the light hearted us! 🙈 Would be great if it’s matcha ice cream instead or perhaps salted milk without the Shao Xing! 😅 Alcohol and tea is a combination that my palate simply can’t seem to appreciate 🤭. Nevertheless, the main highlight was still the houjicha tart after all, which was pretty impressive and enjoyable! ✨ .
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#burpple #themassessg #sgfoodie

Of course, the dessert I was most excited to try was the Houjicha White Chocolate and Cream Cheese Tart ($13.90++) and it was really interesting how the rich and thick cream cheese flavour matched the robust and bitterness of the houjicha powder from none other than @matchayasg; cream cheese tends to get 'jelat' very quickly but I didn't feel so for this. White chocolate was a pretty much overshadowed or missing but with such strong flavours, I could easily overlook that. Breaking into the tart will reveal a luscious flow of that cream cheese as the houjicha slowly breaks itself around. ❤️ The dessert comes with chewy dango and kuromitsu, as well as a dollop of shao xing ice-cream, a very strange but somehow fitting ice-cream with a strong kick of saltiness that manages to pair well with the dessert but might be a little too much on its own if you are not a savoury dessert person.

Now you can - sort of - by ordering A Bowl of Dylan's Memories ($17.90++). Do not be alarmed or confused; that is the exact name of the dish! 😆

Composed in individual portions of Hainanese Iberico pork chop, spicy bacon jam, pickled mushroom, 64-degree egg, braised savoy and fluffy Japanese rice, this dish is actually an ode to one of Chef Dylan's favourites: scissors curry rice. You can taste this in individual components or mix them up to savour the dish in its entirety and at maximum flavour. I went for the latter - less the cutlet as I was afraid I might get it soggy - and boy, no regrets at all! The egg is runny, rice is fragrant, but what really won my heart with this dish at an instant was the pork chop which is so tender, crisp and delicious while appearing to have been very well drained of oil! If you love your pork katsu's, the chop here is solely enough reason for you to give this dish a try! 🤤

While there is no curry involved, the bacon jam works as a rather ingenious substitute by providing the kick of spiciness you'd typically expect to find in curry rice while bringing a sweet-savoury hint of flavour to the dish. Feel free to douse some ponzu sauce for added saltiness.

Overall, I reallyyyy love this dish, and I'd gladly return for it again (and again) in a heartbeat! Looking forward to more memories to be turned into food here! 😍