Tiong Bahru Durian (Lau Pa Sat)

Heard about the opening of Tiong Bahru Durian’s opening of a second outlet at Lau Pa Sat recently — Durian Desserts by Tiong Bahru Durian’s existence at Newton Food Centre (where their first outlet is located) first came to light via an article that 8 Days has ran previously, which featured their innovative take on durian-based desserts. Their newest outlet at Lau Pa Sat takes over the former premises of Aroy Thai Snacks (which is moving to a new location at Upper Aljunied Road) that faces Robinson Road leading up to Market Street. Taking up the space of a small kiosk, Tiong Bahru Durians is quite difficult to miss — the stall still comes decked with a giant LED display screen that scrolls through customised messages input by the folks whom run the stall; the stall also being decked in a bright yellow signage as well. Much like their original location in Newton Food Centre, Tiong Bahru Durian serves up Durian Mousse as well as Soya Beancurd with and without durian mousse; there is also a Mango Mousse that comes without durian elements that is being offered at Lau Pa Sat as well — something which we did not recall seeing at their location at Newton Food Centre previously. Patrons can also opt to add-on toppings to their choice of desserts such as that of Lotus Biscoff Crumbs, Nata de Coco, New Zealand Honey etc. as they wish as well.

Having previously tried one their durian mousses as well as their Soya Beancurd with durian mousse when we made our visit to their Newton Food Centre outlet before the food centre was closed for its most recent round of renovations, we found ourselves wanting to go for the Mango Mousse + Tahitian Vanilla Gelato this time round. Unlike their durian mousse and soya beancurd offerings, the menu does not suggest any combinations involving durian with the Mango Mousse + Tahitian Vanilla Gelato, though it is known that one would still be able to add-on the Musang King or Sultan King mousse via the “Extras” section of the menu if they so wish to. The Mango Mousse + Tahitian Vanilla Gelato is pretty much a simply concoction; one that involves chilled mango purée that is served with cubes of mango, alongside a scoop of Tahitian Vanilla Gelato over the top. This item offers no surprises; considering how the dessert is served using disposable wares, we did find that the scoop of Tahitian Vanilla Gelato was served at a temperature that was a little too chilled for the disposable plastic spoon to scoop easily. While the Tahitian Vanilla Gelato comes with visible specks of vanilla beans, most of its flavours were largely overwhelmed by the sweet and tart mango purée that was the primary flavour throughout the entire dessert; the gloopy mango purée coming with cubes of mango within that provides some texture to the dessert.

We recalled having the either of the durian mousses that Durian Desserts by Tiong Bahru Durian had to offer at their Newton location and the Soya Beancurd with durian mousse — both of which did not leave a spectacular impression with us. We felt somewhat the same about their Mango Mousse + Tahitian Vanilla Gelato, though perhaps it did fare just slightly better than the items that we have had previously. One thing that we felt that they had done better than they previously did was to store the mango mousse and its accompanying elements at a suitable temperature; this also meant that the dessert is served chilled as it should be even despite the relentless weather at Lau Pa Sat where we were seated at (we were basically sitting under an umbrella at the outdoors area when we visited Tiong Bahru Durian), whilst also not particularly frozen that it ruins the entire texture of the dessert. That being said, the Mango Mousse + Tahitian Vanilla Gelato felt undoubtedly basic and flat; the mango mousse element most certainly overwhelming all else in the dessert; just felt that it lacked some sort of balance to make it come towards a more neutral point of sweetness. Given how the items are priced, we would be more likely to give the Durian Mousse and Soya Beancurd a go again if we were to revisit Tiong Bahru Durian at Lau Pa Sat again; the durian mousse being priced between $5.50 to $8 for a “single” portion — the higher priced offering of the Musang King being equivalent to that of the Mango Mousse + Tahitian Vanilla Gelato. Given the high turnover of tenants at Lau Pa Sat though, it would be interesting to see how Tiong Bahru Durian will go from here.