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Wei Ji Desserts 伟记甜品 was one of those stalls that we had come across whilst going around the Farrer Road area — located at Empress Market and Food Centre, the impression kind of stuck for this one considering how they seem to be a rather recent addition to the food centre and how such traditional local desserts stalls are quite a hard find in hawker centres these days. Wei Ji Desserts is situated in a stall unit that is along the same row of stalls as Bunga Raya Prata Hut and 7 Star Handmade Dim Sum in the food centre; the white signboard with red text does make them blend in well with the other hawker stalls surrounding them — that being said, these folks seem to have only opened some time back in 2023, with the first review left on Google reviews about the stall being sometime in June / July 2023. All that being said, there are some cues in the decor of Wei Ji Desserts that make them seem like an establishment with some character — the placement of flowers at the shopfront, as well as well-taken photographs of the food are things that help to draw some attention to the stall. With their focus being on traditional local desserts, the items offered include Barley Bean Curd (available both hot and cold), Snow Fungus Peach Gum (only available cold), Burbur Terigu etc.
Whilst Burbur Terigu is an item that can be considered as an uncommon find these days, Pulut Hitam is one of the hot local desserts that we were first exposed to as a child by our parents; something that we had a liking for, but also a dessert which we had lost touch on considering how we pretty much gave up on trying the dessert for the most part given the many disappointing variants we have had. Dished out into the bowl upon ordering, the Pulut Hitam here is served piping hot. One thing that can be immediately observed in the Pulut Hitam here is how thick the consistency of the Pulut Hitam is; coming in an almost jet-black appearance with a splash of coconut milk just to to go along. With that being said, digging into the Pulut Hitam reveals the dark, purplish hue from the black glutinous rice. As we enjoyed the first spoonful, the grainy notes of the Pulut Hitam lingers at the back of the tongue while a light sweetness hits first; the level of sweetness being just appropriate to bring the dessert to taste, allowing the black glutinous rice to drive the flavours of the dessert at the back end. The texture of black glutinous rice was also right on point; soft-to-the-bite without any rough, gritty bits from within. That dash of coconut milk adds a further fragrance and richness to the Pulut Hitam for yet another flavour contrast. With all desserts being priced at $1.80 (the only exception being the Snow Fungus Peach Gum, which is priced at $2.50), Wei Ji Desserts does serve up some really affordable, thoughtful and well-executed local Chinese desserts that would suit the older demographic of those whom visit Empress Market & Food Centre well — the Pulut Hitam being an example where the sweetness and consistency of the dessert hitting the sweet spot for a perfect balance. A stall which we would find is worthy of making a trip to check out!
