With Market Square, in among the general chaos of what goes where, somehow there seems to have been an agreement for where the dessert places go. This is the ghetto, or more the gathering hub, for most things sweet and Asian. It must be deliberate, as it is harder knowing most of the time what to have for dessert than the main meal (because *anything* if you are peckish enough). Or a brief snack if that is better. With a few places to select, this is why you come in groups to these places. With that being said, that was the case here.
After finishing off a good meal in another part of the square (two more antecedent reviews right there), my big sister wanted to treated her daughter to some bubble tea. Thus, with five other people (baby included) it was heading outside Little Taipei and onto the main section of Market Square. It brought us to the cross-roads of all the sweets places, and it might be the first time I actually paid attention to where I am reviewing. While the rest of the crew were next door ordering bubble tea, I went next door (seizing an opportunity to get another view under my belt) to finishing off with some sweets. What a great combination I may say.
It is hard to get a look inside, since the windows are alligned with photos of various items that they sell. Inside, it is much the same with the side wall having a large menu to peruse, and specials standing on the counter to prolong the perusing. This is almost like what a tea shop should be: quirky, friendly, a calmness among chaotic design, and bright colours. Space inside is not very big, in fact this is shaped more like a hallway. That does not prevent them from having the helpful cuteness a sweets shop often exudes. A few tables are inside, but the majority seating is outside on the pavement with their own chair pattern.
As always, expect some lovely service. It is this good. My big sister was asking if the food could be had next door (i.e. the bubble tea place), and it was no worries. The sweets were done take-away style, and they even made the effort to deliver it right to next door. All with a smile on their face. That is commendable.
The range of items available are essentially a lot of Asian desserts. Despite with some kind of Asian cuisine making up at least a quarter of the meals I eat, I still am not as knowledgeable about the desserts - so excuse my ignorance about describing it. A lot of it features jellies, but not anything super sweet, plus expect red bean and taro to be frequent on the menu, and there are twists on classic cakes. Knowing the Chinese and Japanese palette, they are not on the sweet side and a bit more tart - the texture is often different in its own way. My best analogy is bubble tea with their main section of the menu - sweet soup. Sounds... different. What happens is a shaved iced base - or another choice from the other array - is chosen, and then some toppings including fruit, taro, jelly or tapioca is selected to top it off. That is obviously the mainstay.
I have a hard time deciding, especially in a new place. It wasn't really a suggestion, however so, what I ended up ordering was the soy custard with icy syrup. This was all because my brother in law thought it looked good in the picture, and I like to share and get what people like. Talk about swinging their opinions a bit. With my brother in law, I was here thinking about what to get and he saw the picture of this one and thought it looked good. Since I am in to sharing and all that, sure. Next, he had a smell and didn't think it looked too good and the smell is a bit unusual - this is a fairly untreaded aspect of eating though, Asian desserts. However, with a bit of a begrudged look he went and had a try of it - and that try turned into countless spoonfuls.
Heck, who can blame him. Getting past the strange visuals it is a sweet and somewhat light dessert. Unlike many other Western-style desserts the sweetness feels more natural and less cloying. The soybean mixture soaks in the flavour very well, and with a good mix this becomes something unique (at least from my experiences). Was it a beverage concoction? Was it more like a sundae which melted quickly? Was it an attempt at a slushy? I don't know actually, it is something I have never tried before and will look forward to trying many things right like it.
Think of it as an equivalent of a side, with me it is getting another something to have a fairer critique of this place. Another small item on the side, the choice was to get a half dozen mochi balls. They were offered in peanut or in sesame, or for half and half if the customer was indecisive. For the unenlightened, mochi is a glutinous rice cake that is pounded into a paste before being shaped into the desired form - such as a sphere. Mochi can be used in a lot of things, including confectionery, ice cream and soups. It's not the most apt analogy, but as of now it gets the closes to what I imagine: these are akin to doughnuts. Respect definitely is given here to the presentation of the dessert, where the mochi is dusted off with the item in which it is flavoured - a good lot of black sesame for the sesame flavour, which is a notably darker colour, and heaps of peanuts for the peanut one (almost peanut butter, and that is good enough for me). These are served pipping hot, and are a cross between eating cookie dough and a giant, flavoured pearl akin to what is in bubble tea - that is chewy, soft, smooth and going down a treat.
I preferred the peanut one, and that is purely bias as I like peanut flavour. The professor got one, my brother in law sneaked another, and with the usual dining buddy, I brought the other two home for him to try. Everybody liked it. A small morsel of goodness which houses an unusual and unique flavour, something I plan to look out for a lot more in the future.
Overtime I have been warming up to the dessert course of Asian cuisines, because I reckon getting the whole feel of a cuisine all they way to the end meal truly gets its essence. This confirms it. Being one who has always advertised as trying anything once, I shall make it a duty to get some kind of sweet from an Asian place from now on at least one out of every two times. The sweets are lighter, have some good and unusual flavours and are pleasant once they are tasted.
It leaves me to say this, but the Sweet Dessert Shop was ultimately quite a success. Each person concerned tried a bit and left pretty impressed, some more than others - and that is about those who really liked it. The price is pocket money, there is a lot to sample that looks quite good, it is quick and gentle on the stomach after such an inevitably big meal from elsewhere in Market Square. Consider this the last post from now on.
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