Cooling down at The Dessert Kitchen

When you hear the word "dessert" what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Cakes? Cookies? Some elaborate creamy confection?  I am partial to kakanin or native rice cakes so I that's what I hope is on the table.   I normally don't think "ice cream" since that's not high on my list of favourites. 

My friend and I were craving for something sweet after a very savoury and umami rich dinner.  

The Dessert Kitchen at the third floor of the Rockwell Mall seemed like the perfect answer.  

The ice cream counter at the entrance should have warned me.  The Dessert Kitchen's menu is full 

of cold confections.  You can choose from soft or "hard" ice cream,  full cream or low fat or even yoghurt.  The thick, glossy menu is full of stunning and gorgeous photos of all the possible combinations you could think of.  Sundaes? Parfaits? Smoothies? Puddings?  

The Dessert Kitchen has them all.  For those who crave for the egg shaped waffles that you can buy from street side vendors in Hong Kong -- well, they're here too.

The egg shaped waffles and the other items on the menu reminded me of similar places in Hong Kong.  True enough -- The Dessert Kitchen is a franchise brought in from there.  I was happy to
see  the shaved ice concoctions as this is a particular favourite of mine -- all the flavour without the creaminess. Durian shaved ice!  Coconut!  Mango!  All perfect for my lactose intolerant self.  

The decor is as contemporary and fanciful as the desserts.

My friend and I ordered two desserts -- so we could sample more items from the menu.

We shared a parfait called Coffee Time which is a combination of coffee and vanilla ice cream, 

coffee jelly and cream lightly dusted with coffee powder.  It's placed before me, looking for all 

the world like a chic, tall and slim, outrageously stylish and intimidating supermodel.  

"Eat me" ... it whispered ...  "Eat me and you'll be the exact opposite of a tall, slim, stylish, intimidating  supermodel"  

Eeek!  I nearly dropped  my spoon! 

We also ordered  Japanese style chocolate brownies -- it's called Japanese style because the bite sized pieces are wrapped up in glutinous, chewy mochi.  Since I am not an ice cream person but a chewy-cookie type of person -- I much preferred this over the parfait.  Be warned though, one small piece is heavy and lands with a big clunk in the middle of your stomach.  It's definitely the combination of dark chocolate, dense brownie and even denser mochi.  We had one piece each and took the other two home.

Hands down, I was certainly the oldest person in The Dessert Kitchen that night!  My friend and I were surrounded by teen-agers and twenty somethings.  But then again, who else could have the capacity (and the desire) for the decadently extravagant offerings that the Dessert Kitchen has? 

P.S.

On my next visits to The Dessert Kitchen I had their shaved ice desserts.  

Here is the Mango Shaved Ice with a side of fresh mango slices,  mochi balls and my 

absolute  favourite -- chunks of silky smooth nata de coco.  It's a sunny pile of 

very finely shaved curlicues of mango flavoured ice that just melt in your mouth in a golden 

puddle of  mango sweetness. 

Don't worry about the mini-mountain sized serving because it's so light and refreshing  

that you'll find yourself finishing the entire plate (with a little help from some friends).

I have also tried their Chocolate Shaved Ice -- with sliced bananas.  This had the bittersweet flavour of dark chocolate which I love but the mango version is still better as it  brings a cleaner, brighter taste to the palate. 

Tip : The Dessert Kitchen's items are definitely meant for sharing so bring a friend or two.  And try 

to avoid week-ends when the queues are so long, any desire for ice cream would have melted away.