November 2013 – Sudah makan? Have you eaten?

One could smell it the moment one entered the little shop. The fragrance or odour (depending on how one views it) was either to die for or run away from. Yes, that infamous smell of durian flesh which has been mistaken for gas leaks in other countries, resulting in the evacuation of entire buildings for the un– or misinformed. But not so here. IT is one of the reason why so many people come here for dessert.

This is an interesting place. It is located in Ang Mo Kio in an area that has since been rebuilt. For a Hong Kong desserts place, it is unique as it is halal, no GST or service charge either. One has to pay in cash the moment the food is served, which saves time as customers can just leave when they are ready, without waiting to pay. There are always people looking at the menu pasted on the glass windows before deciding if they want to try the food. What I liked about their menu was the detailed descriptions of the items offered. Several of their desserts are very popular here and they tend to run out quickly as well. But there is enough variety so if your first choice is not available, try the second choice. On one of my visits, I had wanted to try their mango desserts but the mangoes that day were not ripe enough and customers were informed and asked if they wanted to pick something else.

I also tried one of their hot dessert drinks which was known to cure coughs. I had been recovering from throat infection which had turned into a dry cough and voila, after the dessert, my throat felt completely comforted and the itch and urge to cough was really completely gone. I was so happy that I decided to return on another day to try their other food and subsequently, I came back a third time.

This place may be small but it is reasonably priced, the food is great and it is close to where I live, which is an added bonus! The staff were helpful with their recommendations. I hope this place remains in business for a long time and maintains their quality. I am told that the owners pay a lot of attention to quality and I must say that that is evident in their desserts. It is certainly giving the other dessert shops a run for my money for now!

Xie Ji Hongkong Dessert, Jubilee Square, 61 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8 #01-02, Ang Mo Kio, 569814. They have a second outlet at #B1-35, 120 Maxwell Road, 069119.

What’s in this? A nice unique way of serving.

Snow fungus and pear! It was good to the last drop and it cured my cough. This drink is known to cure coughs, by the way.

Golden goodness in a bowl!

Durian puffs! I simply could not resist this and it was good!

On another day, we came for the dim sum.

Siew Mai and Har Kow. This was so so.

Hong Kong lotus leaf rice with a whole range of stuff in it like dried Chinese mushrooms, meat, salted egg and beans, all wrapped in lotus leaf. There were a lot of ingredients in this. This was not bad.

I took a picture of the chilli because it was not the usual chilli that I have tasted before at other dim sum places. This chilli did not taste like it had come out of a bottle.

Snow fungus and pear in coconut. The taste had gone right into the coconut and vice-versa and this tasted as nice as it was fragrant.

Durian shake with durian. This was yummy. The durian used was good. The shake was lighter and the combination of a lighter durian taste in the shake and actual durian was good.

Avocado shake with avocado.

Muah chee, sprinkled with crushed sesame seeds and peanuts. Muah Chee is made of glutinous rice. I liked the crushed peanuts better, perhaps because I was eating durian as well and the durian taste tends to overpower everything else, hence I could not quite taste the sesame seeds. I may try this again on another visit, when I am not ordering durian.

I had heard quite a lot about this place and when I came by one time, I could not get a seat, despite having booked through Chope. That was when I realised that calling the place was more reliable than using Chope. So we called and booked a table for two for about 1 p.m. on a weekday. We came as planned and were shown to our seats immediately.

The place was crowded for a weekday afternoon. I guess folks were still having breakfast for lunch or if they were like me, they were on half-day and enjoying the afternoon over a cup of tea or in my case, chocolate. The place serves all-day breakfasts.

We have no complaints about the food and drinks. The English breakfast was good, as were the drinks. I did not like the bready cake or the cakey bread as it was a little heavy after a hearty breakfast but apart from that, everything else was fine except for the scones which we wanted to have after the main meal. My friend had ordered the scones thinking that they would serve it with clotted cream but to her disappointment, they had run out of the cream and did not think it was important enough to inform their customers. We then asked them why they did not attempt to get their supply from other sources while waiting for their supplier to replenish their stock. According to them, they only use a certain type of clotted cream so going to a supermarket to get some cream to make do was well, a no no. We had enjoyed everything else mostly and the scone was supposed to be like the icing on the cake, minus the cream. One cannot have scones without clotted cream because the balance is just not there. And yes, that IS important.

For a place like this and the location that it was in, with the good service that they already have, it would have been nice if they had been thoughtful enough to inform us that they had run out of clotted cream so that we could pick something else instead of eating something that was not properly served and leaving customers well, unsatiated. So, if anyone is going to order scones the next time, check that it does come with clotted cream.

Wild Honey, 6 Scotts Square #03-01. Tel: +65 6636 1816. They have a second outlet at 333A Orchard Road #03-02, Mandarin Gallery.

Cinnamon honey ginger drink. Delightful!

English breakfast! This too was nice! I especially love that the potatoes were not the powdery kind.

French hot chocolate with marshmallows. A definite must-have. Simply chocolate!

This was a cross between a cake and bread. I could not decide if I should call it ‘crake’ or ‘cread’. I thought it would be more like dessert but it turned out to be too bready for a cake.