Favourite Desserts in Brisbane

Because I have a some-what goldfish-like memory, I thought I'd better jot down where I've gotten some of Brisbane's yummiest desserts from. 

Those who know me know that I love food and I eat almost round the clock. I eat when I'm sad, happy, bored or busy. This practice isn't always the best for me because I'm not too careful with what I eat and I don't have the best of diets. To make matters worse, I have a really sweet tooth! My home country is Singapore, and we are basically a food (and shopping) paradise. I used to be really spoilt for choice especially when it came to desserts (you name it, we have it) but ever since I relocated to Brisbane, Australia, it has been a challenge finding a good dessert place. 

Nevertheless, Mr. C and I have found a few that we regularly patronize. The current list is not extensive but we will continue to add to the list in the near future, I'm sure.

First on my list is this dessert from Hanaichi in WinterGarden Shopping Mall, Brisbane CBD. Black sesame panna cotta with black sesame ice cream. It is served with a traditional Japanese pastry called "dorayaki". It's like a baked pastry shell shaped like a fish with red bean paste filling. This dish is absolutely divine and I give it 10 out of 10 stars for hitting the spot! The ice cream is thick, creamy and tastes very strongly of black sesame seed. The dorayaki was baked to crisp perfection and the red bean paste within was smooth and sweet. The panna cotta, although a tad bland (and it's consistency is also too rubbery), is a welcome change to the dish because it takes away some of the sweetness from the ice cream and the red bean paste and balances everything out.

My 2nd favourite dessert is also from Hanaichi, and it's a Green tea swiss roll served with green tea ice cream. Again, the ice cream is extremely creamy but not overtly sweet. There is also a decent amount of Matcha aftertaste, which I really fancy. What can I say, I love Japanese ice cream! They are quality treats. In my opinion, the swiss roll could be made with a little bit more butter in it because it is a little dry, but I like to cut it up into bits, wait for the ice cream to melt a little before using the cut-up swiss roll bits to mop up the delightful creamy mess that is this perfectly-concocted ice cream. Absolutely sensational.

There's just something about Japanese desserts that doesn't leave you feeling too full or sick to the stomach with cream, jam or cheese like most Western-style desserts do. But don't get me wrong, I do love my occasional New York cheesecake and jam donuts!

3rd on my list has got to be the Cronut. It's a hybrid between the croissant and the donut = Cronut! Ingenious! It's fun to say the word "cronut" too. I first learnt about them from magazines I got from the States, and then I heard about them again on the comedy show "2 Broke Girls". I was dying to try them out because they sounded divine but there weren't any that I could find in Brisbane, so I was a little disappointed. But I did come across them by accident at the Eat Street Market (Portside, Hamilton) one fortunate Saturday evening! A small, unassuming push cart right in a corner of the Market sells these babies every weekend! They are fried to golden perfection, coated in cinnamon sugar and then drenched in warm milk chocolate sauce. HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS THAT! A dessert cannot get any more sinful than this single serve of cronut! It isn't cheap, about $5 but dear Lord it is worth every single penny to me. It is a bit of a sticky mess because it isn't really possible to cut it into pieces, so be prepared for sticky fingers after!

 

 4th on my list are the Waffles from Gelare at South Bank! I cannot emphasize enough how important the texture/consistency of waffles are to me. I get really upset when I am served bad waffles. Yes they are that important to me, believe it. 

I like my waffles soft on the inside but crispy on the outside. They should also always be served warmed. My expectations sound simple but trust me, not many restaurants can get it right. I generally dislike the ice cream from Gelare because they taste a little 'low quality' to me, I'm extremely sensitive to milk and chocolate products so I can almost always tell when somebody is being slipshod or cheap with their desserts. But because it was really warm one day when Mr. C and I were out at South Bank, we decided to stop and have some ice cream and Movenpick was just too far away. I was greedy and ordered ice cream AND waffles, a decision that proved to be the right move. 

It was served just how I like it- warm and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. They even added whipped cream and generously drizzled maple syrup all over the waffles in addition to the scoop of ice cream! It was heavenly. Mr. C and I were fighting for every bite. He reckons we should order 2 full-sized waffles in the future so we don't have to share every time! Anyhow, I recommended this to my supervisor at work and he and his wife love it too. 

The ice cream flavours worth ordering from Gelare are the cookies & cream one, the peanut butter one and the triple chocolate fudge brownie (oh my god this is madness, it's too awesome). 

Alright, it's almost 2am and if I don't sleep now I will be late for work later. Will continue to update this space as I continue about my eating spree. 

Life is too short for bad dessert. True story.