Anyone who has ever watched a mainland-produced mukbang video will know just how seriously they take their sweets, their cakes, their desserts, their flavors and their colors.
Sometimes it's about the looks.
Sometimes it's about the taste
And sometimes it's about both the looks and the taste.
I (as usual) was a little apprehensive when told about this new dessert place at the junction of North Bridge Road and Liang Seah Street.
Not that I'm unwilling to try new things, but the place was new, and I'm not always trusting of the reviews that I read online.
Still, the craving for dessert was strong, so we went.
I wasn't disappointed.
Any fears I had about the dessert looking good tasting bad were thrown our the door when the bowl of peach gum arrived at our table.
Because even though peach gum has, due to its collagen, has grown in popularity the last couple of years, it's not always that I get to have it with white fungus, and better yet, with a serving of cold, fresh coconut milk, and a handful of goji berries.
I guess Jane Deer is very determined to balance out the traditional with the contemporary.
You can tell from their menu.
This is a place that has bowls of sweet potato and yam dessert offered together with white fungus dessert and balls of carefully-scooped out cantaloupe atop a variety of other ingredients in a hollowed out coconut.
Not just that, they even have a signature dessert- a hotpot one.
Now, I don't know how that's like but one of the nearby tables was having it the day we were there and I think it's got lots of fruits and other ingredients, with some sort of sweet liquid that you pour over in the pot and let it 'sizzle'
Maybe one day I'll give it a try.
But not today.
Today there was this bowl of peach gum- goji berry, white fungus, coconut milk, all, and there was also an additional order of a watermelon coconut dessert served in the husk of a hollowed Thai coconut.
This one surprised me.
Not so much of the way it was served (I've seen desserts served in watermelon shells before), but more of what there was inside.
Every layer was a surprise.
Like, at the bottom was the fresh, cold coconut milk and the nicely sliced coconut flesh, right above that were the little balls of scooped-out fresh watermelon, and above that still were the little balls of glutinous rice we call shiratama dango.
As if that wasn't enough, nestled amongst all these balls were little red and white translucent balls that popped out flavors of something which I cannot remember, and lychee.
I know there was lychee.
Because I love anything lychee infused and these cute little babies gave me quite a delight.
I was especially taken by the shiratama dango too.
They made for a great chew, and they reminded me of matcha ice cream sundaes done Japanese style.
It was a memorable, refreshing time we had here at Jane Deer.
Perhaps some might find the place a little too OTT or even overwhelming (like why is it so pink?), but it's a comfortable, pretty place for dates and to chill.
Best part, you get what your dollar's worth, no need to compromise whatsoever at all.