“It ends today,” I remind myself as I enter through the crystal door of Dessert Story, a Taiwanese/Hong Kongese-style café on Street 51 whose small and inconspicuous sign outside makes it almost invisible to the unknowing eye.
To my left, a wall covered by a huge poster of bookshelves tricks the client into believing he just entered a library of sorts. Orange Chinese lanterns sway slowly over round, wooden tables while the comfy, padded chairs invite you to spend an afternoon of chitchat here with friends. In front of me, the big counter populated by half a dozen employees showcases the impressively large menu in shiny screens. Overall, a decoration that initially strikes one as bizarre, but that eventually grows on you.
I take a seat over by the corner. A pair of small, slightly slanted eyes stare at me from across the table. “It ends today,” I keep telling myself.
The waiter hands us what seems like an oversized cuisine magazine. On closer inspection, it’s but a menu of epic dimensions illustrated with stunning pictures.
Skimming through it, I become perplexed and hungry in equal measure. The dishes, overflowing with appetite-inducing colours, are all unfamiliar, but eye-catching nonetheless. They all come from the Taiwanese and Hong Kongese dessert traditions. Featuring ingredients like sea coconut jelly, black glutinous rice and tapioca pearls, this is no place for the close-minded Western expat. The ice cream menu, with jelly grass, red bean soup and sago among other ingredients, and the Hong Kongese tofu puddings immediately draw my attention.
My herbal jelly with sweet potato, barley and jelly pearls ($4.20) is a kaleidoscopic concoction of salty and sweet flavors sitting over a bed of crushed ice. I find myself troubled by contradictory feelings: the mix of textures, with the starchy, pasty sweet potato and the gooey pearls, is enticing; flavour-wise, I find little appeal in the subtle, sweet taste of the jelly grass and its combination with the brackish barley. The crushed ice adds a refreshing touch to the dish.
You can engineer your own smoothies by selecting a sorbet base from a list of fruit combinations and adding the fruit and jelly toppings of your choosing. There is also a long list of pre-made suggestions. From this list, I choose the cool watermelon with rainbow jelly and diced lychee ($3.30). It is lemony and refreshing, and I love it from the first sip. The thick pieces of toothsome lychee are icing on the cake.
My table companion orders glutinous rice with mango and coconut milk ($2.20). I can see from his expression that he is enjoying it. Lucio is, despite his innumerable faults, a well-travelled man with a sensible palate accustomed to the most exotic tastes.
All in all, people familiar with Taiwanese and Hong Kongese cuisines will enjoy the never-ending number of colourful dishes that Dessert Story has to offer. Unadventurous Western expats will need to come here with an open mind, or skip it all together. With prices ranging from $1.20 (black glutinous rice with coconut milk) to $6.20 (strawberry volcano with vanilla ice cream), Dessert Story is not a cheap option for your dessert experience. The quality of the dishes justifies the price tag, but you may want to think twice before spending $5 on your dessert.
“This is the end of the road, Lucio,” I tell him as I hand him a white envelope with curled-up corners. He takes it in his hand and, with slow, controlled motions, produces a strip of negatives from the inside. Lucio examines the strip carefully, as I watch how his serene expression gradually turns severe. He turns his eyes toward me, a piercing glance meant to intimidate me.
“What do you want, Adolfo,” he asks with restraint in his voice.
“A truce,” I reply.
Dessert Story, #294 St. 51 BKK