FEATURE: ASIAN DESSERTS

Sweet thing

It’s the season of bingsu, mochi toast, and pandan shokupan.

-WORDS Amy Northcott

ASIAN CUISINES EACH have their own approach to desserts, with some dishes anchored by fresh fruit and condensed milk and others pandan, ube, and matcha. The flavour profiles of these foundational components come to life via bingsu, thick-cut toast slathered with spreads, and drinks that double as desserts.

Not-too-sweet post-dinner options have been on the rise over the last few years, and venues dedicated to Asian desserts are beginning to increase in density across the country. Bingsu-centric Nimbo and Thai dessert café Homm have recently joined the scene and talk to Hospitality about their offerings.

Nimbo opened its blue-hued premises on Melbourne’s Hardware Street in 2022. The concept began as a creative outlet for Owner Kim Liew before it morphed into its current iteration. “Nimbo started off as an experimental lab for fun and whacky dessert flavours on bingsu and toasts,” they say. “Now we have a permanent menu including an extended range of matcha offerings and seasonal desserts.”

Liew says Nimbo was born from a goal to share Asian-style desserts with Australian diners and reacquaint those who were already familiar. “The pandemic made us reflect on what was important to us — sharing our memories and flavours with friends and family,” they say. “Our mission was to open a dessert café where people could connect, reminisce, and share diverse flavours from home and also introduce those flavours to a new audience.”

Nimbo’s menu features a range of bingsu and toasts with various flavours including pandan, ube, and matcha. “Our dishes and flavo urs are primarily influenced by South-East Asian cuisine,” says Liew.

“They are diverse and feature a combination of sweet, savoury, and sometimes spicy elements. Popular ingredients include coconut, pandan, taro, and tropical fruits such as mango and durian.”

Bingsu is a Korean shaved-ice dessert that is a core part of Nimbo’s menu. “It [bingsu] typically consists of finely shaved ice that has a fluffy, snow-like texture,” explains Liew. “The shaved ice is then topped with ingredients such as sweetened condensed milk, flavoured syrups, fruits, red beans, mochi, or cereal.”

Nimbo is about to hit two years in business, and there have been some clear winners when it comes to diner favourites. Ube mochi toast (brioche, mochi, ube paste, Cornflake crumbs, fior di latte ice cream); matcha bingsu (dango, matcha ice cream, Basque cheesecake); and injeolmi bingsu (tofu, mochi, toasted soybean powder, red bean paste, toasted almond) have been the most popular orders.

Beverages have also been a hit, with options covering variations of iced matcha such as iced matcha lychee lemonade; iced matcha strawberry panna cotta; and iced matcha tofu jelly. The Nimbo team also caters to dietary restrictions, with dairy-free and vegan options on the menu.

Husband and wife duo Bass Sakdatorn and Proud Saithai opened the doors to Thai dessert venue Homm on La Trobe Street in the heart of the Melbourne CBD last year. The couple wanted to share a taste of home with Australian diners and those who may be missing the desserts of their homeland. “When people think of Thai food, they think of pad Thai, tom yum, green curry — but rarely Thai desserts,” says Sakdatorn. “Thai dessert cafés that only serve dessert have remained a popular cultural activity in Thailand for more than a decade, but they are not very well known outside of the country.”

Being part of a small handful of Thai dessert cafés meant the couple have played a key role in introducing diners to a different arm of Thai cuisine. “We believe we can add value and exposure to Thai desserts,” says Sakdatorn. “Just like Japanese matcha, or French croissants, we want to put Thai desserts and sweet flavours on the map.”

Thai dessert cafes have remained a popular cultural activity in Thailand for more than a decade, but they are not very well known outside of the country.

– Bass Sakdatorn

Homm’s offering covers Thai desserts with twists from other Asian cuisines. “Our menu intertwines Thai flavours with inspiration from Japanese, Korean, and Singaporean cuisines and each element is made from scratch on-site,” explains Sakdatorn. “Everything on the menu at Homm is what we love to eat personally. What inspires us is sharing our love for cuisine, flavour, culture, and heritage.”

The menu allows for experimentation, with chefs able to work with new ingredients and flavour combinations to create unique desserts for guests. “I enjoy getting to play with layering textures and flavours,” says Saithai. “We consider our desserts to be a little theatrical and interactive … it makes whatever’s on the plate far more desirable and in turn, delicious.”

Some of the biggest hits on the menu include the coconut pandan shokupan which features brûlée-toasted shokupan with Saithai’s own pandan kaya recipe and pumpkin boba. Another favourite is the Thai tea bingsu with whipped cheese, baked crumble, grass jelly, and Homm Thai tea gelato. “This dish is inspired by bingsu,” says Saithai. “We use Thai milk tea to create a soft and somewhat fluffy shaved ice.” Other top sellers include mango sticky rice bingsu, taro French toast katsu, and taro bingsu.

Saithai says the team is overwhelmed by the warm response they’ve received from the Melbourne dining scene. They’ve found that they’ve not only catered to Thai dessert fans, but those in search of something new, too. “We thought our main target customer group would be Thai people seeking a little slice of home but have found [it’s also] people who’ve never visited Thailand or Asia before who are intrigued by Asian flavours and desserts,” she says. “It’s a real joy sharing our food culture with them and introducing new flavours and combinations to their tastebuds.”

The Homm concept now consists of three stores, with locations open in Melbourne Central and Box Hill. “For us, expansion is about reaching new heights, reaching new customers, and sharing a unique dessert experience you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere within the community.”

Similarly, the Nimbo team have seen great success since opening, which Liew believes is a testament to the curiosity of diners and the versatility of Asian desserts. “[Asian desserts] often provide a departure from traditional Western desserts to introduce exciting flavours and textures such as matcha, mochi, and exotic fruits,” they say. “The appeal lies in the adventure and innovative approach to desserts, attracting those seeking new dessert experiences.”

Saithai agrees and says there’s definitely been a movement of diners in search of broader dessert options. “We believe our dishes offer something beyond the traditional cake and icecream experience yet they are familiar enough, so unacquainted guests are inclined to try what’s in front of them,” says the co-owner. “I think the dining public likes treats that are rich in cultural traditions and packed with flavour.”

A sense of discovery is seeing Asian dessert cafés take off with those in search of something familiar, new, or a little sweet.