Eat Street: Sweet tooths rejoice, it’s a chocolate celebration
From chocolate bunnies to decorative desserts, these delightful treats are set to sweeten the Easter season.
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KOI DESSERT BAR
Meticulous, ornate, and imaginative – it’s almost impossible not to marvel at the petite cakes artistry inside the KOI Dessert Bar glass case.
Their vibrant hues and floral accents reflect a nod to nature, not surprising as Ike Malada, the matriarch of the KOI clan (“Kids of Ike”) — Arnold, Ronald, and Reynold Poernomo — uses delicate spring flowers in her garden as her muse.
This year, there is a trio of seasonal treasures, including the canary yellow Golden Egg with salted caramel, dark chocolate, coconut, and a hint of citrus; the mint green Butterflies Egg with matcha, berries, and yuzu encased in a milk chocolate shell and adorned with dainty flowers; and the Splish Splash Egg with coconut yoghurt and sweet lychee.
These limited-edition Easter gems go for $35 each and must be pre-ordered by March 19.
CHISWICK
There’s a certain joy that comes with the excited laughter of kids running about hunting for Easter eggs. At Chiswick in Woollahra, they’re keeping that gleeful tradition alive with their annual Easter Egg Hunt.
While kids are scurrying about looking for treasures, adults can stroll up to the coffee cart for a cuppa and some Chiswick pastries, including traditional hot cross buns.
The event occurs on Good Friday, March 29, between 11am-1pm.
Chiswick’s regular a la carte menu will be available throughout the long weekend.
There’ll also be some Easter specials, including a hot cross bun espresso martini ($23), a hot cross bun pudding (Malfoy honey gelato, vanilla custard) ($18), and two seafood dishes: a wood-fired Moreton Bay bug with fermented chilli butter ($38), and market fish fillet with wood-fired tomatoes, preserved lemons and capers ($MP).
Open from lunch until late each day.
DIN TAI FUNG
Even for an establishment whose dumplings and buns have attracted a loyal following based on their consistent quality and precisions — their dumplings must weigh exactly 21g with 18 folds — a double chocolate, pillow-soft hot cross bao seems a bit ambitious.
But it’s the same commitment to detail that makes this Din Tai Fung treat work.
Made with cocoa-rich dough filled with melting chocolate, these Easter treats are served steaming hot in a bamboo basket ($8.90 for two).
Or heat some at home with a frozen pack of three bao ($12).
OH! BOO CHOCOLATE
While some chocolate shops strive for uniformity with their confections, Fanny Chan, the maître chocolatier at Oh! Boo, takes pride in knowing that no two of her chocolates are ever the same.
Having honed her trade in Belgium and France, she makes — and hand paints — each piece in the kitchen of her boutique chocolate shop in Barangaroo.
Using premium and predominantly native ingredients, she layers contrasting flavours to form what she describes as “a unique and sensational taste experience”, evidenced in flavours such as ruby chocolate, which is made with mountain pepperberries and strawberries.
Available in-store or online; Oh!Boo also ships nationwide for a $15 flat rate.
PEANUT BUTTER BAR
Peanut butter-based treats still rank supreme at Peanut Butter Bar.
For Easter, they’ve taken a lighter route and created a special egg-shaped dessert made with layers of almond cake, mango mousse and mango jelly, nesting on a bed of shaved chocolate. It serves 12-15 people ($65).
Pre-order for pick-up from their Alexandria location on March 27-28.
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