Sugar Hit 2011 - Azuma Kushiyaka

My first sugar hit adventurer for 2011. Booked on Tuesday for me and 3 friends but in the end, at 9.45pm Friday night it was just A and I standing at the reservation desk looking sorry and abandoned. (A is the most reliable person. Never says no- unless it's hardcore drugs)

The waiter still treats us like important guests and explains in great detail the different parts of the dessert set.

Breakdown (in normal people English)

1. Glutinous rice balls and fruits in Japanese brown sugar syrup and mint - didn't really love this that much. I think it's something you can throw together at home.

2. Sesame ice cream - LOVE THIS! When I took my first spoonful I was amazed at how sesame-ish it tasted. What does sesame actually taste like? Can you really recall the flavour of the 10 sesame seeds sprinkled on top of your burger bun? So yeah, I didn't really have any expectation, so I thought this was awesome.

3. Raw sake- ok. Not for me. It looks harmless right? I took a swig from my shot glass, cringed at the flavour, swallowed and immediately felt like all the wind was knocked out of me. Zomg. Strong stuff. Don't like it by itself.

4. Green tea tiramisu- this was simply divine. It was a really light (but didn't feel airy) cream with bits of sponge soaked in shochu and of marscapone!! I loved this. So much. I felt it went well with the sake (at least covered up the after taste). Yooommmm!

5. Layered chocolate and popping rocks - just a piece of chocolate (I alternated between sipping the sake and nibbling this chocolate because it tones down the bitterness of the alcohol) with layers of solid choc and ganache. There were a few pieces of popping rock in the chocolate which just sorta fizzed on my tongue when all the chocolate melted in my mouth. It was kinda fun to eat because I could hear the fizzing/popping sounds!

6. Butter cake soaked in sake - I think there where pieces of red bean in this (at least A's cakes did), but I didn't see any in mine. Not that I minded. I love butter cake. Because it was soaked in sake, it had a pound cake like texture. Freaking yum. I love how you can break pound cake apart in your mouth and moosh it up a bit. And it's so buttery. But that was the thing, it tasted lovely and buttery, but not greasy at all because it was soaked in rice wine. How genius is that?

7. Brown brothers dessert wine - I love wine. This wine was insanely sweet, but it paired nicely with the fruits and sesame ice cream because those didn't really have such a strong taste.

Ahh I love dessert!

Shangri la next stop! I'm actually on my way there now!! It's gonna be a beautiful weekend :)