FOOD IN ASIA: DESSERTS IN SHANGHAI.

OMG broggie – so my initial resolution to blog throughout my trip clearly…didn’t really work out. And UHM OK it’s not my fault because China BLOCKED my broggie and…when I was in Korea…I was…in carb-overload…and just really couldn’t handle any brog-action. This below post was written while I was sitting in Pudong Airport waiting for my flight to board and my original intent to post it as soon as I made my way back to New York was also a tad delayed. But there is nothing wrong with a bit of delayed gratification. So, without further delay - here is the first of several installments in my FOOD IN ASIA blog series:

I am currently at the airport in Shanghai and am getting my food porn BLOG-READY. And OMG, If anyone is looking over at my screen right now, they must think I am a certified FATAZZ because every image that has come up has been food-related. And, being a certified FATAZZ is a pretty accurate description of what I have become over the past 12 days. I am talking 12 days of pretty much non-stop eating. You might think I am overreacting or exaggerating…but after you look through this food blog over the next few days you will see that I am NOT JOKING. I REALLY LET MYSELF GO this time around, kiddies. That, combined with the lack of gymnasium-facilities has made me a potential candidate for diabetes and obesity.

I honestly don't even know where to begin...I guess what might be the most fun is if I were to start with DESSERTS FIRST. I mean, it applies to my real life eating habits - so why not with this Asia-food recap as well!

One fun place to grab an afternoon snack is Hui La Shan - a dessert place that is dedicated almost solely to MANGO DESSERTS!!! Mango is a dessert unto itself - but adding pudding, ice cream, and coconut milk can only serve to improve on nature's goodness.

This was Johnny's dessert with coconut milk, real mango, and sago (which are small little tapioca balls).


I opted for the real mango, mango pudding, and mango ice cream dish. The mango pudding is not pudding like American pudding - it is a little firmer (like tofu) and smooth. The mango ice cream was a little too icy and not creamy enough...but I still thought the overall dessert was a GREAT pick-me-up before shopping till you drop on Huai Hai Lu.

You all know my obsession with black sesame (need I mention that it is one of my interests on Facebook??). I just had to get my hands on some great black sesame desserts when I was in China - so one of my foodie requests was going for TONG YUAN desserts!!! Tong yuan are basically small gelatinous rice balls that are filled with sweet goodies and served in a soup.


At Honeymoon Dessert - the tong yuan are filled with crushed PEANUTS (SOOO YUMMIE and GREAT TEXTURE) and swim around in a thick, soupy puree of black sesame. Just mildly sweet and definitely warming to the tummy on a cold night!


At a traditional Chinese restaurant, I also got to eat a tong yuan made of black sesame AND filled with black sesame. Sweet and perfect. Fulfilled all of my black sesame cravings!


Speaking of traditional Chinese restaurants - I also had another yummy bread-based dessert. This red bean bun is like that of a filled doughnut. Slightly fried on the outside, puffy and soft dough on the inside, and filled with a sweet red bean paste. Delicious!! I couldn't help but take a second wedge.

The last part of my dessert post will be dedicated to WHISK - our favorite dessert hangout. I loved it so much that we went TWICE during my short stay in Shanghai so I could try as much of their menu as possible. When going here - BRING AN ARMY so you can order and try all of their yummy dessert offerings.

Here I am, giving a thorough trial and judgment to each dessert.


I will start with the boring sorbet - which did nothing to wow me. Who orders sorbet when surrounded by chocolate!?!!? Oh right, Johnny.

My dark chocolate granita was absolutely delicious! A wonderful slush of chocolate, soy milk, and ice.


We also ordered the chocolate pudding...which was slightly overlooked due to our greater interest in the dessert to follow.


The chocolate envy mousse with caramel chocolate center was definitely a winner the first time around. The mousse was light and the center added a slightly crunchy texture. We loved it so much that we ordered it again on our second round at Whisk.


On our second round, we found a dessert that we loved even more!! The chocolate tart - a dense cake of chocolate with a chocolate chip base.


It is necessary, when ordering such a rich dessert, to pair it with ICE CREAM. We ordered the White Chocolate Hokie Pokie (DELICIOUS!!!!) and the Blueberry Ice Cream. Definitely a necessary refreshment after each decadent bite of rich chocolate tart.

And there you have it...proof that you can still get fat even while you are in Asia.