A Dessert Kaleidoscope ~ My little pieces of joy

Words by Marlene Luo Translated by Angela Cheng

The delicate appearance and sweet essence of fine desserts give them an unfailing, irresistible appeal. During the summer, as the higher temperatures cause irritability and a lack of appetite, try stopping by the following Taichung dessert shops for a refreshing, savory mood enhancer.

Desserts that begin with love: Dear Deer

103, GuoAn 1st Rd., Xitun Dist.
(04) 2463-3395
Hours: 11 am-9 pm (closed Sun.)
No service charge.

"Because my husband loves candy and my children like lemon tarts, I make all these and then decided to open a store." says the owner of Dear Deer. Out of health and safety concerns, she decided to learn how to make candy and lemon tarts for her sweet-tooth family. This self-taught process began with a professional pastry chef. As her baking skills gradually grew, she never changed her culinary goals. Because different customers prefer different levels of tartness, she offers three lemon tart varieties--the Love Tart, Morphine Tart, and Frank Acid Tart--featuring a crispy layer of white chocolate that highlights out more of the flavor.

In addition, Dear Deer features healthier desserts like "French gummy candy" that use trehalose as a replacement for sugar and add fresh juice. This store's friendly hospitality aims to make customers feel like they're visiting a friend's home, and all store decorations were done by the owner's husband himself. Dear Deer is an ideal choice for spending a comfortable leisurely afternoon with a delicious dessert.

　　
Left: The store's interior.
Medium: Popular Lemon Tart varieties include the Love Tart (less acid, mildly sweet, NT$85), Morphine Tart (medium acidity, NT$100), Frank Acid Tart (high acidity, low sugar, NT$140).
Right: French Gummy Candy (NT$250/ per jar). The crispy surface of a lemon tart is a customer favorite so the owner developed Gummy Candy Cookies (NT$30/ piece) made with fruit gummy candy.

The dessert magician: Terrier Sweets

(04) 2319-8852
52, MingYi St. West Dist.
Hours: 12 pm-8 pm
No service charge.

Terrier Sweets is popular with female customers artistic and always offers desserts that are fun and stylish. This summer will see new items as the chef brings his creativity into play. What looks like a popsicle is actually crispy chocolate wrapped in strawberry sorbet and served with seasonal fresh fruit, with edible flowers and nuts as decorations, in a delicious form of edible art. Where do such ideas come from? "All these works are derived from the small details of daily life," explains the chef. For example, the "Second Floor Balcony" is a green ball-shaped cake inspired by the nest in the little second-floor garden. And such ingenuity extends past visual stylings to flavors, such as the popular Baked Millefeuille, with basil joining the custard sauce to add a slight fragrance to the stronger flavors and make it more refreshing. If you're craving a dessert, the creations here are pure magic.

　　
Left: The interior of Terrier Sweets.
Medium: They plant edible flowers along the small balcony on the second floor.
Right: Strawberry Sorbet (new summer item--ask about price) features crispy sweet white chocolate wrapped in non-fat strawberry yogurt, providing guilt-free flavor satisfaction.

　　
Left: Chocolate Sorbet (new summer item--ask about price) incorporates bittersweet dark chocolate and low-fat yogurt sorbet, sprinkled with "pop rocks" candy to provide a uniquely-diverse taste sensation.
Medium: 現Baked Mille-feuille (NT$280, only for dining in) is a crispy, refreshing pastry with basil custard, served with fresh fruits in a perfect combination. This is a very popular item and advance orders are recommended.
Right: Second Floor Balcony (NT$150). Filled with interesting styling, it was inspired by the nest in the store's small garden.

Traveling taste buds: No. 23, Lane 8 Orobello

(04) 2305-1333
23, Lane 8, MoFan St., West Dist.
Hours: Tue.-Thu. 11 am-8:30 pm; Fri.-Sun. 11 am-9:30 pm
(closed Mon.)

No.23, Lane 8 is this establishment's address and name, a simple, direct approach that conveys the "basic food" concept that owner Karen wants to convey. Concerned that too much Taiwanese food is filled with additives and artificial flavors and coloring, the owner--who lived in Italy from childhood--has been deeply influenced by nature and original Mediterranean-style food culture. This inspired her to create a "seven year plan" which presents authentic Italian cuisine along a city map from the southest of Sicily in Italy.

　　
Left: This old Japanese-style building expresses a wanderer's impressions of and emotions about her hometown.
中圖：義式起司酥餅(新品，盒裝8入，原價400元，特價360元)奶香起司酥皮包覆有著牛軋糖口感卻不粘牙的義式牛奶糖與堅果仁，是口感豐富的義式傳統小點。
Right: Up to 12 gelato flavors are sold and sometimes change (NT$100/cup).

　　
Left: Lime Coffee ice cream (Affogato NT$200/cup, no take-out) offers a balance between lime liqueur and coffee. The initial strong coffee flavor is followed by a lingering lime fragrance. For a smoother flavor, dip the entire ice cream into a coffee.
Medium: The Almond flavor uses plenty of almonds and is a bit crunchy.
Right: The signature gelato flavor is Italian Pistachio, with the aroma of nuts and ice cream melting in one's mouth.

Dessert happiness: So Cookies

(04) 2202-5838
12, ZhongTai W. Rd., North Dist.
Hours; 11 am-7 pm (/closed Mon.)
Dine-in and take-out available.
No service charge.

As its name suggest, So Cookies' signature dessert is handmade cookies. "So" is also chef/owner Bin-qi's last name. By comparison to other more delicate-looking desserts, the cookies here seem plain. "They look simple, but they're not simple," says Bin-qi, noting that the focus is on creating a "depth" of flavor, starting with the selection of ingredients for each flavor, pairing with other ingredients' in the right proportion for each cookie variety via numerous tests and adjustments. This might include adding a lot of nuts, replacing baking powder with natural almond powder, and other innovations. The end result of so much effort is not only delicious but also incorporates healthy concepts.

Chef Bin-qi greets customers with a big smile, enjoying not only the happiness that comes from such interactions, but also hoping that they will feel happiness and spread it around.

　　
Left: Good-hearted Chef Bin-qi loves to collect and have fun with all kinds of cookie molds, used in different customized gift products.
Medium: There are around 20 cookie flavors (all NT$120/100g).
Right: A gift box, assembled to a customer's liking, pairs various cookie flavors with fruit tea, flower tea, candy and jam (prices varies with content and box size).

　　
Left: The new Earl Chocolate Cookie uses milk instead of water soaked tea leaves, which are then added directly to the dough, giving it a tea-essence flavor that smoothly combines with the chocolate beans.
Medium: Customers enjoy the strong, salty flavor of the popular Mexican Jalapeno Cheese Cookie.
Right: Another new item, the saltier Basil Black Pepper Cookie gives off a mild basil taste in the beginning which then becomes more pronounced after it is enjoyed with the black pepper and Parmesan cheese it is served with.