Chong (left) is a Le Cordon Blue graduate while his partner Lua handles the eatery’s operations. — Photos: CHAN TAK KONG/The Star
CHEFS often put much effort into the presentation of their desserts but rarely do you get a dessert that is visually appealing and tastes better than it looks.
Foo Foo Classic Desserts does just that.
Had I ventured there on my own, I wouldn’t have selected the Strawberry Tart with Balsamic Vinegar Ice Cream.
Its shortcrust pastry shell was filled with creme patissiere (pastry cream), red berry compote, fresh strawberry slices and topped with dehydrated strawberries.
The tart was a winner – its combination of sweet, sour and salty was a match made in heaven. Even though it looked super sweet, it was not.
“This is my favourite and a top seller, too,” said Jack Lua, a Foo Foo partner, as he presented us the dessert to try.
“We change the menu regularly, dropping a dish when it gets a bit challenging to source for ingredients.
The Strawberry Tart is among Foo Foo’s top three bestsellers.
“But the Strawberry Tart is one of the top three that has remained since the start. And we are at volume 33 of the menu now and will soon put out volume 34,’’ Lua said.
Foo Foo has been around since 2016.
Lua’s partner, Chong Kin Foo, who is the brains behind the desserts, is a Le Cordon Blue Sydney graduate.
While borrowing inspiration from desserts worldwide, Chong adds his own touch to the desserts, playing around with both local and international ingredients.
The next dessert was an excellent showcase of his talents.
Pumpkin Tres Leches is a yellow pumpkin cake served on a three-milk sauce with mascarpone cream, almond slivers and pumpkin seeds, topped with pomegranate.
The Pumpkin Tres Leches (three-milk) Cake was a visual delight.
It was a yellow pumpkin cake served with a sauce made from three types of milk, mascarpone cream, almond slivers, pumpkin seeds and topped with pomegranate seeds.
It had a lovely tangy and sweet flavour. The pumpkin seeds and pomegranate were the perfect combination to balance the sweetness and provided a lovely crunchy texture to the milk-drenched cake.
Next came the Crispy Profiteroles with Salted Caramel Coffee Ice Cream.
Choux pastry, a delicate pastry dough, is filled with ice cream, burnt orange slices and nougatine.
Crispy Profiteroles with Salted Caramel Coffee Ice Cream have a good balance of sweet and bitterness.
It had a good balance of sweet and bitterness to it.
The last dessert was the Dark Chocolate Semifreddo Sandwich, which was a semi-frozen dark couverture chocolate mousse, peanut, almond dacquoise, and coconut cream cheese sauce.
This one was salty, crunchy, chewy and very rich.
Foo Foo’s desserts are prepared days in advance, and some take more than four days to get it right.
“Take the tarts for instance. The dough itself takes one day to get the texture right, and then you need another day to mould it, and another day to bake it.
“Then you have to prepare the berries for the compote. It is a long, tedious process,” Chong added.
The Semifreddo Sandwich combines a dark couverture chocolate mousse with peanut, almond dacquoise, and coconut cream cheese sauce.
For those who are interested in checking out Foo Foo’s sweets, I do not recommend having four desserts at one go.
One at a time is the ideal way to enjoy these. Maybe two if you are sharing with a friend.
Lua recommends making reservations and even specifying which dessert you want in advance as the sweets sell out quickly, especially the best sellers.
Apart from the core menu, which features nine plated desserts, Foo Foo sells whole cakes, which require advanced orders.
It also has house-made ice creams ideal as an accompaniment to the desserts or to be enjoyed on their own.
Of course if you just want to drop by for a glass of wine, there is a selection of red, white and dessert wines to choose from.
Non-alcoholic beverages include a range of teas, coffee and hot chocolate.
All in all, Foo Foo is a great place to hang out.
The cosy and charming rustic decor of the establishment with its book shelves and potted plants present a very serene atmosphere to rest and relax.
Foo Foo Classic Desserts, 64A,
First Floor, Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur. (Tel: 03-2389 3155).
Business hours: 3pm to 11pm daily. Closed on Wednesdays.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
