KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — I have been told I have a restrained palate, at least where sweets are concerned. When it comes to flavours savoury and spicy, sour and bitter, I like these strong and heavy.
But cakes, cookies, pastries, desserts — these are another matter. I prefer these to be subtly sweet. Just a hint rather than cloying and promising a sugar high half an hour later.
Which is perhaps why the Pistachio Double Skin Milk at Yugengfang Dessert Shop hits the spot, that narrow band of sweet enough to delight yet not so sweet that one is filled with remorse afterwards.
A layer of custard-soft milk sits atop a bowl, barely trembling beneath the lightest touch. Pistachio cream is layered upon this delicate surface — its roast-nut aroma adding a gentle note that deepens the enjoyment of each spoonful.
With Cantonese desserts, be it tongsui or softly steamed cakes, texture and balance matter as much as flavour, and this dessert delivers on both.
Yugengfang Dessert Shop is located in the familiar bustle of Bandar Mahkota Cheras. Enter and you immediately escape the clamour outside.
What greets you instead is a clean, fuss-free interior: a long stretch of tables and servers who are quick on their feet, ferrying bowls and bamboo baskets from the kitchen, the steam rising like an invitation.
Did I say invitation? I might mean temptation for the menu here is wide and varied.
There’s the Pandan Bamboo Jelly Soup, verdant and wobbly; Soy Milk Pudding Dango with its springiness meeting silken coolness; Lychee & Coix Seed Osmanthus Jelly, floral and textural; Osmanthus Cake, pale and perfumed by sweet osmanthus blooms; Black Sesame Tofu Pudding and Almond Sweet Soup among other offerings.
So many options, so little time, yes?
In his 2004 bestseller, The Paradox of Choice, American psychologist Barry Schwartz argued that “more is less” — that by removing choices, we reduce anxiety in ourselves as consumers.
Which is why we allowed ourselves only three treats, to be shared, each fulfilling a single purpose.
The aforementioned Pistachio Double Skin Milk is my first pick, a joyous nod to a traditional Cantonese dessert I rarely see in Malaysia.
Each scoop reveals the velvety “double skin milk” beneath the emerald pistachio cream.
Our second selection ought, then, to be something you can find elsewhere easily, if only to compare Yugengfang’s version to the ones we have already sampled before.
Here, the Red Bean Paste With Lotus Seeds offers a different kind of satisfaction. There is a real depth to the sweetness here.
Red beans simmered to tenderness, their skins still holding the shape of the legumes. Lotus seeds offer a milder counterpoint — nutty, almost bitter, balancing the sweetness of the red beans firmly.
Third has to be something we have never tried before, for the novelty and for a taste of another culture.
The server tells us that their Green Wheat Cake is popular with their regulars. A Hangzhou breakfast specialty, this comes sliced into triangular wedges arranged in a bamboo basket.
Steamed and coloured green with matcha, studded with plump red beans. Each bite offers a lovely chew that is enhanced by the earthy sweetness of the beans. Not too dense, perhaps thanks to the wheat and rice flour base.
We enjoy tracking down places like Yugengfang because they preserve nuance in a time of viral recipes and food propelled by the “more is more” philosophy.
It’s a reminder that sweetness does not have to be overwhelming to be compelling, that a bowl of dessert can be as rewarding as a main course.
Yugengfang Dessert Shop 玉羹坊糖水店
48, Jalan Temenggung 1/9,
Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Cheras.
Open Thu-Tue 11am-11pm, Wed closed
Phone: 012-338 6048
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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