Moo Chow Chow, Ponsonby

In my mind, Ponsonby always gave me the impression that it was a long street filled with cafes and bars, and at the end of the day is only the start of an unforgettable night of fun. 
To some people, more like myself, I think the Ponsonby area can be described in a few simple characteristics: cafes, bars, high end retail stores, and the one or two really famous restaurants. Little did I know, it turns out that Ponsonby street is packed with many ethnic and exotic restaurants that will give your taste buds a real surprise! Moo Chow Chow was a place that really stimulated my taste sense. 


I don't think there's ever been a time I've specially gone to the Ponsonby area to try out a dessert. I only knew about Moo Chow Chow because I started to become quite bored of the few places I have been to and wanted to go and try something different. I literally just Googled: "Desserts Auckland" in the search bar and after about an hour or so of clicking the 'Next Page' button, I stumbled across the dessert section of the Moo Chow Chow menu.

I won't go into detail about the Moo Chow Chow restaurant but I'll include the link to their website which includes a PDF of their menu. All I can briefy is that if I was to describe this place in one word, that would be: Exotic!

Szechuan Pepper Chocolate Mousse with Salted Caramel,and Honey Comb

This was the dessert items that had caught my attention, and what encouraged me to go to Moo Chow Chow to try out.I could never imagine what Szechuan Pepper would taste like when used to make sweet things, as generally, Chinese people would use the spice for meat dishes...
This mousse was incredibly rich and smooth! The texture was almost the same as chocolate ganache but yet it still had a hint of that denseness that you find in mousses. As you can see, the mousse sits on top of some salted caramel sauce and topped with some light hokey pokey sprinkle on top. These things complemented the mousse very well as it brought hints of caramelised bitterness to the lightly sweet chocolate of the mousse. Personally, i couldn't actually taste the Szechuan pepper added to the mousse... though I'm not even too sure whether that flavour was supposed to be obvious or not. Either way, this is a real must for chocolate lovers!

Ginger and Coconut Milk Brulee, topped with Crispy Rice Noodles

Sounds weirdly amazing right? Trust me, the taste of the actual dessert was just as wonderfully strange as its name. As you can probably see by now that I'm a huge fan of creme brulee, and would take on any opportunity to try one when printed on a menu. Since this one was remarkably different, I just couldn't give it a miss.
The name pretty much describes the content of this dessert. Cracking into the hard sugar coating was a spoonful of ginger infused coconut milk cream. On the first bite I swear I felt my pupils dilate and then my mind just spun! The scent of ginger was mild but just enough to really hit your taste sense. Overall the coconut cream wasn't sweet, but the fresh fruits on top (pineapple at the time) made up for that. The crispy noodles on top to me were just a delightful garnish because who would say no to crispy foods?

Bubble Tea

 Although this drink on the menu was simply stated as bubble tea, it was very different to the typical Taiwanese types. On their menu, the described their version of this popular drink as a blend of rich black tea and sweetened milk with flavoured tapioca pearls. (Please check out their website for more details!). 
I think it's because I'm too used to the Taiwanese flavours of bubble tea, and their style of strong blends of black tea, thus the flavour of this bubble tea wasn't satisfying for my expecations and senses. It's a bad habit of mine to always have high expectations in all aspects of life, I had anticipated this bubble tea to be packed with a flavour of strong, rich, and even bitter, blend of Asian black tea. Sadly the taste of this drink overall was quite mild. Even though I could taste a hint of black tea, the flavour was not prominemt. Although the menu stated that the drink contained 'Sweetened milk', I can assure you that it was not at all that sweet, so for those bubble tea drinkers that tend to order their drinks as a quarter sugar/no sugar option, this drink would be ideal. 
The tapioca pearls were indeed flavoured, which is probably the main characteristic of this drink. There was a floral scent of Jasmine infused into the drink and the tapioca pearls. It's a great beverage for those who love floral based drinks and find them invigorating and relaxing, and wanting to add just a hint of a special flavour to make tea drink flavours a little less boring. 

Homemade Ginger Beer

For those who love a real strong flavour hit, this Homemade Ginger Beer would be a good choice. Not only was it a fizzy drink, as it was 'homemade', it contained that really strong spicy ginger hit on the first sip! A flavour that really wakes you up! With the thinly sliced of cucumber added as a garnish, it made the drink even more refreshing on a hot summer night. 

I recently checked out the menu on Moo Chow Chow's website and realised that some of the items I have blogged about are not avaiable anymore, or for this season. I guess menu changes are not a bad thing anyway. The exact items in this blog are not shown on their menu anymore, but more of an alternation of these items. Either way, they are still definitly worth a try. 

The altered Moo Chow Chow menu still tempts me to go back and try many of their wonderful and exotic foods and drinks, and I am very looking forward to my next visit there!

If you are ever in the mood for exotic East-Asian-fusion foods, Moo Chow Chow is certainly a place that delivers these flavours. 

Moo Chow Chow is located on:
23 Ponsonby Road
Ponsoby
Auckland
(09) 360 6262
Website: http://http://www.moochowchow.co.nz/MooChowChow/Hello.html
Dinner: 5.30pm to Late, Monday to Saturday

Hope you enjoyed post! 

Until next time!

The 'Sweet Tooth' Fairy xo