For those who have been passing by Bugis relatively recently, one would have probably noticed the change of the landscape at the traffic junction where Bugis Junction meets North Bridge Road and Liang Seah Street — gone is the all-familiar Jin Jin Eating House that is best located in the shophouse towards the side where Seng Huat Coffee House is at. In its place, a new Chinese dessert shop has taken over its place; named Jane Deer 简鹿糖水铺, the entire space occupied by the shophouse features a turquoise exterior from the signages to its walls, while the pillars and walls are also flanked with marketing collateral about the establishment as well. From the aesthetics and the branding of the shop, one can probably eat that Jane Deer seems to bear somewhat of a heavy resemblance to Smile Desserts located just a short walk away — the menu items offered are also rather similar with the likes of traditional Chinese desserts (think Signature Red Bean Dessert etc.), Peach Gum-based desserts, Shaved Ice series, Coconut Jelly series, Tapioca Pudding, Grass Jelly, Double Skin Milk, Fresh Fruits, Toasts and Snacks; there is also a “Recommended” section that features their more instagrammable fare such as that of the The Bath Teddy Bear, Fairy Hot Pot and The Claw Taro Bowl, while beverages available at Jane Deer includes house-made teas contained in a unique bottle packaging, as well as concoctions of their very own such as the Succulent Snow Mountain Strawberry and the Meaty Snow Mountain Mang Mang — just to name a few.
It wasn’t too much of our idea to order the Jane Deer Blue Crystal considering how it is essentially an item that is probably conceived just for the ‘gram, we still eventually went for the item since our dining partner was pretty adamant on ordering the dish. One thing worthy to note is how the Jane Deer Blue Crystal is also one of the few dishes that are being served in the Jane Eyre’s Six Signs off the “Recommended” section of the menu — the Jane Eyre’s Six Signs being a fixed selection of a platter of six mini bowls of desserts that are also available as ala-carte orders on their menu; this includes the Original Flavour Double Skin Milk, the Chilled Mango Sago Cream with Pomelo, the Signature Red Bean Dessert and the
White Rabbit Custard amongst others. Being a rather simple dessert on its own, the Jane Deer Blue Crystal features just features a thick, creamy base alongside blue-coloured jelly and golden raisins. If anything, it was that rich, creamy milk base that really caught with this dessert with our very first spoonful. As we slowly move on to the other components, the “blue crystals” (i.e. blue jelly), the blue jelly does carry a hue and taste profile that was very similar to that of what some of us may associate with the Blue Coral bubble tea drink of the yesteryears. What we really appreciated though was now the artificial notes of the jelly wasn’t too overpowering — especially well-balanced with the cream so it is all pretty controlled, while the golden raisins provide for that sweetness it needs with a bit of chew. A pretty satisfying attempt on a dessert that seems to be more poised towards the ‘gram.
Between the various items which we have ordered, which included the Coconut Milk Brick as well as the Tremella Sweet Sago Cream with Coconut Milk, we felt that there are some hits and misses — the item that felt more like a miss was probably the Tremella Sweet Sago Cream with Coconut Milk that just felt a tad bland as compared to the other two. The Coconut Milk Brick on the other hand just felt more closer towards their attempt in creating a dish that is somewhat close to what we would think resembles the likes of a Kueh Kosui — one that uses coconut milk as a main ingredient and bears a more jiggly texture closer to that of a jelly than the dense, sticky nature of kueh; perhaps the likeness does seem to stem from the use of desiccated coconut with how the “bricks” are being served. Given how extensive the menu is at Jane Deer is, we probably haven’t tried enough to be able to come up with a conclusion on whether this is a spot worth making that extra mile to visit. That being said, Jane Deer does make for quite an option to consider for those looking an alternative option to a post meal dessert option to the likes of Ah Chew Dessert, Dessert First etc. — one with options that are albeit more interesting to boast as well.
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