Tutu Kueh Caught wind of the new catkin by huishan — a new concept serving up plated desserts that is situated within the grounds of Twenty Eight Cafe located in Sophia Flats along Wilkie Road. Having revamped the space in order to allow for the operations of catkin by huishan, Twenty Eight Cafe has seen a bit of a change of the seating layout — gone are the high communal tables that used to occupy the middle of the space; that same area is now home to the entire operations of catkin by huishan with a counter that surrounds the entire food preparation area of catkin by huishan. Patrons can of catkin by huishan can opt to sit by the counter — this allows patrons of catkin by huishan to watch all the action behind the preparation of their plated desserts. With an emphasis only on plated desserts, catkin by huishan offers their desserts in both ala-carte format or in a form of a tasting menu — the tasting menu sees the three (3) desserts that are also available on the ala-carte menu being served in the form of a prix-fixe menu; also comes with a tea pairing at $48++.
Perhaps one of the desserts which have been more talked about in the posts that we have came across online about catkin by huishan would be the Tutu Kueh — this would be their version of the Tutu Kueh that has been deconstructed based on their own interpretation of the dish. Featuring elements such as White Pandan Gelato, Espuma of Rice and Peanut or Gula Melaka Coconut, our order came with the Gula Melaka Coconut. First impressions of the dessert in terms of visual impact would be its clean looks; the entire dessert coming in a snowy, white-coloured aesthetic that one would also typically associate the classic Tutu Kueh with. Digging into the dessert, we could tell that there is quite a bit of thought being placed in the design of the Tutu Kueh here — the Espuma of Rice pretty much blankets the Gula Melaka Coconut beneath; this also means that the Gula Melaka Coconut reveals itself just like how it would be in the classic Tutu Kueh as one digs in deeper with the spoon here. The Gula Melaka Coconut exudes a deep, earthy note of sweetness amidst the fibrous desiccated coconut, while the Espuma of Rice carries the light notes of the rice flour used for the “cake” of the usual Kueh Tutu. The White Pandan Gelato is smooth and creamy, carrying a lingering fragrance of pandan that is akin to the pandan leaves usually layered underneath the usual Tutu Kueh. Whilst being a minimalistic dessert, their interpretation of the Tutu Kueh can be said as one that is well-designed to incorporate the flavours and composition of the classic Tutu Kueh using modern techniques.
Despite being just a small operation that seems to be fairly independent from the cafe that it is situated in, it does seem that catkin by huishan has quite some interesting ideas on their plated desserts — while the selection is rather small with only three creations available at the point of our visit, catkin by huishan seems to surround their creations around very familiar local flavours that most should be able to relate to. We have also tried another one of their creations; the Sour Plum Guava, which consists of elements such as Sour Plum Guava Sorbet, Mascarpone and Calamansi — carried vibes similar to how locals seemingly enjoy having guava paired with sour plum powder which was also the how the plated dessert was actually conceived. Some may probably comment on how the desserts here could have used a little more complexity in terms of the elements to create even more textural elements for their plated desserts, but considering how catkin by huishan is still in their early stages at this juncture, we would say that whatever we have had does seem to be already quite a good attempt in terms of the level of thoughtfulness that went into the dish. Establishments focusing on plated desserts around the island are few and far between — catkin by huishan certainly adds some vibrancy and excitement in the F&B scene here!
