[CLOSED] Sweet Thoughts Dessert (Hougang)

Topped with soya powdered muah chee, azuki red beans, konjac jelly and coconut cheese milk
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Kaya Toast with a twist
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Topped with pandan sago, gula melaka bubbles and served with crispy toast
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Having visited Sweet Thoughts by M.O.D a number of times, I have been feeling rather compelled to return for how their desserts do come with an interesting local twist, featuring the flavours of familiar local desserts presented in a different form. They were also one of the last few places that I have visited slightly before the “Circuit Breaker” was implemented with the rise in COVID-19 cases during this time in 2020 — also my last visit here until fairly recently.

I am actually rather torn between the various shaved ice and hot desserts available here, so it is always good to be here with friends for how everyone does seem to end up ordering the various flavours here — not to mention how the shaved ice desserts are good for sharing. The Kaya Pandan Shaved Ice features elements such as Toasted Bread, Black Sugar Jelly, Pandan Jelly and Gula Melaka Cheese Cap — replicates the classic Hainanese breakfast of Kaya Toast, but also seemingly carrying a little influence from Chendol itself. Unlike other establishments which serve shaved ice, there is something about the shaved ice from Sweet Thoughts by M.O.D being exceptionally rich and creamy; there is a lingering creaminess to the evident hints of Pandan going on in there, and that works especially well with the toasted bread cubes that are similar to croutons — creates a crunch, and does replicate that Kaya Toast vibes in an elevated form. The other elements such as the jellies give an additional chew factor, while the Gula Melaka Cheese Cap, though albeit unnecessary, does provide for that instagrammable pour shot for the dessert if one fancies — also adds a slight creaminess almost akin to the smooth and creamy, yet not particularly heavy cheese mousse/cream/foam that bubble tea stalls serve up; good to have however.

Have always been a fan of the desserts at Sweet Thoughts by M.O.D; their offerings brining a sense of newness to the usual offerings commonly found in traditional Chinese dessert shops. While their offerings do seem a tad limited, they still do offer quite a large variety of flavours which are done rather well that makes return visits almost mandatory despite axing off quite a number of items from the shaved ice menu. That being said, I do wish that Sweet Thoughts by M.O.D will be able to continue to innovate further with creative, traditional desserts served with a dash of modernity — the menu has been rather stagnant for the past one year, and would certainly help if they could just perhaps work on a special every now and then to draw the crowds back.

Tea taste was quite pronounced👍🏻. Konjac jelly + red bean + soya powdered muah chee (soft!) went well with the hojicha flavour. The slight savouriness from the coconut cheese milk cap helped to balance the sweetness. Eating this felt like I was having bubble tea. The generous amount of ingredients made this pretty filling and value for money too.

I just prefer shaved ice to be less milky and slightly less sweet. Worth a try if you are around the area but I wouldn’t make a deliberate trip down for this.

We ordered: Black Sesame Paste ($4) with 3 tangyuans (forgot the price, sorry, but I think it was around $2+) & mao shan wang durian shaved ice ($9.90).

The black sesame paste came with a layer of ginger pandan cloud, which we found too ginger-y for our liking. The paste itself was rich & creamy, but it wasn’t as smooth as the ones u get from Ah Chew. The coconut crisps gave it a nice texture tho! Overall, it gets abit jelat so this would be good for sharing!
Rating: 6/10

The tangyuans came in 3 flavours, caramel, peanut hazelnut & green tea, so they’re not ur conventional peanut & sesame flavours. Overall, the tangyuans were chewy & nice & we found the flavours to be really unique! It was pretty small tho so not sure if it was worth the price. The green tea filling had a slight bitter-ness to it & the peanut hazelnut just tasted like a melted ferrero rocher!
Rating: 7/10

The mao shan wang shaved ice was the star tho. It was served with a coconut shaved ice, chendol jelly, kognac jelly, durian paste & a gula melaka cheese cap. The durian paste was really rich & u could see the durian fibres inside! The coconut shaved ice also went really well w the jellies & gula melaka cheese cap. This is really a must try!
Rating: 9/10

elevated chendol. not overwhelmingly sweet. shaved ice really fine and well-flavoured.