Zuko!

17 Upper East Coast Road. T. 6241 5669

There's been much hype about this place in recent weeks, and the many news reviews they've received are proudly displayed in the front window. But from a dessert perspective (and rightly or wrongly, this tends to be my litmus test), this place just doesn't meet the cut. The homemade Belgian chocolate ice-cream was sweet, which in itself isn't necessarily a condemnation, just not a smart move given how Haagen-Dazs' bittersweet version has already shaped general perception of how this should taste. My bugbear was that this was also so thick it lost its form, and instead brought to mind a cakey milkshake. So don't have the ice-cream. Also don't have the Chocolate Mousse Paradise. This was a nice size and properly dense, but tasted, and crumbled like hardened chocolate cream from days of yore. I was not impressed. Still, there was a group of very satisfied, albeit slightly high, ladies who left just as we arrived, and their obviously contrary experience stops me from being unequivocal.