Pineapple, Passion

Spiced Pineapple, Coconut Rum Savarin, Vanilla Custard, Passionfruit Coulis, Pineapple Sorbet

This was a sugary pineapple bomb. The sauteed buttery pineapple were too sweet for my "aging Asian" taste buds. Somehow the sugary fruit remained firm despite being tooth achingly sweet. I appreciated the sweet perfume of vanilla in the fruit, but did wish it were less saccharine. In fact, I was glad I ordered the North Pond Blend (Intelligentsia) which I gladly drank black (not to say I usually taint it with anything) - almost balancing my palate (or insulin levels). My favourite component was the mildly sweet passionfruit sorbet, which provided a smooth and cool contrast to the dense syrup brushed cake. The baba itself was a little too buttery sweet for me, with a hidden custard surprise likening the cake to a large fluffy cream filled doughnut. Topping the tower was a thin crisp pineapple chip, and giant shards of crumbly tuile (more sugar and butter, but this time impregnated with nutty almonds(?)). Perhaps it was the generosity of the kitchen or because this was the conclusion to a lovely "local" tasting menu, but I sat back noting that this would be the ideal dessert to share as even a glutton (like me) found it overwhelming to consume on my own.

This was a substitution for the chocolate,strawberry dessert on the tasting menu. If not already known, I have an allergy to cocoa.