Chinese (In particular Hong Kong) style desserts happen to be a top ten favourite of mine. Whether it be the Mango Sago or Ginger Syrup Tofufa, the refreshing and light tasting sweets of the Asian continent are delicious. However, one dessert that I have refused to experiment with over the years has been anything that contained the mysterious ingredient known as 'Grass Jelly'. The idea of a gelatinous cube made out of herbs just didn't seem too appealing to me, but I decided to give this popular and highly recommended dessert a chance.
This widely popular dessert dish was being served with several options at the restaurant that I went to, however I decided to make the experiment more pleasurable by playing it safe and going with a "Mixed Berry Grass Jelly" just to potentially ease the pain. At first glance this dessert appeared to be extremely gelatinous and jelly like, and had an unappealing colour that closely resembled a dark brown or green. At the touch of my spoon the jello had a very wobbly and loose consistency and was very easily moved at touch. This dessert wasn't making a good first impression, however there was slight to no smell which made my nerves wile down a little.
I must say I was quite pleasantly surprised when I first put a bite of the grass jelly dessert into my mouth. It had an herbaceous taste to it which was definitely something unique and unlike anything I had encountered before, however it was quite underwhelming and pretty much just had a sweet note to it. With little hints of bitterness, my palate always ended up with a the flavour of sweetness and the mixed berries that my grass jelly was paired with (Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries). I could, at this point, understand how some people might find this dessert dish a bit bitter; but I think that depending on the flavouring or topping, it could most definitely affect the end result and taste. Taking a bite of the grass jelly alone had almost no particular flavour, but did hit both sweet and bitter notes. I did not encounter any salty, sour, or umame aspects of the dish, however I'm sure that with particular add ons and flavourings, this dish could potentially have a sour component.
I realized that my palate must be a lot more receptive to sweeter tastes, seeing that I picked up on certain aspects. I could taste minted flavourings, along with sugary or honeyed components. My mouth and palate continuously kept rejecting in turn the bitter aspects of the ingredient that many people seem to find when tasting grass jelly.
All in all, I must say that this dessert didn't have an abundance of flavours and relied a lot on other components and add ons (Which must be the reason for all the flavour options and sweetness that was definitely coming from a ton of sugar). I do regret not trying this treat all the years ago, because there definitely are a lot of health benefits that also come from this sweet dessert and it wasn't that bad. I would for surely enjoy this dish again because of all the benefits, and the ability to alter and change the overall taste of the dish with all the add ons; however the consistency is not my favourite thing (Seeing that I was never the biggest fan of jello)! I think that I will no longer base judgment off of a first glance and that I can't be biased against certain dishes or ingredients. Although I am not the biggest fan of jello or gelatinous consistencies when it comes to my food, I will definitely indulge in other jello like desserts and dishes from here on out!
This widely popular dessert dish was being served with several options at the restaurant that I went to, however I decided to make the experiment more pleasurable by playing it safe and going with a "Mixed Berry Grass Jelly" just to potentially ease the pain. At first glance this dessert appeared to be extremely gelatinous and jelly like, and had an unappealing colour that closely resembled a dark brown or green. At the touch of my spoon the jello had a very wobbly and loose consistency and was very easily moved at touch. This dessert wasn't making a good first impression, however there was slight to no smell which made my nerves wile down a little.
I must say I was quite pleasantly surprised when I first put a bite of the grass jelly dessert into my mouth. It had an herbaceous taste to it which was definitely something unique and unlike anything I had encountered before, however it was quite underwhelming and pretty much just had a sweet note to it. With little hints of bitterness, my palate always ended up with a the flavour of sweetness and the mixed berries that my grass jelly was paired with (Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries). I could, at this point, understand how some people might find this dessert dish a bit bitter; but I think that depending on the flavouring or topping, it could most definitely affect the end result and taste. Taking a bite of the grass jelly alone had almost no particular flavour, but did hit both sweet and bitter notes. I did not encounter any salty, sour, or umame aspects of the dish, however I'm sure that with particular add ons and flavourings, this dish could potentially have a sour component.
I realized that my palate must be a lot more receptive to sweeter tastes, seeing that I picked up on certain aspects. I could taste minted flavourings, along with sugary or honeyed components. My mouth and palate continuously kept rejecting in turn the bitter aspects of the ingredient that many people seem to find when tasting grass jelly.
All in all, I must say that this dessert didn't have an abundance of flavours and relied a lot on other components and add ons (Which must be the reason for all the flavour options and sweetness that was definitely coming from a ton of sugar). I do regret not trying this treat all the years ago, because there definitely are a lot of health benefits that also come from this sweet dessert and it wasn't that bad. I would for surely enjoy this dish again because of all the benefits, and the ability to alter and change the overall taste of the dish with all the add ons; however the consistency is not my favourite thing (Seeing that I was never the biggest fan of jello)! I think that I will no longer base judgment off of a first glance and that I can't be biased against certain dishes or ingredients. Although I am not the biggest fan of jello or gelatinous consistencies when it comes to my food, I will definitely indulge in other jello like desserts and dishes from here on out!