Blossom Court

This is a useful place to have in the neighborhood. I’ve lived in Singapore and Malaysia for many years and the food here, while not representing the best you can find over there, is still pretty authentic. The clientele is almost exclusively Asian, the service is of the usual unsmiling but efficient kind, and if you get a craving for beef rendang or nasi lemak you can’t go far wrong. I haven’t tried the desserts.

An Asian restaurant is perhaps not the first place you would think of to visit for dessert, but we were on the lookout for a place in Auckland serving Southeast Asian desserts to satisfy our Singaporean taste buds. The hunt began with a visit to Blossom Court in Panmure, where we ordered two traditional favourites: Ice Kacang ($ 5.50) and Bubur Cha Cha ($ 3.50).
For those unfamiliar with ice kacang, it’s a uniquely Southeast Asian concoction of shaved ice with red beans, jelly, sweet syrup, and a myriad of other toppings… basically a snow cone gone berserk. Blossom Court’s rendition was reasonably priced and looked promising, but it soon became obvious that there was too much ice, resulting in a total teeth– and brain-​numbing experience. It needed another dousing of condensed milk and the multi-​coloured rose syrup, and perhaps a spoonful of red beans, to make it more flavoursome so I wasn’t biting into straight up shaved ice.
Although its name may suggest some sort of exotic dance, bubur cha cha is actually a warm, coconut-​milk based dessert soup, containing a medley of sweet potatoes, taro/​yam and sago pearls. Bubur cha cha is only sold on Sundays in Blossom Court, though it’s probably not worth the special trip. It had a slightly more diluted base than what we’re used to. Like the ice kacang, the bubur cha cha just needed that something extra to live up to its authentic taste.
We would be willing to return to give their main dishes a try, but insofar as their desserts go, Blossom Court’s offerings were pretty mediocre. And so the hunt continues!