Dessert 90
Stall #90 at Commonwealth Crescent Market and Food Centre

As we all know, the sweltering heat in Sunny Singapore is nothing to joke about. The humidity leaves us feeling sluggish, and the more our clothes cling to our sweaty bodies, the worse our mood becomes. During times like these, you should head down to Dessert 90 to beat the heat with their sweet treats!

My choice would be their Cheng Teng. For those of you who aren’t familiar with hawker fare, cheng teng is an asian dessert comprising of a light refreshing soup with longans, barley, agar strips, lotus seeds, and many other ingredients unique to each stall, finished off with a sweet syrup.

This bright pink stall certainly stands out from the other hawker stalls at Commonwealth Crescent Market and Food Centre, so you definitely won’t miss it. 

NOW WAIT A MINUTE.

Did you look at the photo above carefully?

Just $1.00 for a bowl of dessert?

Although it seems too good to be true, Dessert 90 sells refreshing and light desserts at just a dollar each, without compromising on quality.

Gather round children, its time for a story.

Now now, don’t get your knickers in a knot. I know you’re probably wiping sweat off your furrowed brows right now, eager to scroll to the end of this post to see my verdict. Well, just hang in there a while longer.

Good things come to those who wait.

Dessert 90 is about more than food. Its about a passion. These kindred old folks behind the stall have been in this business since the 1960s, and have been selling their homemade desserts to their loyal fan base of Commonwealth residents. They are clearly not in this for the profit (A dollar for a bowl of dessert? You can’t beat this price anywhere else in Singapore) and the result is seen  tasted in their desserts. Lovingly prepared for 3 hours daily, their traditional recipes have proven to be a favorite throughout the generations.

My recommendation would be for their Cheng Teng which is chockful of healthy ingredients. Hmmm, maybe their stall is pink to secretly highlight that their desserts will leave you in the pink of health. Geddit? 😀

The friendly couple even allowed me to take photos of their kitchen, and readily answered my questions with a smile. Look at the prepared bowls for the Cheng Teng… they are without a doubt generous with the ingredients especially for a dollar.

Now, just who is this friendly couple you keep going on about, you may ask?

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the owners of Dessert 90..  

The jovial couple who are eager to help, and love their job.

Now, what you have all been waiting for…the food!

They top their Cheng Teng with a huge mound of ice, just what I need to cool off in this horrible heat. Their syrup is clear, unlike most other places which have a thick brown syrup, and leaves me with a light after taste. I don’t feel heavy after this dessert, just refreshed and ready to get on with my day!

What makes this Cheng Teng special for me is their use of natural ingredients to add the sweetness to the dessert, rather than using ladles of diabetes inducing sugar syrup. This is the only place that left me feeling light after eating a dessert. (Good news for the health conscious foodies)

With so many ingredients added, the dessert is a symphony of tastes and textures. The red dates add delightful bursts of sweetness with each bite, while the white fungus adds a nice crunch to the dessert. They even added wintermelon which was crunchy, chewy and sweet all at once.

The orange peel is a suprisingly nice touch, with the gummy sweet peel adding depth to the Cheng Teng. This is the first time I’ve found orange peel in this dessert. Not that I’m complaining though 😛

The chewy al dente barley pearls also helped to neutralise the sweet ingredients, and rounded off this dessert perfectly.

The wholesome ingredients all worked together nicely, complementing each other to create a taste of nostalgia. Nothing can beat home-cooked goodness.

Dessert 90 stands out from other stalls because they provide what many hawkers have lost.. the taste of home. Healthy, yet delicious. I’ve realised that you can indeed taste the love put into cooking.
Now you know, love is the secret ingredient in every mother’s delicious homemade meals.

Do head down to their stall to seek some cool respite in this weather. Once you taste the love, you’ll keep coming back for more. Don’t worry, they won’t give you the cold shoulder, just cold desserts to appease your overheated body. 🙂 In this case, it would be apt to say that you will get the most bang for your buck!

Rating: 7.5/10