My favorite dessert at Hui Lau Shan is without a doubt the doubled boiled egg white with harsmar and bird's nest. I grew up eating bird's nest in both savory and sweet dishes and every time I heard the words �bird's nest,� my memory travels straight back to Christmas and birthday dinners at grandma�s house. Get it warm or cold, depending on your mood, but it�s hard to go wrong either way. Cold, it tastes of a mellow, almost flavorless gelatin, and if you concentrate, you can almost make out the slight fishiness of the harsmar. A change from the slippery gelatinous texture is only punctuated by the cool tangle and swiggles of bird's nest.

The black sesame paste, a more common dessert, is almost boring by comparison. My childhood memories don�t recall of drinking hot cocoa by the fireplace, but of spooning warm black sesame paste from the kitchen stove on a rainy night. It�s thick and comforting, nutty without being sweet and leaves the biggest, stickiest black stains upon a messy child�s mouth

Mango pudding is a popular item here. Most people like it with a complementing scoop of mango ice cream and slices of the fresh fruit. It�s the finest summer treat: cool mango in three forms!

Or perhaps you might like to get a little more adventurous and change it up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some bird's nest (this the more preferable combo in my opinion ;)

A rendition of the classic Thai dessert: black sticky rice with coconut milk and fresh fruits.

More refreshing is bowl of sago, tapioca pearls in a chilled sweet soup with watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe balls. In the center rests the crowning component, a generous mound of bird's nest. I love Asian desserts for the fact that I always leave you feeling very light, yet completely satisfied. There�s no complaining of a toothache, sugar, butter or fat overdose. Only the pleasure sweets that are not quite sweet and the taste of ingredients you�d never once think to use in dessert.

Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert
250 W. Valley Blvd. Unit #A
San Gabriel, CA 91766
(626) 282-8263