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25 July 2012

Got a thing for the sweet stuff? We suggest you try one (or a few) of Japanese restaurant Ebisu’s new desserts.

A little over a year ago, Japanese restaurant Ebisu opened its heavy black warehouse doors to eager Aucklanders, serving dishes that weave traditional Japanese izakaya cuisine with a casual contemporary dining experience.

This week, Ebisu introduces some inspired new offerings to its menu, in the form of dessert. Not usually a focus in Japanese cuisine, Ebisu has harnessed the talents of Jose Stitchbury, formerly of Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill to create several new mouthwatering treats.

Always eager to indulge our sweet tooth, we took to the dessert tasting task with gusto. The Kuro Goma dessert features black sesame ice cream served with a cherry compote, sesame wafers and a pair of morish cherry blossom macaroons. We were pleasantly surprised by the black sesame flavour, which oddly reminded us of peanut brittle, delivered in the form of ice cream. Catering for chocolate lovers is the dark chocolate fondant, served with creamy miso – macadamia ice cream and cherry compote. While the standout dish, for us at least, is the Painappuru no Usugiri. Certainly the more adventurous option out of the three, this dessert features a shaved pineapple and lychee salad, with sesame meringue, tart yuzu sorbet and pink peppercorns.