Showing posts with label mango pancake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mango pancake. Show all posts

Full House Dessert (Toronto)


Someone should run a Toronto food tour for Asian desserts. It would be a manageable walk; along Yonge between Sheppard Avenue and just north of Empress Walk are at least ten options. There’s Japanese cheesecakes, Taiwanese shaved ice, and now Hong Kong style desserts as Richmond Hill’s Full House Desserts opened a second location in the city.

Like the other establishments in the Emerald Tower, it’s a cozy shop that’s grab-and-go. If you can’t wait, there are plenty of tables in the food court to indulge in the sweets.


Full House Desserts offers a variety of confections that are popular in Hong Kong. Their Full House sago ($7.49) is a take on the mango pomelo sago made popular by HK’s Lei Garden.  The tropical base consists of blended mango enriched with coconut milk and evaporated milk. Small pearls of boiled sago are added, which thickens the base and creates a smooth and slippery texture to the tongue.


Still rather fluid, cubes of mango and pomelo slivers are added into the milky mixture. Unfortnately, mango can be a hit or miss fruit. When you’re in Thailand, they’re simply amazing, but in Canada they simply don’t carry the same panache. Some pieces were sweet and tender while others hard and chewy, not every bite is as great as the last.

The pomelo (a sweeter grapefruit) in the sago makes it even tangier. It’s definitely refreshing, if you’re in the mood for something tropical and light during the summer months. The sago is almost like a chunky smoothie or an acai bowl, for me it’s not rich enough to classify as dessert.

The mango pancake ($8.99 for two) works better as a sweet. Despite the name, it’s really a stuffed crepe than a pancake, each delicious light pillow filled with mango chunks and tons of lightly sweetened whipped cream. The crepe is so airy and delicate that it barely resists being touched… to get it soundly out of the container and onto a plate, a cake lifter is suggested.



You may think two is made for sharing, but the palm-sized pancakes are so tasty and light that you can easily devour them both. A durian version ($10.99) is also available for those that are adventurous and want something really authentic.

I also enjoyed the new black sticky rice with coconut juice ($5.99), especially if you give it time. When eating it fresh from the store, the dessert is very nutty and even has a savoury taste (despite not being salty). A night in the fridge really helps develop it into a dessert: as it gets colder the sweetness intensifies; and the rice soaks up more of the coconut milk and begins to thicken the liquid.


Layers of silky tofu is mixed throughout and against the slightly chewy sticky rice makes for a great contrast. If only I had vanilla ice cream, a small scoop of that added on top would have perfected the sweet. Black sticky rice à la Mode, here we come!

The dishes aren’t very sweet, in typical Hong Kong fashion. After all, one of the biggest compliments for desserts in the city is when people comment that it’s good… because it’s not too sweet.


Perhaps it’s better to praise HK desserts for combining ingredients that aren’t generally thought of as sinfully indulgent, into concoctions can still satisfy a sweet tooth, without feeling heavy. After all, it’s easy to make chocolate, butter, and cream into something tasty, but who would have thought that rice, tofu, and coconut milk can be equally as good?   

Disclaimer: The above desserts were complimentary. Rest assured, as noted in my mission statement, I will always provide an honest opinion.


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 4750 Yonge Street

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Full House Desserts Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato