No matter how well things are going for me, inevitably, something will pop up to ruin my stride.

Whether it’s someone from the past, an unexpected obstacle or me burning my toast in the morning, I’ve learned to not let negative pop ups affect me and all the good things happening in my life.

You know what isn’t a negative pop up?

A Dessert Evening with Reynold Poernomo.

Currently being held at the Sydney Dance Lounge on Hickson Road, former Masterchef AU contestant and fan favourite Reynold Poernomo is laying up a storm. Known as the dessert king of the latest season of the popular cooking show, he has decided to grant Sydneysiders a preview of things to come (hint: it involves a storefront near Central Park) with a four course dessert experience.

Joined by my boy Miguel from I’m Still Hungry and the lovely annachaannn, we couldn’t wait to put some cavities into our combined sweet tooth.

Let’s get straight to the king’s sweet offerings:

If I was to sum up the first course with a sentence it’d be this: the strongest start to a series of anything since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Like Harry Potter, it featured plenty of memorable characters and was purely magical.

All the components went together beautifully but I have to draw your attention to the pistachio sponge. It was incredibly light yet fluffy at the same time. I loved the refreshing nature of this dessert as it was quite fresh and tangy. Again, the flavours and textures just worked together so well. The crumbs, the sponge and the yogurt…this is a dessert that you should never desert.

How the Hell do you follow up something as incredibly as the first dessert course? He could’ve served ice cream off the bosom of Anna Kendrick and it still would’ve been a bit of a debate as to which dish was better.

I really enjoyed the bitterness of the hazelnut brownie. The dark chocolate was very strong and the combination it made with the hazelnuts was almost symbiotic. The dollop of espresso ice cream placed on the middle of the plate was the centre of this dessert universe; make sure you get some with every component as it was very tasty.

Anyone who doesn’t like this dish is a tad nuts if I do say so myself.

This dish gets an A+ in terms of presentation. The dark chocolate log houses the sour cherry kirsch that you have to crack open to access.

Getting the chance to crack open the log is the closest I’ll ever come to being a lumberjack. Just a warning, don’t be overzealous with your spoon. I smacked that log like it owed me money and then some. The cherry kirsch came oozing out like blood. I even felt slightly guilty about hurting the poor chocolate log.

Then I started eating it and my remorse completely disappeared.

The sourness of the cherry kick provided a stark contrast to the bitter dark chocolate. The harmony between the two most dominant flavours was like when Whitney Houston and Mariah would perform “When You Believe” together.

Believe me, this dessert was that good.

How do you come up with a dessert for a dessert? After three impeccable offerings, I didn’t think there was a way to wrap things up well.

Once again, never forget that I am an idiot.

The panna was easily my favourite course of the day. It’s the ultimate palate cleanser with a series of refreshing ingredients that once again have incredibly synergy. The most unexpected component was a pinch of popping candy that popped out of nowhere. I loved the tiny serving of mango ice cream and the pineapple carving. The star of this dish was the meringue, it almost tasted milky and didn’t crumble upon touch like the meringue I tried to make that one time.

Speaking of one time, this dish is one that you’ll be begging for repeat servings of.

Here’s the TL;DR for everyone in my life and never deserted me:

– Follow Reynold on Instagram and Facebook to find out the next time a pop up is happening!

– My favourites? Panna, Moss, Nomtella then the Forest. Any one of them would’ve made a fantastic end to any meal you could possibly imagine. Having the four in one serving is like having Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Dwyane Wade all on the one team.

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A Dessert Eveing with Reynold Poernomo

4/5 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay

For bookings please email: hi@reynoldpoernomo.com.au

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