MARCUS Low should be crowned the Wizard of Desserts for the amazing confections he has created for Mad Hatter. There’s brilliance in his “madness” for the unique sweet treats at his cafe in Damansara Uptown, Petaling Jaya.

I swooned over his exquisite take on Bubur Cha Cha, a plated dessert which wowed the judges in the finale of Masterchef Asia season one, of which he was the runner-up. There is his sublime Claypot Rice, with smoke wafting up and revealing a rice milk and bamboo leaf sorbet atop rice milk snow ice, surrounded by rice crunchies. A warm glutinous rice and barley pudding lies beneath. Then there are his divine Watermelon and Assam Boi Tart, Chocolate Calamansi, and Banana Coffee and Cardamom desserts.

Now Marcus has whipped up a dessert menu for Christmas, pulling out of his hat some surprising and unusual ingredients. Who would have thought of buah keluak in dessert? The black core of the keluak, or mangrove nut, is turned into a filling with lotus paste for mochi, and then blended with Alunga chocolate for a macaron.

The lotus paste with keluak filling tasted chocolatey, with a faint hint of truffle (although no truffle was used). It was exquisite inside the smooth, delicate skin of the mochi.  For the macaron, he had blended dried kukur, a jungle mushroom, to give it colour and texture, then combined chocolate with keluak for the filling. The chocolate overcame the earthy keluak but it was a good effort.

The eight-course dessert degustation menu for December 24 and 25 begins with Osmanthus, Lychee, Peach, with a thin layer of osmanthus jelly at the bottom, to be folded up like a wonton skin over goji berries marinated in osmanthus tea, peach puree, and lychee granita. It slides on the palate, delivering subtle, aromatic and fruity flavours.

For “TIRA” + “MISU”, Marcus spells out the letters with coffee cream, dips each of them in coffee syrup, rolls in coffee soil, and assembles them on the light-as-air coffee foam cake. It’s a textural delight: the wispy cake, the creamy coffee letters accentuated with more coffee, and the aromatic coffee aftertaste in your mouth.

The Binjai, Mango Ginger pops up tangy and citrusy. Thin popiah skin dressed in butter and baked forms the crispy base of this dessert. A binjai (like a sour mango) custard pudding sits on it, with crunchy little discs of “ginger mango” (binjai slices dipped in citric acid and sugar) on top of it. I love the contrasting textures and the mango aroma and taste of the binjai in this dessert.

The “main courses” follow after the Buah Keluak mochi and macaron. Jackfruit, Tualang Honey, Creme Fraiche makes a striking entrance with young jackfruit stewed with cinnamon and long pepper with a light “cake” at the bottom made from sprouted whole wheat bread drizzled with an aromatic tualang honey. It tastes like a lovely sticky date pudding. The crème fraiche ice cream is heavenly.

A drink of cola with cacao nibs to refresh the palate is served before the Mango, Bergamot, Pomelo. It’s a dessert of myriad delectable elements – mango and bergamot frozen mousse, coconut veil, mango pearls, fennel-infused pomelo, and sago chips.  It’s incredible how the chef’s mind works in this, how he entices with flavours, aromas, and textures. There’s gula melaka in the coconut jelly which encases mango bergamot mousse, santan powder on the sago crisps and fennel on the juicy pomelo.

Brown and Black Rice Pudding with black rice foam, durian sorbet and durian seed crumble is served in a stone bowl. The heavenly durian sorbet won me over, as did the slightly salted black pulut pudding, ringed by lightly sweet foam. And who has ever done a durian seed crumble?

A cranberry with longjing tea that tastes like a smoky roselle comes between this and the Cucumber Sorbet with Pickled Chilli that ends this awesome dessert feast.

This eight-course dessert degustation menu for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is priced at RM300 for two. Mad Hatter Desserts is at 19, Jalan SS 21/60, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, and can be reached via telephone at 012-370 4327. It’s open from 12pm to 10pm on weekdays and from 12pm to 11pm on weekends. It is closed on Tuesdays. – December 23, 2018.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.