MARCUS Low is a dessert alchemist.

At Mad Hatter, he pulls pretty much any treat out of his hat, and he’s outdone himself with the Christmas menu.

I loved the Oops, I Dropped the Ball!. The chef invited us to hold up and drop a sugar ball on the plate, spilling the rose sauce inside.

Then, he scooped roselle granita over the creamy foam, topped with roselle petals and with mulberries tucked underneath. It was fun!

The Dehydrated Milk Skin, sprinkled with bunga kantan, is perched on a lime-lemongrass sorbet tinged blue with butterfly pea flower. It sits on a base of crushed cashews and coconut ganache, with grated kaffir lime and pickled rose apple.

They all come together scrumptiously.

It has been nearly three years since Low opened this Petaling Jaya cafe after he was named first runner-up on Masterchef Asia.

He often uses rare, locally sourced ingredients, such as the Hulu Gali chocolate in the sorbet that accompanies the Custard Tart with Caramelised Banana Cream.

The delicate tart is crowned with slices of pisang nangka and pisang emas. I revelled in the taste and aroma of both types of bananas.

Black rice from Langit Collective, which promotes unique heirloom produce by small-time farmers in East Malaysia, is in the Black Rice Sorbet, a palate cleanser on the Christmas menu. It’s aromatic, light and fresh.

The Honey Date Cake with Burnt Ginger Ice Cream is another delectable dessert.

I enjoyed the Glutinous Rice Pudding with Job’s Tears (Chinese pearl barley), candied Solomon’s Seal (yuk chuk) and fresh coconut shoots. The different textures are pleasing to the palate.

We also had Low’s mossy-looking creation. “It’s a rite of passage for every dessert chef to do one that looks like a forest floor,” said the chef.

The crumbed cake is made of ulam raja, while the genoise sponge cake is dipped into tea with local herbs. The mascarpone cream has the flavour of hojicha, a Japanese green tea.

Fresh ulam raja and flower petals garnish this “forest floor”, which tastes fresh and “green” – not something one normally expects of a dessert.

Savoury dishes, too, feature on the well thought-out Christmas menu.

Before the sweets, we had the Caramelised Sourdough with two dips: red bean hummus with smoked paprika, and onion sous vide. The latter is chopped onions cooked with milk, cream and nutmeg.

Both dips go deliciously with the chef-made bread.

Sandwiches are now served at Mad Hatter, and they are far from ordinary.

On the Christmas menu is the Spring Onion Brioche Sandwich, filled with chicken, coriander, sambal mayo and pickled radish.

On the same plate are crispy mushroom blinis spread with a mushroom pate, and topped with dehydrated kukur and eringi mushrooms, and sautéed busut (wild mushroom). There’s coffee kombucha gel in this as well. Though small, the blinis explode with flavour.

Low makes a wonderful brioche; light, eggy and buttery. This and the sourdough are usually available at Mad Hatter.

Who would’ve thought of making gnocchi with sukun (breadfruit)? Well, Low did, and it turned out smooth and pillowy. The gnocchi is superb with sous-vide turkey and fried sage.

The two beverages on the Christmas menu are amazing.

The Tapai and Cold Brew gives off a whiff of tapai and has tapai juice at the bottom of the coffee. The Asam Gelugor Soda Water with burnt butter foam is refreshing after a hearty dinner.

The Christmas degustation menu is priced at RM150 per person. It is available from today to Monday, and on Christmas Day itself.

Also available are vibrant desserts in festive colours, among them the Raspberry Rose and Lychee; Watermelon and Assam Boi Tart; Coconut, Mango and Pineapple; and, Pistachio, Passion Fruit and Green Tea.

Mad Hatter is located at 19, Jalan SS21/60 in Damansara Utama, 47400, Petaling Jaya. It can be reached at 012-370-4327.

The cafe opens at 2pm, serving cakes, breads, coffee and other drinks. Plated desserts make their way out at 7pm. This establishment is pork-free. – December 21, 2019.

* 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.