KOI Dessert Bar (Sydney, AUSTRALIA) ★★★★☆

Many of us have already heard of Reynold Poernomo before, the posterboy from MasterChef Australia 2015 who scored a perfect 30/30 with his dessert in one of the episodes. The fact that he didn't end up winning it all won't matter anymore. The important thing that matters most, he has created a place for us to enjoy his masterful creations - KOI Dessert Bar.



This is the perfect stopover after lunch at Automata and a quick tour of its next-door neighbour Spicy Alley.



These pastries will most definitely make our trip to Chippendale even more worthwhile.



The two-storey space boasts a ground-floor patisserie-style café and lounge that looks more like a florist at first glance.



We decided to go upstairs where the main dining room was and tried to figure out how to divide up these treasure.



Coconut Kalamansi (AUD$9.5) - One of the most photographed cakes from KOI's impressive collection. The combination of coconut mousse, kalamansi curd and chocolate sable was a very good one with a nice balance of sweetness (coconut) and acidity (kalamansi).



Mango Yuzu (AUD$9.5) - More sweetness and acidity came our way in the form of mango and yuzu. In the middle of the delicate mango mousse was a layer of citrusy yuzu curd creating a pretty nice contrast of flavors. The almond sable on the bottom provided a lovely bite at the end.



Strawberry Pillow (AUD$9.5) - Almond sable, strawberry mousse and lychee jelly. Very nice again.



Tiramisu (AUD$12) - I initially wanted to go with their liquid tiramisu which would have been a little difficult to share among the four of us.



I kind of expected this. A deconstructed tiramisu with mascarpone cheese, lady finger, espresso sponge, coffee jelly and honeycombs. They got all the flavors right but I thought the flavors weren't nearly as exciting as what was offered with the previous three cakes.



I was glad we managed to squeeze KOI into our tight schedule. It's definitely a place that's worth coming back again (and again).





Food Rating: 7/10
Price: $$$
Address: 42–44 Kensington Street, Chippendale, Sydney, Australia
Tel: +61 2-9212-1230
Website: www.koidessertbar.com.au