Desserts Artisanaux: New Cantonese dessert spot in Vancouver
There aren’t many things that impress my Chinese parents ๐ but one thing I do know they like is Cantonese desserts. Unlike western desserts featuring cakes, chocolate, cream and other decadent natures, Asian desserts pride themselves in being “not too sweet”. Cantonese desserts especially are known to be served hot or cold with soup-like consistencies.
I was invited to check out a new dessert shop that opened in Vancouver, Desserts Artisanaux. Of course, I brought my parents for the taste test because who else would be a better judge than unimpressed Chinese parents?
Desserts Artisanaux
2675 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC V5R 5H4
The vibe
Walking into Desserts Aritsanaux, I immediately liked the vibe. It had a mixture of Asian aesthetics (think Japandi) with wooden tables and chairs, branch/tree elements, a little well/water fixture, and warm inviting lighting. I thought it was cool how they had all the ingredients out on display and the counter/kitchen looks like it’s in a straw roof building.
The space is considered small but they fit as many tables in there as possible without being too cramped. I would say most seatings would fit 2-4 people, so if you come with a bigger group, you may have some challenges.
We came here at 6:15pm before dinner on a weekday and was able to find a seat right away. Closer to 7pm, it got very busy. Note that they have both English and Chinese menus available.
Food and drinks review
Disclaimer:ย As part of an Instagram collaboration, we got to try 2 desserts and 2 drinks for free. We paid for the remaining 2 desserts but I will include menu prices for each item here for transparency. Prices are in CAD and rounded to the nearest dollar for simplicity.
A1 – Mochi pistachio paste ($9)
When asked what their most popular dessert is, the worker highlighted this mochi pistachio paste. I’ve seen this item on my social media so I was pretty excited to try it.
It came in a pretty cute bowl which had an in-between size. What I mean by this is that it’s kind of big for 1 person to finish, but too small for 2 people to finish.
It had a really nice nutty flavour from the pistachio and I liked the actual sprinkling of pistachio nuts also. I enjoyed the mochi texture and wish there was more of it. In general, this dessert leans more towards the “soupy” type of Chinese dessert and it served warm.
C7 – Coconut jelly noodles and mini glutinous rice balls with mango pomelo sago ($12)
I mean the title speaks for itself ๐! It literally tells you everything in this dessert.
For a more fruity craving, we ordered this mango pomelo sago which is like a cold mango soup. The sago provides some bubbly texture.
This was my first time eating coconut jelly noodles. I found them to be quite filling and I am a messy eater so actually I didn’t like it that much as you can splatter a little with these slippery noodles.
Compared to all the mango desserts I’ve had, I think this one is just average.
E1 – Taro, coconut jelly noodle, sago, peach hum, taro balls, mini glutinous rice balls with coconut milk ($11) + B4 – Steamed milk egg pudding with peach gum ($9)
The last 2 desserts my parents wanted to try. The first one is from the “grand slam series”. It seems to have everything! From the coconut jelly noodles to glutinous rice balls to taro, sago, etc. all swimming in a pool of coconut milk.
My mom quite liked this dessert and felt it was really worth the price. It had a mild sweet taste to it and is refreshing (served cold).
My dad, on the other hand, was feeling this steamed milk egg pudding. This is a hot dessert and I would say the portion size for this is larger than other places. The steamed milk egg pudding had great texture! You can choose different toppings (we chose peach gum) and my dad liked this dessert a lot. It has a stronger egg flavour.
Mango coconut smoothie ($9) + Longan and red date milk tea ($8)
For our drinks, we tried 1 hot and 1 cold and asked the server to recommend us the most popular drinks.
For cold, she recommended the mango coconut smoothie. This came in a huge tin cup! I feel like all 4 of us couldn’t finish it. The smoothie had a thick consistency and it had a lot of mango flavour.
But our favourite drink and one of our favourite items ordered was the longan and red date milk tea ๐คฉ. I’ve had a lot of milk tea before, but never served like this in a teapot with little tea cups. They look like little sake cups. The pot was also designed really cool with a filter that stops the longan and red dates from getting poured into your cup.
This milk tea tasted very comforting and it was fun to share this with 4 people.
Final thoughts
Loewe’s rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
We had a lovely dessert time at Desserts Artisanaux with my parents. We felt all the desserts here were authentic and you can tell from the staff to the ingredients they use.
My must-orders are the pistachio mochi paste, the longan and red date milk tea and the steamed milk egg pudding, but you can’t go wrong with any of their desserts as long as you are already familiar with Cantonese desserts.
I would love to come back with my parents next time!
Recommended: Read my review of another Cantonese dessert spot I took my parents to – The First Dessert in Vancouver.
Sincerely, Loewe