Dessert Parlour @ BSC

Is there truly always room for dessert? This sugar specialist will help test that sticky theory, taking up space on Bangsar Shopping Center's fourth floor beside the Burp food court.

Customers can lounge in cushy comfort indoors or breathe Bangsar's unfiltered air on the alfresco terrace. Everyone from restless children to ladies who lunch may feel therapeutically tranquilized here (until the inevitable glucose rush).

Malaysian treats are the highlight, so banish all aspirations for macarons, creme brulee & tiramisu. Dessert Parlour's 'leng chee kang' (RM4.50+) _ a cooling combination of lotus seeds, gingko nuts & what-not _ is what the doctor might recommend for our what-the-heck weather.

Pulut hitam (RM4.50+) _ black rice pudding with coconut milk. The terrible truth, however, is that Dessert Parlour makes mediocre versions of these familiar recipes. Shoppers at BSC can stop here for a pick-me-up, but nothing we tried would warrant a special visit.

Skip the banana fritters with ice cream & honey (RM7.50+). Disastrously bland & doughy.

For a better brush with syrupy stuff, head to this enclave's other mall, Bangsar Village, where Garibaldi serves treats both creative & crazy-tasty, such as bourbon panna cotta with strawberries marinated in aged balsamic vinegar.

White chocolate mousse with dark chocolate pipe. Might be even more decadent if milk chocolate played a role in this, to create a menage a trois of the most seductive ingredients known to man. Nothing teases & titillates the taste buds like chocolate.

Crispy meringue with chocolate chip parfait & dark cherries. Sure, it might seem unfair to pit Dessert Parlour's cheaper offerings against Garibaldi's, which hover near the RM30 price range. But if cost isn't an issue, then sweet satisfaction lies with the Italians.

Make bubur cha cha, cendol & ais kacang while the sun shines!

Dessert Parlour @ Bangsar Shopping Center,

Kuala Lumpur.

Open through 10pm.