Sweets From the Streets with … Ruru?

Over the Thanksgiving break, I took trips down to Chinatown and explored local bakeries to try various holiday desserts from different cultures.

1. Moon Cakes

(Photograph: Ruru Chonzi)

A traditional Chinese dessert, moon cakes are typically eaten during New Year's. I found a local bakery in Chinatown serving them, with a Lotus flavored one being one of the last ones left. I was very excited to try the Lotus flavor (with egg yolk), especially considering it’s one of moon cakes’ more popular flavors. Based on the lack of moon cakes left, I had pretty high expectations and was very thrilled to take a taste. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. Inside the moon cake, there’s a firm paste with a hard egg yolk in the center. There’s a slightly nutty flavor (which I personally am not fond of) to the cake and unlike most cakes, moon cakes aren’t very sweet — their taste is more subtle. Still, despite this dessert in particular not living up to my expectations, it was a fun experience to try!

My final rating: 5/10

2. Martabak Manis

(Photograph: Ruru Chonzi)

Over the break, I went to an Indonesian restaurant called Simpang Asia and while I was there I had the chance to try Martabak Manis. They are thick pancakes stuffed with cheese, peanuts, sesame seeds, and condensed milk which are extremely popular in Indonesia. Martabak Manis can come in a sweet or savory form, depending on where you get them from, and are typically eaten around Christmas and New Year's. I was surprised by the unique combination of ingredients stuffed inside the pancake, and while the flavor was complex and interesting, it unfortunately did throw me off a little bit. 

My final rating: 6/10

3. Alfajores

(Photograph: Ruru Chonzi)

Alfajores are soft shortbread cookies with filling sandwiched in between, usually Nutella or dulce de leche. Alfajores are very popular in Argentina, where they are eaten both year round and also as a festive holiday dessert. They were recommended to me by a New Roads student who told me she ate these during the Christmas season. I got the chance to try them at a local bakery, and I loved the dulce de leche filling and how soft the shortbread cookies were. Everything about this desert was perfect and I would definitely buy it again.

My final rating: 10/10

4. Sufganiyot

(Photograph: Ruru Chonzi)

Sufganiyots are a jelly donut-like dessert and are a typical pastry eaten when celebrating Hanukkah. I visited a local bakery to try these and chose one with a strawberry filling. When eating them, I noticed that compared to a typical jelly-filled donut you might find at Dunkin' Donuts, the sufganiyot’s outer layer had a more bread-like feeling. It had a crispy outside and a soft, fluffy inside. Despite the strawberry filling it did taste a bit dry, but overall was a delightful dessert. 

My final rating: 7/10

5. Flódni

(Photograph: Ruru Chonzi)

Flódni is a Hungarian dessert that is important in Hungarian-Jewish culture, usually eaten during the Hanukkah season. It’s a multi-layer cake filled with walnuts, poppy seeds, and prune lekvar (a Hungarian fruit butter). When trying the dessert, I found that flódni has a pound cake-like taste to it, but with extra elements. There were definitely a lot of different textures in this cake, and to me at first glance, it didn’t look too appealing. Despite my doubts, I decided to take a bite and found myself surprised. I definitely didn’t expect to enjoy this desert as much as I did, however, it turned out to be rich, sweet, and delicious.

My final rating: 8/10

6. Sweet Potato Casserole 

(Photograph: All Recipes)

Sweet potato casserole is a very popular dessert in many households during Thanksgiving. Although I’ve had sweet potatoes before, I had never really considered them as a dessert food and therefore didn’t know what to expect when trying it. I didn’t have any set expectations going into it but was shocked to discover how much I actually enjoyed it. Its texture is similar to mashed potatoes, but softer and a bit runny, with marshmallows sprinkled on the top. I had this dessert on Thanksgiving night and it made me realize my Thanksgiving dinners prior hadn’t been living up to their full capabilities since I had been missing out on this delicious dessert. You might notice the photo of this dessert isn’t one I took, and the truth is that (un)fortunately, I did enjoy this dessert so much that I forgot to take a photo.

My final rating: 10/10