Sweetness Take Over

By Kenneth Soo

Dessert has always been in the heart of every Malaysian in many forms and tastes ever since the older generation and now, it is taking over our mind and soul.

The word “dessert” is originated from the French word “desservir”, meaning “to clear the table”. The history of dessert came not only from merely the ice cream on a cone during our older generations but in the ancient civilization, people were already enjoying eating fruits or nuts candied with honey.

Now in our generation, dessert has plays an important role as an energy boosting by ingesting sugar, increasing our production of the so-called hormone of happiness. Other than that, classically it also acts as a post-dinner treat for every dinning no matter Western or Chinese. Hence, dessert is always with us and making us desire for it without us knowing.

Baked Alaska and Peach Flambe can often be seen at the end of fine dining

“I am so full from what I’ve ate just now. I don’t think I can eat any more. Oh, dessert? Sure! ” commonly said by many people nowadays. The study found out that, the reason why people love dessert so much is not only because it has made them happy but more importantly, they want to end their meals satisfyingly with a decent taste staying in their mouth when they leave the dinner table.

Due to the exposure of cultures from overseas, other than local desserts such as cendol, kuih lapis or pandan layer cake, we have discovered even more varieties of dessert like French macaroon, Mille Crepes, Japanese mocha, cheesecake and many are still yet to be found. This means that we can have a hard time by just choosing the dessert.

                           Chocolate Crepe is currently trending among the youngsters.

Milky Red Bean Ice from Snowflake!

“Sweet-tooth” means a fondness or craving for sweets but it has now been used to describe a person who loves sweets as well. Most of the reasons why Malaysians love sweets so much are mainly because it helps to distress themselves from studies or works. It is also part of the ‘yum-cha’ culture favored by the Malaysians, meaning post-dinner treat or supper other than going to mamak or cafe.

               Cakes with a cup of coffee or cold drink are the musts when people hang out.

Dessert is diverse as people nowadays are either trying to invent new types of dessert or they are changing the original forms and flavors into something more sellable. The reason why people nowadays favor new things more often is because they get bored of the same things very easily. Therefore, the options for dessert have never limited as time goes by.

Sizzling brownies with ice cream on top.

Additionally, with the flooding posts and photos about the current trend of dessert on Facebook or Instagram, people can now find out the locations of the dessert shop very easily. Nevertheless, they are also often featured by many food bloggers and food programs on TV. This phenomenon has developed and became more prominent in this modern technological world of ours. In simply, dessert stays not only in the shop but everywhere else.

          

White chocolate bar is the best
sweet snack for children.

         Dessert has clearly plays an important part in our daily life. For instance, it helps most parents to make sure their children finish their meal when they are growing up by saving the special dessert for the last of their meal. Children love to eat sweets and therefore, this system makes sense. “Eat what you need then you can have what you want.” said all parents.

          However, although people love sweets so much, no one should have ever substitute meals with sweet snacks or any other dessert. Scientists have found out that frequent ingestion of sweets is harmful for our body. Ultimately, gaining excess weight or obesity will be a major problem for us if we have consume too much of sugar. As a replacement, we should consume more natural sugar from fruits, berries and vegetables instead. Therefore, we should eat everything in moderation.

 Fruits and berries that contain natural sugar.

         There are several reasons why everyone loves to eat dessert. Undeniably, it makes majority of the people feel happy with many varieties of it and it is a part of the food habit of a person’s life. Hence, dessert will never be an outcast and it will always be a topic for the people and media to discuss about. Nevertheless, it is also playing an important role in our society, reminding people that they should eat everything, good and bad, moderately in order for them to take care of their health.