Dessert spots are aplenty in Singapore, but just when you thought most places would’ve exhausted their creativity, Sweet Mary’s pops up and intrigues us with something we’ve never heard of before.
Run by the same team behind Montana at PoMo, the dessert section that sits below the main restaurant offers Hokkaido milk soft serve and a never-before-heard-of (at least to my ears) cold brewed chocolate.
This makes for a very convenient transition for diners who wish to experience two very dining concepts within one establishment. Before our sugary delights, we had the opportunity to try two highly recommended dishes from Montana’s revamped menu.
First up, was The Ultimate Mac & Cheese Bun Burger ($14.90). Replacing the buns are two panko-crusted mac & cheese patties, which sandwich a homemade 160g beef patty. Just the sound of it made our hearts race. The beef patty was succulent and had a very strong flavour profile.
Sadly though, beyond the crunchy texture of the mac & cheese “buns”, the flavour fell flat. We wished it was seasoned more, given its density and likelihood of getting you full very fast.
Overall, it was a good attempt, but it still needs more improvement, especially if it wants to avoid diners reaching that sickly point of stuffed.
The next dish was the Chilli Crab Burger ($12.90). Now, we all know the sauce makes a chilli crab dish, and this, unfortunately, was greatly lacking in it. There was hardly any sauce in terms of sight and taste, and the only saving grace was the generous soft shell crab that filled the brioche buns.
We knew we had to try the Miso Brown Butter Linguine ($16). For a vegetarian dish, the flavours in this bowl were phenomenal! It was rich, robust, and of course, was umami all thanks to the bold miso aftertaste.
The cherry on top was that the linguine was done al dente, which is such an overlooked aspect of most pasta dishes out there. Out of all the mains we’d tried so far, we both agreed we’d return just to have this again.
Moving on to the beverages, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s very extensive, from wines, craft beers, coffees, iced teas, you name it. We came here for their special cold brews, so the first one we had was the Cold Brewed Chocolate (Original) ($6.20). What is this, you ask? Well, it’s raw cacao nibs brewed in coconut water for no less than 12 hours, creating a unique drink.
Because it uses raw cacao, expect a strong bitterness to hit you on the first sip. The typical chocolate flavour is no longer present, but more interestingly, the drink tasted very different when we drank it on an empty stomach versus after finishing our mains. It got better with the meal, meaning what you enjoy with this drink does matter.
Our final verdict was that we couldn’t decide if we loved or hated it; it’s something you most definitely have to grow to like.
We also tried the Earl Grey Lavender Lemonade ($9), which didn’t carry a lot of earl grey or lavender notes in it, disappointingly. The lemonade flavour overpowered the subtle aroma, and as a result, it turned out tasting like any regular lemonade.
Another drink we had to give a shot was the Coconut Cold Brew (Regular) ($12.90). Created in a similar fashion as the earlier cold brew beverage, this is coffee-based and comes with a coconut ice sphere. How do coffee and coconut go together?
They get along very well, actually. There’s a natural sweetness that gradually develops as the ice melts, so you’ll enjoy this drink even more as time passes. On a warm day, we reckon this drink will provide much relief.
We then moved downstairs to the dessert shop and ordered ourselves the two most popular soft serves. First was the Salted Caramel Popcorn ($6.90), which comes with sea salt Hokkaido milk, caramel popcorn, lotus cookie, Horlicks crumble and salted caramel sauce.
Besides the fact that it’s very Instagram-able, we have to warn you that our climate doesn’t permit this soft serve to hold up for very long. Within 30 seconds, our hands were slathered in melted soft serve and left us scrambling for tissues.
Taste-wise, the soft serve itself was pretty average, with the salted caramel contributing to most of the flavours.
Our second cone was the Lavender Raw Honey ($7.10), which comes with the same sea salt Hokkaido milk soft serve, but this time topped with a butter cookie, lavender sprinkle and raw Australian honey. The lavender was interesting in that it was a tad salty, which gave this dessert a good sweet-salty balance. The honey was a nice touch as well. We just wish the soft serve had a more standout profile, considering it is their focus.
We can see where Sweet Mary’s is trying to head, but there are still plenty of kinks that it has to sort out before this place truly becomes a hit. No doubt, you’ll be satisfied with their savoury offerings, but perhaps it’s wise to give their desserts some time to mature. One thing is for sure, their Coconut Cold Brew is something I’ll return for.
Expected damage: $7 – $25 per pax
