Dessert Story, Shop 1110, Highpoint, Maribyrnong. Phone: 9317 3889

Pumpkin pie?

OK, I can get with that.

But red beans, taro, barley, lotus seeds and dried bean curd? With sugar?

Nup, not my thing.

While Bennie and I are often reading from the same page when it comes to food, and even non-food reading material, there IS a big gap between us when it comes to Asian beverages and desserts.

That gap is well illustrated by a post-movie visit to Dessert Story that is a sort-of dare to his father by Bennie, who has embraced this fare with gleeful zeal.

From what I’ve been able to discover, Dessert Story is an Australian company that has outlets at shopping centres and elsewhere across Melbourne, with one in Adelaide and many more no doubt to come.

They offer what they describe as “the best of Taiwanese and Hong Kong home-style” desserts.

From the Taro Series, Bennie gets honey beans, coconut jelly and pearls ($6.80)

I sample each and every element of his dessert. The textures, the feel, everything about this seems so wrong to me – this FEELS like dinner!

Especially the beans …

“That is very, very weird,” says dad.

“This is very, very yummy,” says Bennie.

My own mango pomelo sago in mango juice ($6.80) is a much more conservative selection, and one that accordingly tastes and feels like what I am used to thinking of as “dessert”.

It’s OK but doesn’t really rock my world.

I ask Bennie if I’m missing the point here – that to really get with the spirit of such fodder I should stop being such a wuss and go for the most outlandish dish I can find.

“Yep,” he says.