Shu Shin Bou, Haymarket
19 November 2008
30 Comments
Taiwan’s latest hits our turf
I’ve always walked past the Regent Place shopping centre and not thought much of what lies inside. It wasn’t until I read about Shu Shin Bou on Two-KG and eatlikeacow that I made a mental note to visit this place the next time I was in the area. Now you may notice that there are about 30 pictures in this post (apologies if your internet is capped or if you’re still on dial up), this is mainly due to the fact that I basically purchased every item on their menu. Fortunately, I needed to give most of these as gifts and I only used a few for my little ‘photo shoot’. Co-incidently, I just purchased a new flash for my camera and what better opportunity to try it out while shooting some food porn.
Shu Shin Bou continues the trend of Taiwanese companies establishing their presence in Sydney. Recently we have seen Din Tai Fung and 85 Degrees Cafe open. A common theme amongst these three stores is that there are no shortage of people lining up to sample their offerings.
According to their well designed website, Shu Shin Bou is “a store specialising in Japanese Traditional Wagashi, dessert and sweets made in the base of sticky rice cakes“. You will find Shu Shin Bou on Level 1, attached to the Maxim Japanese supermarket. Regent Place looks like it is developing into a nice little hub for a bit of food and shopping. While walking around I noticed Azuma and Ton Ton Ramen have diversified, opening up smaller branches here as well.
Anyway, onto what I actually ate. Do we have a winner here or will it just be another addition to the over crowding Asian sweets fraternity?
Green Tea Mochi
These are made up of three layers ; mochi , flavoured mousse and red bean paste.
Green Tea Mochi (Green Tea Mousse) $2.50 each, $13.50 for box of 6, $27.00 for box of 12
This particular Mochi ball consists of green tea mousse, red bean paste and mochi which is topped off with green tea powder. The green tea flavour is quite strong and depending on your appreciation for green tea, it might be too bitter for some taste buds. The mochi is smooth and slightly chewy, with the green tea mousse melting in my mouth with every bite. The red bean adds a bit of texture to the otherwise very soft mochi.
Honey Vanilla Mousse Mochi
I’m suprised that this was classed under the Green Tea Mochi. With every sight, taste or smell, there seems to be a lack of macha. Corresponding to the name, the mochi had a slight hint of vanilla essence, however I found that the oozing honey dominated the dessert.
Yoghurt Mochi
The yoghurt mochi’s are filled with yoghurt and fruit pieces. As usual, the smooth outer layer of the mochi is delicately soft.
Yoghurt Mochi (Strawberry) $2.50 each, $13.50 for a box of 6, $27.00 for a box of 12
The strawberry yoghurt is sweet and fragrant. Inside, the mousse is littered with flecks of strawberry pieces, apologies for not cutting this mochi ball right through so you guys could see. Just take my word that it tasted pretty good.
Yoghurt Mochi (Choc chip melon)
The yoghurt was honey dew melon flavour with generous pieces of choc chip. An odd pairing at first, but the melon mousse is unique and refreshing.
Yoghurt Mochi (Blueberry)
I can’t tell whether real blueberries were used or not, but the flavour tasted genuine.
Yoghurt Mochi (Mango mousse)
This was probably my favourite out of the yoghurt mochi’s. What made this great was the pieces of cold mango meshed into the mango mousse.
Yoghurt Mochi (Peach mousse)
You can just barely see a piece of peach in the mousse. The mousse had a nice hint of peach as well as being super creamy as usual.
Yoghurt Mochi (Mango mousse)
I found the mango a bit too artificial, the taste is quite obvious. The red bean didn’t go well with the mango, a slight dissapointment overall.
Yoghurt Mochi (Taro mousse)
I love anything with taro filling in it. I often make a trip to Bread Top for their taro buns/cake and Easy Way for their taro milk tea with pearls. If you guys know anywhere else with good taro treats, please let me know. Oh yes and the yoghurt mochi, I guess my bias for taro kicked in and enjoyed it, however my mate was a bit impartial to the odd flavour.
Brown Sugar Mochi
This mochi is coated with a generous layer of brown sugar powder which is apparently imported from Japan. Each mochi is then filled with either red-bean or sesame paste. I must admit, the brown sugar coating is sensational. The aroma it emits is very caramel-like.
Brown Sugar Mochi (Black sesame) $2.50 each, $13.50 for a box of 6, $27.00 for a box of 12
This was my preferred flavour of the two. There was a nice portion of slightly salty black sesame filling which contrasted yet complimented the brown sugar coating.
Brown Sugar Mochi (Red Bean)
The red bean was presented in the form of a rich paste. You might find that sometimes you have something which is filled with red bean but it might taste a bit ‘diluted’, not in this case. As the red bean is sweet, when eaten together with the brown sugar exterior, I found it a little too sweet for my liking.
Dorayaki
We were told these tasted better if they were eaten frozen, a bit like a maxibon or monaco bar. The sponge cake like exterior is filled with mousse, pieces of fruit, red bean and chewy mochi.
Dorayaki (Strawberry mousse) $3.50 each, $15.00 for a box of 5
The friendly sales girl was right, these did taste better frozen. We have here a creamy strawberry and red bean filling. The red bean pieces in the middle added some nice texture to the abundance of strawberry mousse. The addition of the piece of bland mochi acted to neutralise the sweetness of the bean and mousse.
Dorayaki (Hokkaido mousse)
This is the first time that I’ve had Hokkaido milk. The best way that I could describe the taste of the Hokkaido mousse is, it’s creamy with an ever light hint of vanilla. The Hokkaido and red bean combo was smooth and plain which was a good contrast to other flamboyant flavours. I’d have to admit, this was my favourite Dorayaki flavour.
Dorayaki (Mango mousse)
While this tasted quite nice as per previous Dorayaki’s, I actually found the red bean and mango when eaten together offsets the flavour of one another.
Daifuku
Each daifuku has a cake base and layered with mochi, mousse and a different centre depending on which flavour it is. They all come in their own unique exterior designs.
Daifuku (Black Forest) $4.50 each, $25.00 for a box of 6
Daifuku (Black Forest internal)
Think of this as a black forest cake with a chewy exterior. While the filling was quite nice (very black forest like, duh.), I felt that the chewy exterior made this taste quite odd. In saying that, this is a how a daifuku is supposed to taste texture wise.
Daifuku (Green Tea Red Bean)
Daifuku (Green Tea Red Bean internal)
The green tea flavour was a little less stronger than usual which was welcoming. Once again the red bean adds some nice texture when eaten with the chewy exterior.
Daifuku (Strawberry)
Daifuku (Strawberry internal)
Same composition as the Daifuku, however in this instance, I found it difficult to eat, due to the large quantity of mousse compared to the other ingredients. I guess the archaic rule of eating every thing in moderation still stands true.
Daifuku (Black Sesame Chestnut)
Daifuku (Black Sesame Chestnut internal)
Finally, something a bit different in terms of flavour and content. The chestnut cream was actually quite refreshing when eaten with the black sesame flavoured mousse.
Daifuku (Vanilla Chestnut)
Daifuku (Vanilla Chestnut internal)
I was quite surprised at the size of the chestnut , atleast they didn’t skimp on the quality. The highlight was the chestnut as it provided a bit of texture to the creamy vanilla filling.
Daifuku (Mango)
Daifuku (Mango internal)
Our daifuku looked a bit lonely as there was hardly any mango. Perhaps they just ran out on this occasion.
Swiss Maki
These babies with a mochi exterior are filled with a thin layer of sponge cake and different flavoured fillings. Once again, these taste better when taken straight out of the freezer and left to defrost for a few minutes as the frozen mousse centre tastes better when not at room temperature.
Swiss Maki (Strawberry mousse) $8.95 per box
By now, I am starting to get deja-vu with everything I am tasting. Perhaps it isn’t a good idea to eat everything on the menu on the same day. The chewyness of the mochi contrasts well with the soft vanilla sponge cake and strawberry mousse. Unfortunately it tasted like the small yoghurt mochi balls, and large strawberry flavoured Daifuku.
Swiss Maki (Black forest)
This tastes like black forest ice cream. There is a cherry once you get into the middle (score!). This also resembled the Daifuku in ingredients and flavour.
Swiss Maki (Black sesame)
This tastes like black sesame ice cream, there is nothing much more to it. I guess the good thing about anything that contains black sesame is that it tastes the same all the time.
Swiss Maki (Mango)
Once again, the flavour of this maki is quite repetitive, a replica of the Daifuku. I guess the rule of thumb is, get either the Daifuku or the Swiss Maki, not both.
Mochi Truffle
These truffles are coated with either a cocoa or green tea powder. Inside, you will find a filling of either dark chocolate or green tea ganache surrounded by a layer of mochi (I think). While these are no Godiva, Lindt or Adriano Zumbo truffles, they are still pretty decent.
Chocolate Mochi truffles ($1.50 each, $12.00 for a box of 9)
I’m not a fan of dark chocolate so I found the ganache a bit bitter. Although the chewyness of the mochi balanced quite nicely with the cocoa powder.
Grean tea Mochi truffles ($1.50 each, $12.00 for a box of 9)
Like I mentioned before, if your a bit impartial to the bitterness of green tea you might not like this truffle. Personally, I found this a bit too bitter considering the ganache was made of pure green tea and then coated with more green tea powder.
Gift from God
The ‘gift from god’ is made from a fruit called persimmon.
Gift from God Persimmon ($4.95 each, $18.00 for a box of 4)
Gift from God Persimmon (Internal)
This tasted very sweet and reminded me alot of the taste of maple syrup. As you can see, it is oozing of thick sickeningly sweet syrup, covering a ball of caramalised red bean. The skin of the persimmon seems to have been preserved by sugar to retain its shape. A dessert to be shared amongst friends, accompanied by a big jug of ice cold water.
Unidentified
Not sure what this is called ..
This was complimentary as I managed to max out the first line of my loyalty card. I couldn’t find any information about it on the website, but it tastes a bit like a profiterole. Does anyone know what this is ?
So after this marathon post , what did I think of Shu Shin Bou overall?
I think the concept is great and they show a great amount of creativity and innovation with their offerings. The flavours also marry well with the primary ingredients such as red bean and mochi. However, I can’t see myself coming back regularly for a dose of Mochi like I would with an Adriano Zumbo cake or a chocolate fix at Lindt or Max Brennar. Perhaps I tried too many of these things in one day ? But then again, one can only handle so much glutinous rice in varied forms and flavours. I found the flavours quite repetitive and eventually overwhelmed by the glutinous texture of mochi. One thing was for sure though, these things made some great food porn.
The Shu Shin Bou mascots say good bye (*waves*)
Shu Shin Bou
Website: http://www.shushinbou.com
Tel : +61 402 551 082 Fax : +61 2 8572 9413
Email : customerservice@shushinbou.com
Address : Shop 1, Lumere Regent Place Miracle Supermarket, Lower Ground
World Square Shopping Centre
644 George Street
Lower Ground, 501 George Street
Sydney, New South Wales 2000 , Australia
Did you eat all of them by yourself?!
flapflap || 
Miss Honey
Arwen from Hoglet K
belle
Reemski
FFichiban
jane || 
Pearl
K
Y
Lorraine E
Karen
Howard
sydneyguyrojoe || 
squishies
The place moved.... || 
eve || 
geez thats a crapload of dessert! hope you didnt eat them all in one go heh but great photos dude!