Non-Entree Desserts

At Non-Entree Desserts in Singapore, not all is as it seems. You could swear the plate in front of you contains vermicelli noodles with a fishball on the side. But one taste will reveal the truth: Your pasta was made from passionfruit jelly. And that "fishball"? Coconut parfait.

The shop specializes in mimicking savory meals with sweets, from hard-boiled eggs to regional specialties, such as Malaysia's nasi lemak, a dish consisting of coconut rice served on a pandan leaf with a hard-boiled egg. In the case of the latter, Non-Entree's take features a sweet blend of pandan mousse and coconut rice, served with a yogurt-and-mango "egg" on the side.

The food art also extends to other sweet replicas. Ordering the Ike, or pond, will get you a bowl containing a plum-jelly koi frozen mid-swim. The idyllic scene is brought to life with the likes of sencha green tea, black sesame gelato, matcha mochi, and aged sake consommé.

Some reviewers say the mimic dishes are big on beauty, but light on flavor. For a really decadent, rich dessert, they recommend trying the shop's lava cake. It might not be the tranquil scene of a koi pond, but sometimes a chocolatey mess is just what you need.