No, that’s not an actual crab — it’s a sweet dessert available for a limited time.

2017 World’s Best Pastry Chef Dominique Ansel and Singapore-based chef Malcolm Lee of Michelin-starred restaurant Candlenut have teamed up to offer a truly sweet rendition of a signature Singaporean dish.

The exquisite creation is now available for a limited time at the Dominique Ansel Bakery Omotesando store as part of the Singapore: Inside Out event, a traveling showcase of Singapore’s creative and artistic talents hosted by the Singapore Tourism Board, which recently came to Tokyo. Naturally, we just had to make our way to Omotosando to give this unique item a try!

▼ We were excited to see the sign featuring
the collaborative dessert in front of the store.

▼ The limited edition Singaporean “Crab” Dessert
came served in a lovely box, which we were dying to open.

▼ It also came with a cute little wooden
hammer which we would be using later.

When we finally opened the box, we came face to face with this gorgeous little critter! And we have to say, he took our breath away.

This item may have been inspired by the popular Singapore Chilli Crab dish, but don’t be deceived by how it looks — it’s a dessert made entirely of sweet ingredients!

The crab shell is made of delicately thin chocolate and covered with a strikingly red powder.

▼ Just look at that expertly designed crab claw!

And here’s where the wooden hammer came in handy. We had a bit of fun using it to crack open the claw.

We could see that the claw was filled with a lovely orange “meat”.

The orange “meat”, in fact, is a divinely sweet mango mousse. Now that makes the orange color seem even more attractive, doesn’t it?

Yes, there definitely was plenty of mousse inside the claw!

The tangy flavor of the mango mousse and the sweetness of the chocolate shell together made for a delightful combination!

There were also pieces of mango and tapioca pearls placed beneath the body of the crab, designed to look like crab eggs. The ripe mango pieces added a surprising element of freshness to the entire flavor of the dessert.

And the tapioca pearls of course provided an enjoyable, chewy texture!

And now, as much as it pained us, it was time to crack open the body of the crab.

A good cracking with the wooden hammer revealed the white and green insides.

The white is actually coconut-flavored panna cotta cream and the green is pandan jelly, a popular Singaporean dessert made with pandan leaf essence.

The sweet-yet-mild-tasting coconut panna cotta was sheer bliss, and it naturally combined well with the tropical flavor of the pandan. After trying the dessert, we have to say that we were very much impressed and satisfied with how all the different textures and tastes were expertly put into a single item, not to mention the fact that the unique creation was an absolute delight to look at! According to what we heard from the staff, it was quite a challenge to create a mold for the crab shape, but it certainly seems like the effort was worth it.

If you want to have a taste of Singapore while enjoying the combined culinary work of two talented and renowned chefs, the Singaporean “Crab” Dessert is available for 2,400 yen (US$22) at Dominique Ansel Bakery Omotesando until September 10.

It won’t taste like crab, but if you like sweets, it should be just as enjoyable. Though if you’re looking for some actual seafood in your dessert, might we suggest a grilled bonito parfait?

Shop Information
DOMINIQUE ANSEL BAKERY JAPAN at OMOTESANDO / ドミニクアンセルベーカリー オモテサンドウ
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 5-7-14
東京都渋谷区神宮前 5−7−14
Phone number: 81-3-3486-1329
Open 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
English website

Photos: ©SoraNews24