Fueled By Flapjacks: Strawberry Fare

Fueled By Flapjacks

Friday, November 30, 2007

Strawberry Fare

Strawberry Fare is a creation after my own heart, or more correctly, after my stomach. The menu is a sumptuous ode to dessert with more choice than the rest of the menu combined. That is the way a menu should be in my ideal world! The only problem with it is you are very much spoiled for choice and indecision will wrack you for more than a mere moment. You'll scan and ponder, weigh up which one sets your heart a flutter more, than pick one which only just wins over your heart's ultimate desire. Given more time and an extra few stomachs, I would happily devour all of them. Even now my heart still cries out for Strawberry Fare and if I am ever in Wellington again, my eager stomach will surely direct my feet back there. No wonder it is fast becoming a Wellington institution. Every one of my friends that has been there raves about it and believe me unless you have a complete aversion to dessert, you will not be disappointed.

Accompanied by Linda, my PIE (Partner in Eating), I pushed open the doors to SF, hungrily anticipating the sweet feast of a lifetime. We were greeted by our waiter and invited to sit by the windows. Looking around the restaurant, I was surprised to see it mostly empty. Where were all the dessert-savvy denizens of Wellington? It was after 11? My sweet tooth would wake me up well before then. I was perplexed but thought "Oh well, all the more attention for me." Linda and I were both content to stick with water to drink, knowing we would need something plain to cleanse our palates and take the edge off our dessert. Cautious about launching a full on sugar attack to our stomachs, we thought it best to line it with some savory carbohydrate and placed an order for garlic bread.

We shared our appetizer - four slices of crisp bread smeared with garlic butter. Not the best garlic bread in the world. I prefer mine less crunchy and with a more pronounced garlic flavour (I love me some garlic!), but it was just what we needed to prepare ourselves for the next step in our dining evolution. Bring on the dessert!

Linda chose the Strawberries and Cream, an awe-inspiring tower of cream and strawberries on top of a meringue base.

The view you'd get of the Strawberries and Cream if you were hovering above it.

One of the finest towers you will ever have the pleasure to set eyes on.

I picked the Devil's Dream Cake - soft mousse-like layers of white and dark chocolate laced with raspberries which is apparently "really wicked and scores 10 on the richness scale". I also discover that it also comes with fresh pear and strawberries, a crispy biscuit, biscotti, hokey pokey and passionfruit & raspberry sauce, but I added a scoop of coffee and cream ice cream and laughed off the 10/10 richness. When it comes to handling decadence, I am a veteran. Oh, but this dessert nearly got the better of me. Half way through and I was almost slouched over the table saying "No more, no more", but the fighter in me took a breather and valiantly continued on. I succeeded, but definitely hit what I call the Dessert Paradox - where it is so sickeningly sweet that it is both delicious and disgusting at the same time. By the end of it, I had a love-hate affair with what I had just eaten and thus knew it was awesome. I left so over-satiated that I felt like I never wanted to eat anything sweet again. I couldn't even look at food after that and if you know me that is no easy feat to achieve. The only thing I ate for the rest of the day was a mini turkey sub from Subway to soak up some of the sugar and dairy. But honestly, nothing can weaken the power of the Devil's Dream Cake. It stands worthy of its 10 on the richness scale and gets my seal of approval. While it is not the best cake in the world, the entire dessert in total, of which there were many components is divine, as well as devilish (you definitely feel as though you've committed the sins of lust and gluttony!). The name stands true.

Devil's Dream Cake in all its glory

When I return and I very much want to say when, not if, I shall try something different however. The banoffi pie (a honey biscuit base filled with caramel and topped with freshly cut bananas, chocolate sauce and whipped cream) was extremely tempting, as was the tiramisu, the caramel and hazelnut torte, the creme brulee, the baked passionfruit cheesecake, the warm chocolate and English toffee pudding and the triple chocolate brownie. You see what I mean about being spoiled for choice! I cannot imagine how many trips to SF it would take to sample everything on the dessert menu. So to all you people that live in Wellington, I am envious. Strawberry Fare should sit right up there with the Beehive on the list of attractions.

Strawberry Fare
25 Kent Terrace
Wellington

posted by Lauren @ 12:30 PM

1 Comments:

At 2:15 PM, Linda Jane said…

I need to go back there.

*drools at the thought of being presented with yet another delicious Strawberry Fare platter of delight*