By Aubrey Buckingham (Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-20 09:19

An answer to the question of where does one go in Shanghai to find a decent pudding has been supplied by Brix 12 whose desserts are healthy, natural, refreshing and light.

The search for quality dessert in this city is not an easy one. Local delights are often unsuitable to the Western palate, while good quality pastry is limited to the hotel scene, with the high prices to boot of course.

This is not to say that there are no options whatsoever, but the whole dessert concept has yet to really take off.

This is in part due to the fact that many Shanghainese do not like sweets per se. While they enjoy their food cooked with a great deal of sugar, sitting down to a nice Western-style dessert is still a foreign concept to them.

A few places have tried to remedy this, but have made crucial errors - Bakerzin is in a less than ideal location, and Whisk does not have the best hot kitchen (as well as a panna cotta that resists spoons); most of the time it means those afflicted with a sweet tooth have to resort to a bit of pastry from local bakeries or a plain old ice cream.

The opening of Brix 12 looks set to put this in balance.

The Hong Kong New World Plaza dessert bistro turned its eye on fruit-based offerings that are healthy, natural and taste great to boot.

The Brix scale is a measurement of sugar content in fruit juice, indicated as a percentage of the solution.

The typical apple, if squeezed, would provide 12 Brix, a figure said to be refreshing, healthy and light.

This philosophy was paramount in designing the creations at Brix 12 - to offer pudding that is tasty but far from overwhelming, while not adding inches to the waistline. The design of the store itself is lady-centric, with a chic stark white entrance and a cool-blue dining area.

Mounted on the walls of the 102-square meter 40-seater are funky organic-style LEDs that change color and ooze modish lights.

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