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)Confessions of a dessert-aholic

What happens when you cant say no to ginger snap cookies, molten chocolate cake, and profiteroles. Tiong Li Cheng talks

about her sweet addiction and why she cant bear to go cold turkey.

food talk

Hi, my name is Li Cheng and Im a dessert-aholic. As I sit writing this, Im munching on a nutella cupcake freckled with sprinklesmy third one today. In the office I am known as the dessert queen. I never turn down that extra oatmeal and raisin cookie and have a hard time resisting the allure of a hummingbird cake, as sultry as a thick Southern drawl, and filled with copious amounts of cinnamon, mashed bananas, crushed pineapples, and chopped pecans, draped with cream cheese frosting. For me, dessert is never an afterthought. No meal is complete without it. Rebecca Bloomwood in the Confessions of a Shopaholic flick once said You know that thing when you see someone cute and he smiles and your heart kind of goes like warm butter sliding down hot toast? Well, thats what its like when I see a store. Only its better. In my case, insert: pastry, cakes and ice cream in front of store.

At buffets, I head straight for the dessert station before anything else. There is a saying that goes life is short, eat dessert first. Thats my motto right there. The best part of the meal should always be savoured first. Who knows what could happen in those precious minutes when you are tucking into the requisite savoury main course? There might be an earthquake, the building might collapse, or you might drop dead from a sudden heart attack, and then you would have tragically missed out on that dreamy butterscotch and rum pie that could have changed your life forever.

When I was younger, my addiction ran the gamut of old school Swensens banana split sundaes. As I entered into adulthood my tastes graduated to more hard core stuff. Working in the food industry doesnt help. Im besotted with the key lime pie from Lukes Oyster Bar & Chophousean over-the-top treat of two-inch whipped meringue atop a gooey nest of crumbs and squidgy lemon curd that is so luxuriously thick that you have to wiggle your spoon a little to wedge it in. Guy Savoys dessert trolley overflowing with nougats, madeleine, passionfruit macarons, and hazelnut clairs is also my undoing. How do you pick between little jars of rice puddings and classic opera slices? Thats like asking me to choose between my metaphorical children.

I have a particular weakness for all things chocolate and I am especially partial to Lanas chocolate fudge cake. At the height of my addiction, I have wolfed down half a kilo of that extra fudgy goodness all by myself. I had to throw perfectly good cake into the trash to prevent myself from eating more

While a cookie a day may not keep the doctor away, it sure makes you feel better. A slice of brownie nourishes your soul in a way that broccoli cannot.

(true story). I get fidgety when I dont have my sugar fix. Once I devoured whole pints of Ben & Jerrys strawberry cheesecake ice cream, had triple helpings of tiramisu and enjoyed pop tarts for breakfast. When things go wrong, biting into a buttery shortbread biscuit washes the problem away for a minute or two. But the fix is always temporary, and before I know it, I have my hand down the cookie jar again.

Humans are evolutionarily hardwired to crave sweets. To adore sugar is as much a biological inheritance from the time when mankind were consuming nutrient-rich glucose filled plants, as it is a knee-jerk reactionsweetness is equivalent to sustenance. A babys first taste of mothers milk is sweet. Studies have even shown that even bacteria swim towards sugar. The taste of sugar also releases endorphines that calm and relax us, and offer a natural high. Lately though, sugar has been blamed for everything from tooth decay to obesity and diabetes

its even been linked to cancer. Some beauty experts have also posited that too much sugar ages you.

While a cookie a day may not keep the doctor away, it sure makes you feel better. A slice of brownie nourishes the soul in a way that broccoli cannot. Besides, eating dessert is a social activity. It is a good way to bond with others. Theres nothing better than catching up with friends over red velvet cupcakes or commiserating about a bad day with some warm and comforting apple strudels. And in comparison to alcoholics, shopaholics, cocaine crackheads and gambling addicts, being a dessert fiend seems like a much lesser evil; yes, even if it means compulsive eating, sheer overindulgence, and chronic consumption of sweet treats.

In defence of dessert, for a gastronome at least, the last course really completes the arc of a meal. If dinner is likened to a symphony, then dessert is the crescendo, the zenith, before it winds down to coffee and petite fours. A sublime crme brle not only gives closure to a meal, it is an opportunity to experience different flavours and textures that you cannot get in other foods like vegetables and meats.

I may never be able to quit dessert, but hey, whats so bad about it anyway? e

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The things we crave this month epicures choice

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Donna Karans Fall 2013 collection combines simplicity with modern

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If James Dean toted a Leica, itd look pretty much like the German camera makers latest model, the Leica D-Lux 6 Edition by G-Star RAW. The camera body is wrapped in a grooved leather trim that is synonymous with the edgy design spirit of G-Star Raw. A dark brown camera case with the G-Star logo completes the street cred appeal. The compact cameras zoom range of 24 to 90mm, manual options, and HD video recording ensure it has the technical chops to handle a wide range of photography needs. Available at Leica Store. #01-18 Raffles Hotel Arcade, 328 North Bridge Rd. Tel: 6336 9555

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