If you visit Albany-based dessert destination Aroma, you’ll probably notice a bulky stone mill machine at the back of the shop. This mill, where sesame seeds, peanuts, sticky rice, and more are noisily transformed into pastes for their signature desserts, runs on electricity, unlike the stone mills of old. And it’s a fitting emblem of the shop’s ethos: blending nostalgia with contemporary innovation. 

Though dessert-focussed, the menu here is wide-ranging; including sections devoted to sago, sweet soups, puddings, bingsu, a diverse array of shaved ice desserts, and a menu of teas to sip on in between mouthfuls of whatever else you ordered. And for those with a savoury tooth, there are bowls of rice noodles and fish balls too. Some offerings on the menu, like the comforting bowls of black sesame soup and Chinese-style custard, are faithful odes to owner Icey’s childhood memories of desserts in Guangzhou, while others like the mango sago with mochi are the result of deviations from tradition. On a recent visit, we were particularly dazzled by the coconut pudding — a jiggly semi-sweet delight served in a whole coconut, brimming with multi-textured shards of coconut and pearlescent water chestnut balls: as photogenic as it was delicious. Open daily from 11.30am till 10pm, Aroma is an ideal spot to round-out a dinner at one of the many surrounding restaurants or for a leisurely catch up with friends — dessert spoons in hand.