Initially, I had wanted to take a bit of a break from the Brisbane foodie scene whilst I smashed out my Melbourne special, but having heard of a new specialty matcha themed dessert store at Sunnybank Hills, I (literally) dropped everything and went there immediately. Situated behind Pinelands Centro, Sonder Dessert is next to Midam, in the shopfront that used to be a car repair store.
Above the counter was six signboards, offering a selection of quite generic coffees and cold drinks, but what captivated my attention was the specialty Matcha, Houjicha and Premium Japanese Tea varieties.
On the right hand side was a selection of very Asian inspired ice creams, boasting Matcha, Houjicha, Sesame, along with pandan and interestingly, peanut butter. There were also a selection of cakes and macaroons on display. The cakes reminded me quite a fair bit of the ones I saw at The Whisk, which also opened not long ago.
Despite my obsession with the cake display, my attention was captivated by what wasn't on display. They had a variety of gourmet desserts on offer including parfait, creme brulee and panna cotta.
We ordered at the counter, and was given a number 'lucky seven', and water was promptly served.
Despite the fact that he restaurant was quite packed (on a Friday afternoon), drinks came out very quickly. My first companion ordered the Caramel Macchiato, which was served in a very elegant glass. It had quite an ample amount of caramel at the bottom, and was filled with milk, stained with espresso. Despite the apparent quantity of espresso, it wasn't overly bitter or acidic, but had a strong sugary taste from the caramel.
Our two remaining specialty drinks came out right after.
My companion had the matcha float. It consisted of an iced matcha latte, topped with a scoop of matcha ice cream. It contained quite a bit of matcha fragrance, without the weird powdery texture that I dont like. I particularly liked how the latte was only very mildly sweetened, and as such we had to rely on the smooth matcha ice cream to provide more sweetness.
My choice, was the Houjicha Float. Like that Matcha Float, it had Houjicha Latte, topped with a scoop of Houjicha Ice Cream. Whilst it had the fragrance of green tea, there was also a strong toasty charcoal like flavour to it, which I enjoyed very much.
Between the three of us, we also shared two desserts, being the super popular Matcha Parfait, and Black Sesame Parfait.
Our Matcha Parfait consisted of Matcha Jelly, Vanilla Soft Serve, Cornflakes, Matcha Ice Cream, topped with a waffle, cream, red beans, mochi and green tea syrup. I particularly enjoyed the crispiness of the cornflakes, which contrasted with the soft mochi. The vanilla soft serve was a little weird, and had a texture like vanilla frappe, but mixed well with the Matcha Ice Cream.
We also shared a Sesame Parfait, which contained Jelly, Vanilla Soft Serve, Cornflakes, Black Sesame Ice Cream, topped with a waffle, cream, red beans, mochi and Kuromitsu (black sugar syrup). I was really struck with the strong taste of sesame in the ice cream, and note that whilst it wasn't exactly the smoothest ice cream I've ever had, it had quite a bit of ground up sesame in it, which I loved.
I really enjoyed my time at Sonder Dessert, and having spoken to the owner and learned that they open until midnight daily, I have no doubt that this will be my new after dinner catch up meeting place.
Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8.5/10
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