Sweet of the Week: Deep-fried Mai-Tou With Condensed Milk at Sweet Station Restaurant

I'm a sucker for all things deep-fried and all things even remotely infused with condensed milk. The former isn't much of a novel craving, but condensed milk is a serious weakness of mine. I would drink the stuff like a milkshake if it didn't entail social suicide. So aside from keeping a steady stock of condensed milk at home for me to cook and bake with and lick off spoons, I keep an eye open for any menu items featuring condensed milk. The most sublime representation of condensed milk may very well be the deep-fried mai-tou with condensed milk at Sweet Station in Chinatown. I mean, the only way to take condensed milk to the next level of indulgence is by serving it with deep-fried pockets of dough.

Despite the name, Sweet Station isn't all desserts. In fact, the sprawling menu trafficks primarily in potent savory dishes. The restaurant's website describes its menu as Westernized tastes blended with thousands of years of Chinese cooking perspectives, resulting in a very unique medley of sweet and savory dishes. The website also says food matters as much to the Chinese as heaven, which is a little bit jarring but whatever. The mai-tou appetizer is an apt example of Sweet Station's philosophies. It sounds like dessert, but it's listed as an appetizer, making it a great excuse to partake in sweet condensed milk pre-dinner. Chewy pockets of dough are deep-fried, lending a crisp golden exterior to morsels akin to bao buns. They're slightly sweet in and of themselves, tasting mildly like funnel cake, but what really takes them over the top is the adjoining condensed milk dipping sauce. The viscous elixir glazes each ball of dough like a frosted fritter, providing the perfect treacly finish to one of the most surprising appetizers in town.

(Deep-fried mai-tou at Sweet Station)