Sugar Hit: Sheraton on the Park, 16 Oct 2010

“A table for two, please.”

“Certainly. You’re here for Sugar Hit?”

“Errr, yes…”

Surely our intentions weren’t that obviously written on our faces, was it?

Monsieur Poisson and I rock up to Sheraton’s doorstep around 10:15pm only having decided around 20 minutes prior that we wanted to do a Sugar Hit that evening. Surprisingly there aren’t many people in the lobby lounge for a Saturday evening, nor the crowds we’d witnessed for Sugar Hit from previous years. Served with a Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora, Sheraton’s ‘Tropical tonka bean panna cotta on boysenberry and finger lime-infused compote served with a crispy chocolate almond biscotti’ has me a little worried with its mention of panna cotta. With me not being a big fan of panna cotta to begin with, I am worried of it being a repeat of that at Shangri-La.

Instead we are each presented with two rectangular slices of layer cake – one upright and the other on its side – which are the colour of vanilla ice-cream. The upright slice is topped with a row of three raspberries and is sitting adjacent to a stripe of slightly tart berry compote highlighted by a few nubbins of gold-dusted almonds. The slice laying on its side acts as a base for the choc-almond biscotti decorated with a mint leaf. The biscotti is slightly chewy instead of being crispy as described but the surprise lies with the panna cotta which is delicately sitting in two layers sandwiched amongst feather-light layers of sponge. The light flavours and texture remind us of cakes from Asian bakeries or perhaps that of Japanese cheesecake. It is one of the standouts of this year’s Sugar Hits and is a light alternative to many of the more sugary or chocolate-centric affairs.

Sometimes spontaneity can lead to the most pleasant outcomes.

Sheraton on the Park

161 Elizabeth St, Sydney NSW

Tel: (02) 9286 6000

happy eating!