Back in the day, I would long for ice cream for dessert. But now, as a grown up I crave Chinese desserts. You won't find any American pies or cheesecake in most Chinese  places. Most of these desserts are categorized as glutinous, pastry, or fruit. The weirder it looks, the better it tastes.

1. Sago

Think of sago like boba, but even tinier. They are variant of boba, but they are put mostly in "soup", aka fruit slushie (mango, honeydew, watermelon, etc). It is basically drinking boba but in a bowl.

2. Dragon Beard Candy

Doesn't look like a candy but it has the same amount of sugar content a candy has. Imagine a chef creating noodles but with cotton candy wrapped around peanuts, sesame, chocolate, or coconut. 

3. Tang Yuan

Tang Yuan is basically a soup base with mochi balls filled with sesame paste. Soup can be made in different flavors but the most common ones are just either water or sweet soup.

4. Mango Pudding

This was always my parent's go-to. Basically, it has a similar texture as a pudding but it is just mango flavor. And it can be doused in condensed milk. They are all created in fun shapes but you know you got the bougee one if it is shaped as a fish.

5. Dun Dan (Egg Pudding)

My all time favorite dessert made only with milk, sugar, and eggs. It has a similar texture to a pudding, but a tad bit firmer.

6. Chinese Egg Cake

It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!!! Chinese egg cake can be considered super basic but it definitely hits the spot. Thinking about it right now is making me so hungry. It has a sponge cake texture with an appearance of a cupcake.

7. Chinese Donuts

Ohh, these can get so messy, but they're irresistible. Chinese donuts are like closed donut holes, but with sugar coated all around it. Don't kiss anyone with those sugary lips.

8. Dan Tat (Egg Tart)

Don't get Dan Tat mixed up with the Portuguese Egg Tart, which is a similar dessert but with coconut milk and made popular in Macau and Europe. Dan Tat (Cantonese for Egg Tart) are these flaky, custard baskets filled with egg custard. A good way to know if it's a good egg tart is the flakey-ness of the outer shell. A bonus is to heat it up in the oven and make it look like a nice burnt creme brûlée. 

9. Red Bean Soup

Red bean soup is literally what the name is. These are mostly served after a Chinese banquet. The soup is thick and sweet with little red beans inside and sometimes boba, too.

10. Bean Curd Tong Sui

Literally tofu in warm sugar water. But this is also another very common dessert because it is perfect if you want something light after a huge dinner.

Hopefully, you got to learn a bit about Chinese desserts. I never took advantage of these when I was younger. Now I am always in search for the right place to creates these desserts the way I want it. Again, they might look weird if these are new to you, but you have to try them before you make the first judgement. Trust me, before you know it, you will be craving these as well.