Grandmother is a heavy title to carry, especially if it is a constitutive part of one’s food business denomination. It comes with a set of responsibilities: comfort, care, warmth and most importantly, deliciousness. Grandmas are the benchmarks of delicious comfort food, the torchbearers of culinary traditions. At least this is my interpretation and extrapolation based on my limited understanding of Chinese when I came across Popo’s Sweet Treats. I apologise in advance if this is the wrong interpretation.
My discovery of Popo’s Sweet Treats was down to the wonderful serendipity afforded by scrolling social media. As a responsible citizen keeping abreast of the local news (because the local TV station is a shambolic mess of propagandist discourse), I was diligently scrolling through my Facebook feed when I stumbled on a peculiar-looking, half-bitten and half-eaten ball that was stuffed with what looked like caramel nuts. What in the Snickerdoodles were these? What have you been eating, Gwendoline?
As it turns out, THESE were beautiful, innovative Chinese sesame balls. I had never quite seen anything like these before. In my memories, these little balls of sesame-covered chewy deliciousness are made of a glutinous medium (which I assumed contained glutinous rice) and fried until golden. I was not aware of stuffed versions. Naturally, that piqued my curiosity, especially as my friend touted them to be the best she had ever eaten. “Popo” and “best” in the same bubble? I had to check the page. And so I did. Before even checking the content, I went to take a look at the reviews, and ‘best’ kept appearing pretty constantly. How fascinating!
The content of the page revealed interesting information. Popo’s Sweet Treats is a home-based business specialising in Chinese sesame balls. But not any kind of sesame balls. These ones are stuffed with a plethora of fillings that evoke culinary curiosity (more on these in a bit). Being a small business, there is also a sense of exclusivity: production is quite limited, which is a great sign, and delivery is effected at specific locations, on specific days. While not the most convenient, this model is a clear indicator of small-scale production and homemade goodness, delivered fresh within high standards of quality. These were my assumptions from the information that was available, and I am glad to report that I was spot on!
Ordering was simple. All the information was available on the page, with the prices displayed for each type of sesame ball. The easiest way to sample all of them is through the discovery pack, which I ordered. In the pack, you 3 plain ones, and a range of filled balls: 2 red beans, 2 Nutella, 2 Roasted peanut honey, 2 dark chocolate, 2 matcha white chocolate. Now, aren’t these fillings tempting? I mean, just look at them. There is type of culinary elegance that emanate from them, some sort of fancy je-ne-sais-quoi. And of course, I had to order them. I sent a message on WhatsApp, specified the order and paid through mobile bank transfer. We agreed on the delivery point and time, and that’s it.
I might have dreamt of these sesame balls at night. I never got sesame ball envy before that. The pictures of the Facebook page were beautiful and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Finally, the moment of delivery came and I was anxious and excited at the same time.
On the parking lot, I was greeted by a charming, elegant lady who assumed I was a woman, as it happens 9 times out of 10. That’s the fun of having a ‘unisex’ name and it always amuses me. She handed me my order and even though I had seen the packaging on the Facebook page, I was still amazed by how elegant (yes I am abusing this word but bear with me) it was. It’s the sort of thing you would expect during wedding ceremonies (Plato Maryaz as we would say in Creole). It was also quite hefty in terms of weight, which was great, unlike the overkill cake here.
I sped back home so I could sample these. Well, not really ‘sped’ as such. I usually drive carefully and I was stuck in traffic for a while. One of the great things about these sesame balls is that they are colour-coded. And you even get a message from the lady explaining the coding: red= red beans; blue = peanut butter; purple = roasted peanut and honey; green = matcha white chocolate; white and black sesame mix = Nutella; black sesame on top with white sesame = dark chocolate. In the same message, you get more information on freezing and reheating. Super handy, and excellent after-sales. I never thought I would talk of after-sales service for sesame balls. Life is full of surprises.
Speaking of surprises, even though one can guess the quality of the treats, I was pleasantly surprised by the texture and feel. The structural integrity was quite impressive, considering that most of the balls were filled and shaped regularly. More importantly, it was not oily. One of my greatest gripes about all the sesame balls I had eaten was how oily they were. Merely touching them coated my fingers with oil. But these were not oily at all. And this meant something even more beautiful: I could eat as many of them as I wanted without fearing indigestion! I had two at night with a cup of coffee and I did not feel heavy at all, no weird burps, no stomach ache. I actually slept pretty well. The sesame balls themselves were nothing less than delightful. The filling to dough ratio was perfect. They were prepared in a way that channelled and honoured the generosity of all popos. The red bean paste filled ones were fabulous. The contrast of light chewiness and softness was a beautiful experience, and nothing was overly sweet. The sugar was perfectly dosed. The peanut butter ones were as delicious. Again, the balance of sweetness and flavour is essential to me and this one delivered as well. The consistency was replicated in the chocolate ones. The dark chocolate filling had a truffle-like texture and reminded me of Lindt. It was brilliant. At the time of writing this blog, I had not yet tasted all of them but it is clear that each of these carefully prepared balls captured deliciousness.
These sesame balls were such a great culinary experience that I had to find out more about the whole genesis of this brilliant idea. I messaged the lady and she replied with the same charm as the first meeting. Basically, Popo’s Sweet Treats is a start up that was at least partly the result of the Covid-19 crisis. The chef (yes, those skills are no less than chef level) was in corporate for over a decade but when the crisis hit, adaptation strategies had to be found. And she explained, “the flavours are unique and [she doesn’t] think these are available anywhere else in Mauritius”. From my experience, she is absolutely right. What she does there is beyond the fact of making food. She re-invents a classic, infuses innovative thinking and produces something new, which conserves the traditional deliciousness of what we already know, but is amped up to gourmet level. This is the kind of culinary innovation which keeps the palate happy. She also explained that while she is by no means a popo herself (point very well noted indeed), she tried to capture the essence of traditional grandma cooking while infusing her own original twist. Everything is handmade from scratch, from buying sweet potatoes, to peeling, smashing, filling, marketing, driving etc. And this is abundantly visible in the eating experience. What’s even nicer is that these delights are available all year round, and are vegan-friendly.
The Covid-19 pandemic did not leave many positives behind. But start ups like Popo’s Sweet Treats are definitely one of the bright spots. Each piece was an absolute delicacy, the perfect snack that sits high on the indulgence ladder and low on the guilt scale. The balance of texture, sweetness and satisfaction is impressive. I cannot find one single thing to be be critical of. It was a great discovery, and when such products are delivered with such care and passion, it becomes an ethical responsibility to support the business that is behind it all.
Comments