Mango Coco

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First, a confession: though I have walked past this vibrant, fun-looking cafe many times in the past, I had never considered going in because it seemed way too happy. I thought the food would be gimmicky, yet mediocre. Oh, how I was proved wrong! 

Gimmicky? Yes, a bit. Mediocre? Absolutely not. 

Dragon Eggs

Let's not beat around the bush. This is the reason I finally decided to go. A clutch of black and gold dragon eggs on a bed of crispy sweet potatoes, berries and boba, emerging from the dry-ice-haze like some sort of mythical discovery. 



The black eggs are mochi balls, wonderfully crunchy and just slightly sticky; and filled with running salted eggyolk, which has got to be my favourite Asian dessert flavour of all time (oh, perhaps just on par with matcha). These are pure happiness. 

Tom Yum Spaghetti

Despite being a dessert cafe, the savoury items at Mango Coco are pretty impressive. In particular this tom yum spaghetti, which fuses the sour-and-spicy goodness of tom yum soup with the creamy comfort of spaghetti. The dish is also pretty generous with the bouncy prawns. 

Fried Chicken bites

I mean, how can you go wrong with fried chicken? If I were to nit-pick, I would have wanted these to come out piping hot, but these crispy and flavourful numbers are certainly respectable. 

Durian Magic

I could be totally making the name up, but you get the gist. Durian three-ways: with sticky rice in a little golden parcel (and topped with slightly salted whipped coconut cream), a rich, deeply-flavoured ice cream scoop and pudding with a tower of whipped cream. As someone who has had, and happily tolerates (though has no particular fondness for) durian, I will say this is a very good durian dessert for those who love the taste. It is not something that can be easily described: deep, rich, creamy, heavy, sweet and a little funky. My dining companion had never tried durian before and decided to brave it - in hindsight, they should perhaps have picked the mango version of this delightfully impressive dessert platter. 

Thai milk tea pudding

Everything at Mango Coco are is beautifully presented, and this pudding is no exception. A combination of various gelatinous things served with a Thai milk tea flavoured creamy syrup, I found it a little bland when compared to the other offerings. To be fair, it is still pretty damn good. 

Mango smoothies 

There is also an overwhelming selection of smoothies, made with real fruit and offering brain-freeze-levels of refreshment. Some options include mango swerved with coconut flesh and jellies (on the left) and with a coconut sago pudding (on the right). One sip and you are transported to the tropics. 

Score: 4/5
Cost: approx $35pp - I note that the above photos encompass 2 visits (ie 4 ppl portion) 
Address: 421 Pitt St, Haymarket 

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