Central Perk Singapore: A balloon that is a dessert?

The balloon you see up there? It’s actually a dessert.

Yeah, this ‘balloon’ is actually edible, and no, it’s not actually balloon.

Friends-themed cafe Central Perk Singapore has launched the edible balloon, a dessert that was first offered at three-Michelin-starred restaurant Alinea. Janice Wong’s 2am : dessertbar also offered something similar before.

As with most of the dishes at Central Perk Singapore, the edible balloon is inspired by an episode from the sitcom, in which a character is holding a balloon with his mouth in his sleep.

The edible balloon is made by pumping helium into a special warmed-up candy mix, which, according to the Central Perk founders, is a “secret recipe” (but of course!).

The balloon comes in three flavours: strawberry (red), banana (yellow) and blueberry (blue), and these edible balloons each come attached to a chocolate stick (or a plain straw if you want). Regardless of which one you go for, they all taste pretty much like, well, candy – no weird flavours that will take you by surprise.

But the real appeal of this dessert is its fun factor, which we feel fits the playful vibe of Central Perks Singapore perfectly; once you burst the balloon and suck in the helium, you’ll be able to speak in a nasal “chipmunk voice” for a few seconds.

And it’s novel to see the dessert being made live before your very eyes.

The edible balloon comes with deconstructed nutella cake ($16 for the whole dessert), which comprises nutella sponge,  chocolate syrup, and a scoop of frozen yoghurt; the yoghurt’s tartness helps cut through the richness of the other ingredients.

Beware: the eating part can be very messy, and two of my colleagues, a little uncertain about how to proceed with eating the dessert, came too close to the balloon and had some of it stuck on their hair. But that actually helped make the whole experience more fun for them.