Some sweet reasons to celebrate

DURING the Chinese New Year season, the Phoenix Food Boutiques and dessert shops sell exquisitely made traditional New Year cookies as well as the savory mushroom-and-sausage-studded taro cakes, chewy turnip cakes and glistening caramel-colored sweet rice cakes that are to the New Year in Chinese households (whether in China or abroad) what pumpkin pies are to American Thanksgiving.

These are fleeting pleasures, but you can drop by any time of the year to sample Phoenix’s delectable contemporary -- and often innovative -- pan-Asian sweets.

In the cafe’s gleaming cases, a kaleidoscopic array of tropical-flavored panna cottas includes litchi, durian and black sesame versions. Multitiered custards in rainbow hues, whose texture is somewhere between banana cream pie and jello come in equally exotic flavors: longan with rosebud, chestnut, taro and fresh mango among the many choices. Other cases hold steamed custards, tofu puddings, drinks of fresh fruit-studded coconut milk and dessert soups.

True, many Asian food lovers have seen similar desserts elsewhere: the warm sweet black rice drizzled with coconut milk at Thai restaurants; the bowls of shaved ice topped with sweet condensed milk, black herbal jellies and beans at Taiwanese delis. But the Phoenix versions shimmer with delicate flavors and possess a sophisticated style of their own. Inspired by the traditional Southeast Asian warm rice dessert, for example, Phoenix has created a clever multilayered coconut milk and forbidden black rice pudding.

You sense a pastry expert’s touch here, so it’s not surprising to learn that Elaina Chang, the woman behind these creations, trained as a pastry chef. Chang, a Hong Kong native, spent years traveling throughout Southeast Asia tasting the region’s classic treats. But as a college student at USC, she entered the crossover generation whose tastes merge tradition with a progressive modern streak.

Chang began to experiment with desserts after marrying into the family that owns the Phoenix restaurants -- the landmark Chinatown branch (no relation to the venerable bakery there) as well as the newer Alhambra and Irvine locations. Often served free at many Chinese restaurants, standard-issue desserts usually rely on canned and processed ingredients. For the most part, Chang insists on fresh ingredients, even going so far as to roast and grind sesame seeds and prepare fresh soft tofu for her soy custards.

Hers are desserts that customers are willing to pay for, and their initial popularity at the Alhambra Phoenix restaurant inspired the drinks and desserts now sold at the family’s five casual Phoenix Food Boutiques and two dessert cafes.

The menu is a near encyclopedic lesson in Asian sweet treats and drinks.

Coconut milk tapioca drinks -- the Asian equivalent of milk shakes, ice cream sodas and egg creams -- contain tiny, slightly chewy tapioca pearls that add a hint of texture. The fresh fruit and mango versions are wonderful. Sweet teas include fig-ginseng, a refreshing sugar cane juice and an ethereal seasonal kumquat-honey libation.

Desserts may be ordered hot or cold. Steamed milk, a Hong Kong street food favorite, is a meltingly tender version of the Western-style baked egg custard it resembles; an even more delicate ginger-flavored steamed milk is made with egg white alone.

Behind glass at the order counter, a row of covered pots holds ambrosial warm dessert soups. The walnut puree, a slightly sweetened creamy liquid, is redolent of the nut. Similar desserts are made with roasted black sesame seeds, white almonds with flecks of egg white and sweet red beans punctuated with lotus seeds.

If you’ve lived in Asia, Phoenix’s desserts may seem just a step away from familiar comfort foods. If not, get ready for a wildly adventurous flavor trip.

food@latimes.com

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Phoenix Desserts

Location: 220 E. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, (626) 299-1918 and 1430 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra. (626) 299-0990; check www.phoenixfoodboutique.comfor locations of Phoenix Food Boutiques.

Price: Sweet teas, $2 to 2.75; hot and cold desserts, $3 to $5. Food boutiques have nondessert takeout menus.

Best dishes: Warm forbidden black rice and young coconut soup, mango with fresh soy custard, pecan tarts, warm steamed milk with egg or ginger.

Details: Open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. Lot and street parking. No alcohol. Visa, Mastercard.