We asked Metromix contributor Edward Morita, who has worked as a pastry chef at Longhi's in Ala Moana Center, to tell us about his favorite desserts. After coming up with an ambitious list of 30 favorites, he whittled down his selections to a diverse list with both well-known favorites and eclectic picks.

Strawberry flambe: At $22 a serving, this is by far the most expensive dessert on my list, but you get a lot for the price.

One of the main selling points of the strawberry flambe is that it's made tableside, a service that's becoming harder to find. Your waiter brings a cart to your table and prepares a sauce from brown sugar and port wine. Foie gras is then added, followed by strawberries, which are flamed with brandy before being reduced. The strawberries are served over tiramisu ice cream.

The foie gras may seem intimidating at first, but I really like the slight bitterness it adds, which prevents this dessert from being too sweet.

Michel's, Colony Surf, 2895 Kalakaua Ave., 923-6552.

Humboldt Fog goat's milk cheese: Sweet dessert is predominantly an American notion. In other countries, dessert traditionally is a palate cleanser that often consists of fruit, cheeses and even cured meats. At Brasserie du Vin, the Humboldt Fog goat's milk cheese ($4) is served with pecans, dried cranberries and a warm baguette.

There are many ways to attack this. The obvious would entail spreading the cheese on the bread, but I prefer to cut a small piece of cheese, place it on a pecan, then add dried cranberries on top. It might appear snooty, but you can really savor the hints of lemon flavor in the cheese this way. I follow this with a bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Brasserie du Vin, 1115 Bethel St., 545-1115.

Green tea ice cream with wasabi: This one has raised many servers' eyebrows. One server even stood and watched me eat it because he didn't believe I would. The key to this dessert is that it has to be fresh wasabi ground from the root, not powdered stuff.

A lot happens in your mouth when you try this. First you take a little wasabi on your spoon, then dip it in the ice cream. The first thing you'll get is the heat from the wasabi, but don't panic because just as soon as it starts, the richness of the ice cream begins to cool it off. Now the most interesting thing happens. Once the ice cream neutralizes the sulfur compounds (the stuff that makes wasabi hot), you're able to taste the sweetness and buttery flavor that is usually hidden by the overpowering heat of the wasabi.

If you are adventurous enough to try this, you can find it at Izakaya Nonbei, Sansei and ZenShu.

Peanut butter mochi: In a nondescript house in Mo'ili'ili (dubbed the Mochi House) is Happy Hearts Mochi. What I love about this place, aside from the size of its mochi, are the fillings. Owner Renee Iha makes all orders by hand, and to ensure freshness, she makes the mochi as close to the pickup date as possible.

The peanut butter mochi is what made me a fan. I have long been opposed to peanut butter mochi. I just never liked the combination, but that was cooked peanut butter mochi. Happy Hearts wraps the mochi around a peanut butter center, surrounded by a layer of red bean paste. The red bean paste is the key. It acts as a buffer between the mochi and peanut butter, so you get the two distinct flavors on your palate.

Happy Hearts Mochi, 748 Ho'awa St., 382-5714.

Bananas Foster cream puff: Hiroshi offers this cream puff ($7.75) with vanilla ice cream in a pate au choux shell on a bed of bananas, and cooked in brown sugar and rum. It also comes with two truffle lollipops and vanilla dipping sauce.

The rich, bittersweet chocolate is a welcome addition. Eat it with the cream puff if you want to tone down the sweetness of the bananas. The tart raspberry sauce helps cut through the richness of the chocolate, but you chocoholics out there will have no problem enjoying this by itself.

Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas, Restaurant Row, 533-4476.

Yogurt with mochi: I had originally thought all yogurt places were the same, but that opinion quickly changed once I tried Yogurt Mama. I have never seen any other yogurt place with as big an assortment of mochi as Yogurt Mama. Most places either have a container of mixed mochi, or just plain white. Yogurt Mama offers different flavors of mochi to complement whatever flavor yogurt you choose.

Yogurt Mama, 43 Oneawa St., 263-3368.

Calamansi tart: My all-time favorite thing that The Little Oven owner Joyce Harada makes is the calamansi tart ($6.50). By itself, the filling of little Filipino limes would be too sour to eat, but the buttery shell and whipped cream give you a delicious balance of tart and richness.

The Little Oven, 1467 S. King St., 947-6836.