Fingers are fine, we were told, when we wondered if we should eat our flensje with a fork. Flensje — a thin Dutch-style crepe transformed for the tropics with scarlet coloration and a payload of grated coconut — is one of several desserts recently added to the menu at PNK Surinamese Cuisine, in South Richmond Hill, Queens. They also include lapis, steamed sticky rice that resembles a layered jiggly pudding, with Indonesian roots, and bojo, a Surinamese take on Caribbean cassava pone, baked with coconut, spices and a little pineapple.
Like many dishes on the menu, the desserts reflect the complex culinary heritage of the small South American country once known as Dutch Guiana. Read more on Culinary Backstreets.