Many creative minds may agree that they do their best work at the wee hours of the morning and it is partially true for the folks at 2am:desser tbar. And for its customers, the late night is a perfect time to unwind or satisfy a peckish stomach. Helmed by Chef Janice Wong, Asia’s best pastry chef in San Pellegrino Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, the idea for customers is to come in and relax with cushy sofas, big windows to let in natural light and an open bar concept for guests to look into the kitchen and interact with the chef and crew. And that’s about where the similarity of going to a friend’s place for cake and coffee ends.
When the food arrives, you’ll understand what the Chef meant by ‘progressive’. Drawing influences from all over the world, Chef Janice prefers to describe the menu as ingredient-focused although she would attribute the presentation to be American and European inspired; based on her experience of working in some commendable restaurants in these regions. Inspired from the beauty of ingredients, the team works to create a balance of flavour, texture and temperature in its creations.
Speaking of ingredients, 2am:dessertbar sources them from all over the world and that directly plays a role in pricing. Chef Janice admits that to be a challenge when a dessert ends up being the same price as a main meal. She shares that the key is really in consumer awareness and communication between the team and customers. When the customer understands the process of sourcing and methodology applied; they become more receptive to what we offer, says Chef Janice. At times, the bar’s artsy desserts might look like they came out of a science lab but the chef says there is nothing “molecular gastronomy”but it is about experimenting with regular equipment and pushing its boundaries to find out how much more it can do than its intended purpose.
The precision attained by sous-vide cooking is vital for delicate ingredients like chocolate where a small difference in temperature could result in something else entirely. Equipment like the Thermomix and Pacojet give chefs a range of textures and preparation methods to play with and the non-negligible equipment would be the blast freezer to quickly chill prepared items to safe temperatures and is also used when 2am:dessertbar goes for pop-up events.
Since the conception of 2am:dessertbar 9 years ago, Chef Janice has seen how desser ts have carved a space in Singapore’s dining scene. The bar has expanded to Hong Kong and its latest venture in Tokyo; selected for its good produce (many of the menu comprises ingredients sourced from Japan) alongside diners’ refined palate and a great interest in new dining experiences. A pioneer in bringing about a dessert storm, 2am:dessertbar has surely brought a whole new meaning to eating cake and if cravings strike at 11pm; why not?www.2amdessertbar.com
