This Japanese-style cafe off Orchard Road has a secret garden view and offers a 6-course pastry omakase menu

There aren’t many places in Singapore into which you can step and feel instantly transported to a magical secret garden.

Ami Patisserie is a new cafe nestled on the grounds of a colonial black-and-white Scotts Road bungalow. Its floor-to-ceiling windows open onto a grassy lawn dotted with whimsical terracotta sculptures, bordered by ancient trees. Here, you feel like you’ve left the debris of the city at the front gate and entered a tranquil Zen temple to pastry.

The best part? There are lots of pretty, yummy things to taste, from strawberry parfaits and delicate Mont Blancs to savoury onion tarts and, honestly, one of the best croissants we’ve sampled here in Singapore; washed down with Ami’s own special blend of coffee that’s roasted in-house, or Mariage Freres tea.

At the helm is Makoto Arami, a Japanese pastry chef who has lived and worked in Singapore for the last seven years, with a background in fine dining. Here, he’ll be offering not only his signature bakes but also a Chef’s Table Discovery Experience (S$118++ per person) in a dedicated dining room: This is a six-course, pastry-focused degustation meal prepared in front of diners and served a la minute.

The standalone cafe’s design is inspired by Kyoto’s traditional two-storey wooden townhouses known as Kyo machiya, which were often shopfronts as well as residences.

Arami’s childhood home in Hikone in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture was similar in that he and his family lived above their shop.

The 36-year-old is a third-generation crafter of sweets as his grandfather started selling wagashi or traditional Japanese sweets in 1935. His late father, who travelled the world, later evolved the business by selling European-style cakes and pastries made with fresh Japanese ingredients.

Arami recalls waking up every morning to the delectable smell of baking. He was always popular with his classmates thanks to the cookies his father sent him off to school with.

At the age of four, his training in fruit-cutting commenced. If he cut his finger, he had a cry and went on practising. One of the basic skills he had to learn, which was to remove the peel from an apple or pear in a single, unbroken knife stroke, took one year to master.

At age 15, he baked his first pastry following his father’s signature choux recipe. Did he use his choux to impress a girl? “Yes,” he said, with a sheepish laugh.

Growing up witnessing his father’s dedication to crafting every cake and pastry with care, and watching each customer who entered the shop leaving with a smile on their face, it felt natural for him to pursue the path of becoming a pastry chef.

After studying at Tokyo’s prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute and staging for a year in France, he worked at Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo including Beige Alain Ducasse. He then trained at Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City before becoming part of its opening team in Tokyo. He went on to work in Kyoto before moving to Singapore to take on the role of Executive Pastry Chef at Michelin-starred Beni. Thereafter, he was Pastry Sous Chef at Marina Bay Sands.

He was planning to open his own pastry shop when the pandemic hit, so Ami Patisserie began as an online business out of his home kitchen, rapidly growing in popularity. His wife, who is also Japanese, was – and still is – his biggest critic, tasting each bake to make sure it’s menu-worthy.

With the opening of Ami’s physical space, Arami can offer the ambience to match his signature pastries that change with the freshest produce of the season – melon from Shizuoka; strawberries from Fukuoka; chestnuts from Gifu; pears from Yamagata and peaches from Yamanashi.

His signature craqueline choux are made with Hokkaido flour – which has a higher gluten content – so that they can better hold their fillings and toppings. And to ensure that every tart stays crisp even in Singapore’s humid climate, he uses filo pastry for the base, brushing each layer with honey and butter.

At Ami, Arami can also take the stage to craft his omakase tasting menus in the fine dining style in which he was trained.

As guests sit around a counter, he starts them off with fresh bread and a series of savoury canapes that build in intensity, including a choux inspired by Japanese egg mayo sandwiches, filled with custardy egg and gooey orange yolk and topped with caviar; a tomato tartlette with fromage blanc and basil oil atop a biscuity base made with 24-month aged parmesan; and an uni brioche with finger lime.

The masterful piece de resistance is the Nasu Brulee, a dish of roasted eggplant custard sprinkled with sugar and torched, topped with eggplant seared with binchotan, as well as miso-soya ice cream.

Then follow a palate cleanser of pear and chamomile; two sweet confections and petit fours.

It’s all served on beautiful tableware handcrafted for Ami by Arami’s best friend, a master potter from the same hometown, which is known for its unique earth that produces a distinctive clay used for fashioning ceremonial ceramics.  

One of the plates even inspired one of the desserts: Organic swirls on its brown surface led Arami to dream up a dish named Marble Dark Chocolate, featuring layers of tuile paired with dark chocolate ganache, coffee cream and cognac amaretto ice cream – Arami’s elegant take on a tiramisu.

There are only eight seats at the Chef’s Table and 12 seats in the cafe, but, happily for those of us who have tasted Arami’s creations and consequently have cravings that will not wait, a takeaway with online pre-order option is also available.

Ami Patisserie opens Jan 16 at 27 Scotts Road.