2am: Dessert Bar

This is the place to be seen, especially after the chef has been raved about so much by critics.

Personally, I don't see what the hype is about. To me, the portions are small, the taste is quite interesting but nothing I would label as memorable.

The Twix Bar was a deconstructed delight of chocolate, cookie crumbs and caramel. I didn't mind this and even enjoyed it but everyone loves chocolate. Plus it tastes just like twix.

I've been to London so 2 am's version of the sticky date pudding did not wow me.

The blackcurrant dessert was presented beautifully and was a stark contrast to the other desserts due to its deep, fruity flavour. However, I don't remember much else about what I thought about it.

Lastly, my basil with white chocolate choice made me nauseous and I would stay far far away from it if you're not one for exotic tastes. I don't know why but it nothing in the dish worked. Biting into pepper wasn't pleasant, the basil was sickening together with the creamy dessert and the styrofoam-like passionfruit wafer was light but seemed extra and out of place.

I think 2am might be overhyped and I wouldn't rate it as a 'must-experience'. The place is hip and chic though and the servers are incredibly friendly and warm. The service is excellent and that's why i feel a slight twinge of guilt posting this up. However, I do not think that I was biased in any way and maybe someday I'll return and try something that blows my mind.

Pictures/Full Review here

 The restaurant is divided into two areas, namely the plush daybeds or the contoured bar areas where one can catch a glimpse of the various chefs in action. The cosy and relaxed ambiance with dim lighting somewhat makes it a perfect location for a late night hangout with friends at the daybeds as the bar counter seats weren’t exactly very comfortable to begin with. I obviously opted to seat at the bar, in anticipation of seeing the pastry chefs meticulously at work, where finest precision and touch is definitely required to make sure the plate turns out like a beautiful painting.

Tiramisu ($16+)

One of my favorite all time Italian classic, 2am takes the concept of this traditional Italian dessert to a whole new level where kahlua jelly is used in place of savioradi biscuit. The layers of jelly which had a bursting molten melt in your mouth sensation  , sandwiched between layers of sufficiently dense mascarpone which had an insanely smooth texture. An added twist was a cannelle of espresso ice cream which was light but refreshing on the palate which a subtle bitterness and effervescence of coffee liqueur in the aftertaste. Probably one of the most unique and  delicious tiramisu’s I’ve had with how all the flavors counterbalance and complement each other so perfectly.

Twix ($14+)

Inspired by the popular american chocolate bar, the plated dessert Twix actually bears a striking resemblance to the one found in convenience stores at first glance. The caramel mousse on the inside had an interesting jellified texture similar to marshmallows, while being lightly coated in a thin layer of chocolate. The peanut crumble where i really loved the fine grains of crumble which had a delightful buttery peanut flavor gave the dessert a much needed crunch, similar to the one you get when having a chocolate bar. The chocolate ice cream served alongside was surprisingly bitter but neutralized the excessive sweetness from the caramel mousse if eaten alone. Definitely an interesting twist on Twix, but definitely delicious with the contrast in flavors and the use of caramel mousse instead of biscuit fingers.

2am:dessertbar certainly takes the concept of having desserts to a whole new level, where there is the possibility of actually sitting down and enjoying plated desserts like how we usually sit down and have a degustation meal. With unique flavors, interesting concepts and twists, I’d definitely be back to sample more of their signature desserts.

We tried the Kaymbe H20; it was a pleasant combo of sweet and tangy (yuzu sorbet).  Unfortunately not all menu items (which are already limited) for the savory snacks were available.  The slow braised beef cheek was served piping hot, but the cheese platter was woefully disappointing - limited cheese selection and pathetic platting and condiments.

A relaxing place to chill out if you like desserts.

Everything that is wrong with Singapore captured in this diabolical mis-selling. Their last orders are at 0130--so you infact cannot enjoy dessert at 2 am. WHY, WHY, WHY, would you call something a 2 am dessert bar and then stop serving before then??? Anyone?

Went there once earlier than 2 am, when the Noma dessert chef was guesting, and the desserts were very good, if very expensive.

i get the concept of ultra-stylish decor and expensive tasting desserts that are supposedly works of art with the exotic combination of ingredients, flavors along with beautiful plating. but honestly, my trip to 2am dessert bar was a serious downer. methinks this place tries to be too many things at once - an upscale bar/ glitzy restaurant concept mixed with a homely, friendly, kinda contemporary (sophomore-ish) atmosphere ultimately clashed with each other's sensibilities and eventually negated one another.

i took offense with the fact that they shoved four of us into one of those two seater-couches, making for a incredibly uncomfortable experience because there wasn't really any possible configuration that could make you feel comfortable - people either had to sit without a back support at the front of the couch whilst their friends took the back portion, else you squeezed four people side by side on the couch. utterly uncomfortable. to their credit, one server came up to us and lamented that we looked very uncomfortable, but then nothing else was done for the entire 40+ mins duration.

next, food wise. i think i was honestly too annoyed to bother taking any shots of the food, but i do agree the plating was nice. however, the lighting was so awfully dark that there really wasn't a point - i couldn't really appreciate what was being plated and to be honest, i couldn't even distinguish the ingredients on my plate. the four of us had opted to share a basil white chocolate (shiso, seagrape, passionfruit puffs, $15), arguani h20 (valrhona chocholate, 72%, evian, caramel mousse, praline, yuzu sorbet, $14) and some pistachio black sesame ice cream thingy.

my issues with the food? i think desserts are meant to be satisfying, to induce a eventual feeling of languid contentment, merriment and mirth to compensate for all that fat you just took in. to me, the desserts mentioned above failed on this front completely. yes, the ingredients were innovative, so maybe i was being plebeian and couldn't really appreciate them for what they were, but the weirdness of the flavors didn't exactly combine well and everything was so miserably small that you really did feel like you were biting into portions of air to try to sate your hunger. take the arguani h20 for example, purportedly their bestseller here - the varlhona chocolate block was a hard slab of chocolate that was difficult to crack into and was paired with little drips and dollops of the other "ingredients" that honestly didn't really go well with the chocolate base. i would give them credit that the valrhona chocolate tasted good, once you actually manage to break the slab itself, but then.. is that credit to them? or to valrhona? i don't know.

all in all, a confused and utterly not-worth-it place to satisfy your dessert cravings. maybe go there for a drink or two during an off-peak hour if you are feeling rich, but don't expect to enjoy yourself on a friday night out if u want some nice desserts. 

head to http://theendangeredsartorialist.wordpress.com/food-listings/ for more reviews

It was very hard to get a parking space as, you know, it was Holland V. The bar was very chic and mordern. My family did not like the sofa seats and they sqeezed us all into one table. They introduced the menu and the top must tries are:1. Araguane H20: Intense Chocolate Flavour, Nice texture and style and goes well with the Salted Karamel2. Chocolate Tart: The nights champ, i even ordered another one because it was so good! It is warm and shaped like and egg tart

We had

Araguani H2O - Very interesting dessert, lots of flavour and textures. Highly recommended

Tiramisu - Highly recommended

Selection of 3 sorbet/ice-cream - Nothing interesting but the lime sorbet was simply to die for if you are a fan of sour desserts!

Chocolate tart - My favourite of the night. Simply divine.

We also had a bottle of sweet wine to go along with the dessserts. The lady that served us that night was knowledgeable and knows her stuff well. Thumbs up for that.

 

I was looking forward to bringing my hubby to this raved about place for some wine and desserts after our home-cooked meal.

First of all, it is V-day and I anticipated a crowd. Surprisingly there were still some bar seats left, (though the empty sofa seats were indicated reserved). So i give it about 75% filled, even with that, it soon become obvious that the staff could not cope with the customers.

Here are the gripes:

1. My hubby and I ordered "Coffee Creme Brulee" + matching wine" and "Araguani H2O" and "Hibiscus Tea" - Only the creme brulee was served to us. the server actually forgotten all the rest of the order. until the ice-cream in my hubby creme brulee started to melt and i asked the server was when we realised she didnt place orders for the wine. Upon 2nd reminder, we found out she didnt order my "Arguani H20". I gave up on the Hibiscus Tea (which was not served at the end, but appeared on my bill)

2. No water was served, no explanation of the Vday promo until prompted

3. Only one poor server (the one that forgotten 3 out of my 4 items) was seen hurrying around (but i spotted 6 other staff around the bar area) what the ???

Food wise:

Presentation is very nice, think fine dining. Honestly, the taste is so-so, especially for the price I am paying, i expect a lot more. The menu selection was also limited and unlike the rest of the reviews here, noone make any effort to recommend or explain the desserts to us.

Ambience and Seating:

1. As i made a reservations and requested for a sofa, i give only that to them as me and my hubby enjoyed the reclining sofa seats. Makes me think of bedsupperclub too.

2. Lighting is very dark (maybe for romantic and chic feel), but too dark to see my food to take photo with IPhone. (Hence no pictures to post here)

3. Maybe becos of the occasion, the crowd was very young. Think late teens.early 20s strolling in with flower bouquets.

Overall:

It was just an experience for me. I will not be returning to dine here.

Verdict: Good to try, just once.

Skipped to 2am desserts bar after ice cream at Daily scoop. Wanted to check out what the buzz was all about at 2am. Wanted only one dessert as Friend already had her ice cream at Daily Scoop, but we were told that there is a minimum spending of $15. Thought it was ridiculous, aren't desserts meant to be shared? Wanted to minimise calories consume with shared desserts, but alas! Especially after a full meal and one round of desserts, all we wanted was to have a place to chill and pig out again. Sigh... So fellow diners, please take note... there is a minimum spending of $15 per person. When were were there, there were a number of kids, wonder what is the age limit of per person spending. Maybe a 3 year old would also need to meet the requirement of the $15 per person. 

Food:

We had the Cheese Avalanche, Friend did not like it, in fact i think she is disgusted with the clash of flavours, the cheese, rock melon, figs, biscotti and some berry sauce. Basically, the salty, sweet, sour - which she concludes with one word. Confuse. I on the other hand like the clashing taste, i like the sweet, salty and sour. However i thought the rock melon was rather unnecessary, it was tasteless... maybe it is an unripe melon. I liked how the cream cheese goes with the fig, berry sauce and biscotti. One man's meat is another man's poison. While Friend hates this, I love this Deconstructed Cheesecake (if it is considered a cake, at all...)

The other dessert we had was the Araguani H2O. Sweet - from the chocolate and caramel, Sour - from the Yuzu Sorbet, Bitter - from the dark chocolate. Pretty pleasant, safe and non-controversial unlike the Cheese Avalanche. I like the blob of caramel that lies within the chocolate block. 

I went to this place after dinner with a few friends. I wasn't expecting the place to be that expensive, but we stuck with it anyway.

We ordered 4 desserts - the Cheese avalanche, The Vinegar Chocolate, Burnt Caramel and one other whose name I honestly can't remember.

The vinegar chocolate was too strong for me, but I enjoyed all the other ones. My friends loved the vinegar chocolate, though. I would say that  the Cheese Avalanche, which is basically a deconstructed cheesecake, was my favourite - it was light and the sourness was just right, as compared to a lot of cheesecakes. The Burnt Caramel had me literally scraping the plate for more.

The stronger flavours came with sorbets in order to cleanse our palates, should the flavour get too strong. We actually finished the sorbet because it was so enjoyable on its own.

The service was awesome, and it was an awesome date place, due to the way the seating is arranged - a couch with a table attached in the front, so that you can lea into each other. But once again, unfortunately, I wasn't on a date.