Following the closure of Singapore’s popular Michelin starred Vianney Massot Restaurant, Head Pastry Chef Maxine Ngooi meets with dessert lovers with Tigerlily Patisserie.

The debut menu at Tigerlily Patisserie draws on the avid baker’s various life stages as sources of inspiration. According to Maxine, she tapped on her favourite food and various experiences for initial ideas. “Having some free time during the ‘circuit breaker’ allowed me to experiment with different kinds of pastries which I had wanted to try for quite some time,” she added. “Helping my mother with her home business, which serves Eurasian and Peranakan food, was also incredibly eye-opening,” adds Maxine. “I was reminded of all the beautiful Southeast Asian herbs and spices which I had taken for granted, and began to wonder how I could incorporate them in my pastries.” The result: special Asian-influenced bakes made using French pastry making techniques.

Currently, all the treats are prepped out of a dark kitchen. And baking for the at-home crowd comes with a new set of challenges, Time Out Singapore reported. “At a restaurant, We can prepare and bake the pastries just before they are served,” explains Maxine. “But in a delivery-only concept, the pastries are usually baked early in the morning.” Which is why Tigerlily Patisserie only makes limited batches each day; it allows Maxine to better control the quality, and prepare only what’s needed. And without the need to interact with customers at her virtual bakery, it gets easy to lose track of the time and work through the day, according to Maxine. Although all that might change very soon. There are already plans to seek out a physical home for Tigerlily Patisserie, one where Maxine can easily connect with, and feed, hungry diners. On future plans, she says: “I would like to offer a wider range of pastries to my customers, and include a la carte items, entremets, as well as celebration cakes.”