It’s 7pm on Wednesday and I’m skipping dinner for desserts at Loulouca at Ann Siang Hill, where visual feasts as intoxicating as their flavours await me.
In the hands of Louisa Lim, a Le Cordon Bleu Paris alum with seven years at the three Michelin-starred Odette, it marks her bold pivot from fine dining to desserts as the centrepiece of a meal.
“Much of my career was spent in fine dining, where desserts are the final chapter of a meal. At Loulouca, I want desserts to be the destination and the heart of the dining experience,” Lim explains. Creating and working in an entirely dessert-focused space is the realisation of a lifelong dream.
Asia’s Best Pastry Chef in 2023, Lim says she wants guests to leave feeling lighter and more joyful, because good desserts have that transformative power. As I savoured her Tiramisu, I immediately felt that energy and understood what she meant.
This reimagined Italian classic is one of four plated desserts on Loulouca’s evening menu. It features a contrast of crunchy textures from a coffee-soaked biscuit cuillere, coffee praline, caramelised pecans, and a delicate buckwheat tuile sandwiched between a generous dollop of Lim’s signature sobacha ice cream. “This is one of my absolute favourite desserts. I’ve interpreted it with French technique and Asian sensibilities, which is the lens I build all of my creations on,” she says.
Shizuoka Melon is a refreshing ode to summer. It highlights the exceptional sweetness of the Japanese crown melon with a matcha meringue shell, Vanuatu vanilla mousse layered with lime and mint jelly, a swirl of watercress and mint ice cream for lasting freshness, and melon carpaccio. It is finished with Granny Smith apples for brightness and lashings of olive oil and lime zest.
Another fruit-forward dessert is Yamanashi Peach, pairing floral and creamy notes. A few taps of my spoon shattered the delicate meringue to reveal peach compote with blackberries, blackberry yogurt sorbet, Earl Grey chantilly, and Yamanashi peach slices. It is topped with a thin layer of rose jelly.
The final course, Strawberry, is inspired by Lim’s time in Paris. This tart features the seasonal Mara des Bois variety. Biting through the crispy gavotte shell base, I tasted creme fraiche, lemon curd, strawberry compote, sorrel and yogurt sorbet, and strawberry sauce.
During the day, this sweets spot serves an evolving selection of entremets (multi-layered French desserts featuring sponge cake, mousse, and interior inserts), baked fresh daily. Whole desserts are available by advance order for takeaway, while guests can order individual portions for dine-in as well as takeaway, along with a menu of curated coffees and teas, including matcha.
From the daytime menu, Lim selects Tropical Exotic. “It’s a pop of Southeast Asia flavours that are familiar, and what I grew up knowing. Mango, passionfruit, and pineapple deliver bright sweetness and tang, balanced by coconut and jasmine pearl tea,” she says.
When asked about the future of Singapore’s dessert scene, Lim believes it will become bolder. “More risk-takers and more unique concepts and flavours will help us gain a stronger global presence.”
