Melbourne has a good chocolate scene, but a much better coffee scene. This is lost on me, since I don’t care for coffee. But because my partner does, we spent a lot of time searching out for good coffees everywhere we go, which, frankly, is not hard at all in Melbourne. The vast majority of time the coffee shop doesn’t have good hot chocolate. If I’m lucky, they will have Cascara Tea made from the dried outer husk or skin of the coffee cherry, the fruit that surrounds the coffee bean. Ah, but not here. Standing Room doesn’t only have a great coffee. They also have a very good hot chocolate AND very good pain au chocolate. Cue celebratory music that plays in my head when this happens.

Although it is called Standing Room, and there is plenty of standing room inside the stunning wood panelled cafe, we got a seat outside. The hot chocolate is made with 40% drinking chocolate from Ratio, a bean to bar chocolate maker based just outside the CBD that makes beautiful chocolate. It was perfectly made, the ratios were right, the milk, the blending, the art. They even have the hot chocolate in their normal menu, not in the “other drinks we need to sell but no one really orders” menu. Ah, put the volume up on the celebratory music. And don’t get me started on the pain au chocolat!

If only all coffee shops in Australia adopted a bean to bar chocolate maker for their hot chocolates. The world would be a better place (no joke).

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The benefit of travelling as a group of 4 is simple:  you can order more…and we absolutely did during our visit to 2am: dessert bar in Singapore. 

We started off with the hot chocolates. A classic version for the kids made with Pure Imagination Single Origin 70% dark chocolate and served with three homemade churros and a whisky spiked version for the adults. Pure Imagination is Janice Wong’s own bean to bar chocolate line. While she sources cacao from several countries, she also grows beans locally around Singapore. A strong start.

For the main event, we moved on to dessert, because 2am: dessertbar is, after all, a dessert bar and every dessert features chocolate in some form. My kind of place.

Chloé ordered the Chocolate H20, an octopus like creation with chocolate, chocolate soil, salted caramel, caramel bavarois, yuzu calamansi gel, and kochi Yuzu Sorbet. It was beautifully presented. She had planned to share but didn’t, though I did manage a small taste, purely for research. 

Luca went with the Snickers inspired dessert peanut brittle, chocolate mousse, caramel bavarois, macadamia tuile, sweet wood vanilla icecream. Rich went all in with the Firewater made with rum icecream, miso chocolate fudge, earl grey whisky jelly, miso taffy and black rum. Naturally, he paired this with a whisky and chocolate pairing, as one does. 

Although I stayed quiet at the time, my choice was by far the best. The Chocolate Praline Pop rocks Cake, a warm chocolate cake, vanilla bean icecream, hazelnut praline pop rocks spread and popcorn powder was amazing. I even tried (unsuccessfully) to buy the beautiful ceramic cacao pod it was served in.  

We booked ahead to be safe, though we were the only ones there when we arrived. Granted, it was still early and likely fills up later in the evening after dinner. We tend to do dessert first when travelling to chocolate destinations.

If you are visiting Singapore, the bar isn’t centrally located and we did have to take a taxi to get out there. That said, there are plenty of very popular restaurants nearby if you prefer dinner before dessert, just be warned that means less room for what really matters.  Absolutely worth the trip. 

Janice Wong 2am: dessert bar, 21A Lorong Liput, Holland Village, Singapore. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 2pm to around midnight. @2amdessertbar www.2amdessertbar.com

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Janice Wong is a chocolatier and chocolate maker based in Singapore, known for creating immersive, interactive dessert experiences. She’s especially famous for her edible art installations, walls covered in colourful bonbons and chocolate pieces that you can literally pluck off and eat. These installations are very well known in Australia, so visiting her café to try her chocolates was very high on our priority list on a recent trip to Singapore. More recent, she has also begun producing chocolate from cocoa beans grown in Singapore. She has overseen the planting of cacao trees in gardens across the city, including in schools. This bean-to-bar project is part of her brand, Pure. 

She has several cafes around Singapore, but we chose the most impressive the café at the top of the Supertree Observatory in Gardens by the Bay. 

At around 50 metres high, the Supertree Observatory sits atop one of the iconic Supertrees, structures that re not only visually striking but also have strong environmental credentials. Each tree is covered with thousands of real plants that help collect rainwater for irrigation. Some incorporate solar panels, while others use wind turbines. Every evening, at 7:45pm and again at 8:45pm, the Supertrees come alive with the Garden Rhapsody light and music show, a must-see experience in Singapore. 

To visit the observatory, you’ll need a ticket (around S$14 for non-residents), and it’s open from 9am to 9pm. Depending on the time of day, there can be a queue for the elevator. At the top, there’s both an indoor observatory and an open air rooftop terrace offering 360-degree views of the area.

None of the other visitors today were here for the café. They must not know! We chose a seed next to the window with views of the Supertrees and ordered a selection of her chocolates, a few bonbons, a couple of small cakes, and of course, the hot chocolate. She also now makes her own gelato. Everything was enjoyable, made even better by the setting. 

The hot chocolate uses a house mix that is also sold in store to take home. It is made from cocoa powder, milk powder, icing sugar, and dark chocolate. It was nice, thought it would be interesting to see options featuring different cacao origins, especially beans grown in Singapore. Perhaps something for the future.  But honestly, you can’t get much better than this view paired with Janice Wong chocolates. Don’t rush it. Plan to linger as long as your schedule will allow you.  No one will rush you. 

Janice Wong, 18 Marina Gardens Dr, #03-01 Supertree Observatory, Singapore

Open daily from 9am to 9pm. @janicewongsg

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