Popular Tigerlily Patisserie By Ex-Les Amis Chef Closing Due To ‘Exponentially Increasing Cost Of Operations’
After three years of being a fixture in the Joo Chiat neighbourhood, Tigerlily Patisserie announced that it will be closing its doors on 30 April 2024. The popular bakery-cafe is known for its elegant mod French pastries. It first started out as an online bakery in 2020, before upgrading to a pretty botanical-themed space on Joo Chiat Road in 2021.
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It’s co-owned by pastry chef Maxine Ngooi, 32, who boasts an impressive CV - the World Gourmet Awards Pastry Chef Of The Year (2022) trained at three-Michelin-starred restaurant Les Amis, worked at Joel Robuchon Restaurant at RWS for two years, then became head pastry chef at the now-defunct one-Michelin-starred French restaurant Vianney Massot. After she left Vianney Massot in 2020, the Ebb & Flow group, which used to own the restaurant, invited her to start Tigerlily Patisserie. Maxine was also in charge of the menu at retro kaya toast bakery-cafe Chin Mee Chin when Ebb & Flow invested in the heritage brand.
What’s next for award-winning chef Maxine?
In Tigerlily’s official announcement on Instagram, Maxine simply states that “the world has evolved since we started and I feel that it’s time to retire Tigerlily to personally reset and explore new culinary adventures”. She also confirms that it is a “permanent closure”.
Speaking to 8days.sg, Maxine says “it was very sad news to share”, adding that “the two main reasons [for the closure] are the exponentially increasing costs of operations, and that our rental lease [expiry] is coming up”.
A friend who frequents the Joo Chiat neighbourhood tells 8days.sg that the patisserie was “usually quite quiet” in recent months.
So, what’s next for the chef? Maxine shares that “for now [she] plans on taking a break for a while, with no future plans with Ebb & Flow Group at the moment”. She confirms that once Tigerlily has ceased operations, she’ll no longer be part of the Ebb & Flow Group.
Before opening Tigerlily, Maxine told 8days.sg she had initially wanted to travel and stage at restaurants around the world, but couldn’t do so due to the pandemic. She now tells 8days.sg that “it’s definitely something I’ll be looking into in future”.
Stuff to try
If you’re planning to head down to Tigerlily for a final visit before its closure, here’s what to order.
The patisserie’s swansong seasonal bakes for the month include this Easter Surprise ($24.80), which features two entremets - a golden egg, made with salted popcorn mousse and pecan praline, and a rice pudding-filled white rabbit.
The Sweet & Savoury Box ($28.50) for the month also features an assortment of signature bakes, including the Matcha Flan puff pastry, kimchi and bacon-stuffed Kimchi Cheese Croissant, Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant and Otah Sampan, made with homemade coconut frangipane and mackerel otah.
Also good: the Pink Guava and Pear ($13), which features a guava and elderflower mousse, filled with cubed fresh pears and guava jelly.
Tigerlily Patisserie will operate till 30 April 2024 at 350 Joo Chiat Rd, S427598. Tel: 8887 0988. More info via their website and Instagram.
Photos: Alvin Teo, Tigerlily Patisserie
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