It will be almost a year since pastry chef and recipient of Asia's Best Pastry Chef 2021, Angela Lai, left the three-Michelin starred Taïrroir in Taiwan for sweeter things in life.
"I left Taïrroir right after the judging period for Michelin and right before we were awarded our three stars. I wanted to go solo and take a break. I wanted to tour around Taiwan, but that idea became bigger and because I thought, why just Taiwan? I could just go out and explore more and interact with more people to know more cultures and discover more products," says the Singapore native.
"I've been in Taiwan for almost eight years but I haven't really got to know the country. I really like the place and the people. Having discovered the produce that the country offers, it is still attractive to me to stay on. But instead of just Taiwan, I also want to explore Thailand and Indonesia as well," adds chef Lai.
This is why she and her partner in food, Taiwanese chef Max Hsu, cooked a 10-course meal at the Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom in Bangkok last year. Together, the chefs have created ESC, which stands for "Explore. Sense. Create", which will mostly be serving out of a camper van/food truck as they travel the length and breadth of Taiwan, chef Lai's adopted home country. ESC aims to seek, find and experience new cultures and cuisines, all while sharing the same with whoever comes across their journey. Though this journey "will probably commence in the last quarter of the year", adds the chef.
"ESC will be conducted in a way of a pop-up restaurant. It will incorporate all the produce that we discover along the way, along with the cultures. This is also a way of interacting with people through food," explains chef Lai.
Laminated brioche, caramelised banana Chantilly and chocolate sorbet.
Fans of chef Lai's desserts have nothing to worry about though. "I will still do what I like doing -- making pastries. There are always changes in plans, so I will never know what I want in the future. But currently, this is what I want to do," says the chef.
She is currently doing events, collaborations, consulting work and also teaching a short course in a university in Taiwan. "Though we are also open to doing private dining and events," says chef Lai.
Her signature dessert, pong pia, is a very traditional Taiwanese-Chinese sugar pastry. "The dessert was introduced to me by a former colleague. I went to Tainan and saw this beautiful pong pia and found it interesting. The hollow pastry with its cream filling at the bottom is a testament to the art of chemistry in baking. I started researching the pastry, about the history, and found that it was eaten during maternity leave in the olden days. In Chinese culture, you eat it after giving birth to replenish your energy, so to speak. Back then, they used to add an egg and fry it in sesame oil. The entire concept of this pastry attracted me so much to it that I turned it into a dessert. I also used a bit of dark brown sugar boba and ginger in it," chef Lai explains.
"I do like to play around with sweet and savoury tastes and a lot of textures. And this will always remain in my creations," adds the chef.
Thai green curry, plum marinated tomatoes and lemongrass consommé.
Thai milk tea macaron, salted egg taro puff and canelé.
