From signature mini choux to the Takumi Sei, the AP Café partnership with AMI Patisserie honours craftsmanship, precision and flavour
There is little to fault about afternoon tea at AP Café, particularly when it is created by Makoto Arami, a third-generation confectioner from Hikone in Japan’s Shiga prefecture. Founder of AMI Patisserie in Singapore, Arami was raised within a lineage steeped in both traditional wagashi and Western-style yogashi, a dual heritage that he continues in his approach to pastry making.
We began the afternoon with a selection of chef’s signature mini choux, each a delightful sphere of flavour. The Berries Pistachio Choux delivers a layered interplay of flavours, beginning with a hit of vanilla kirsch cream, followed by the freshness of raspberry and the gentle crunch of pistachio. The Uji Matcha Kinako Choux offers a more contemplative profile, where the depth of matcha is softened by Hokkaido kinako and white chocolate. Completing the trio, the Smoked Caramel Coffee Choux provides a more assertive finish, with AMI’s house-blend coffee cream, a molten caramel centre, and nutty hazelnut notes coming together in each satisfying bite.
The pièce de résistance is the Takumi Sei, a dessert that draws inspiration from the Japanese ideals of “takumi” (craftsmanship) and “sei” (precision and refinement). A delicate concoction of matcha, azuki, and raspberry in a composition that is faultless.
What distinguishes Arami is his integration of Japanese and French pastry techniques, a synthesis that reflects a shared reverence for detail, balance, and artistry. Each creation is meticulously composed, allowing refined flavour profiles to come through while celebrating the enduring beauty of savoir-faire and precision.
He recalls that his earliest food memories include waking up to the smell of fresh bakes in the family home, which also served as the family business; enjoying freshly piped choux pastries after school; and spending time studying and playing in the kitchen where his parents worked.
After beginning in the family business as a teenager, he studied at the prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute in Tokyo. Following a year-long stage at a pastry concept in Lyon, France, he honed his craft at Michelin two-starred Beige Alain Ducasse in Ginza before becoming the first pastry chef at Restaurant Ryuzu, a Michelin two-starred progressive French restaurant in Roppongi. In 2021, Arami launched AMI Patisserie, finally creating a platform to fully express his unique pastry style. In 2025, he was named recipient of the Pastry Talent of the Year Award by La Liste.
It is this journey that underpins AP Café’s collaboration with AMI Patisserie — a limited-edition dessert collection that marks the café’s first partnership with a chef. Centred on craftsmanship, precision, and detail, the collaboration feels natural.
Inaugurated in 2025, the world’s first AP Café is housed within AP House Singapore. Its menu reinterprets classic Swiss dishes through a distinctly local lens, each creation echoing the creativity, precision, and meticulous innovation that define Audemars Piguet’s watchmaking.
