Quang Nguyen returns to thrill Adelaide sweet-tooths with Shibui
HE’S back. Five years after closing Devour, Quang Nguyen is ready to thrill Adelaide’s dessert-bar devotees again with new creations that tap into their sweetest childhood memories.
HE’S back. Five years after closing Devour, Quang Nguyenis ready to thrill Adelaide’s dessert-bar devotees again with creations that tap into the sweetest memories.
Golden Gaytime, “Nutella on Toast” and the Redskin candy bar are some of the nostalgia-inducing flavours included at Shibui, which opens July 5.
Located on the fringes of Chinatown, at the base of an apartment complex in Grote St, Shibui is co-owned by Quang, his partner-in-life Thy Nguyen and her long-time friend Lisa Chao.
They will open at night-time only (for now at least), hoping to attract city diners looking for somewhere to finish their night, as well as the sweet-tooths who flocked to Devour at Prospect, before it made way for a cinema complex.
The trio have designed the interior space themselves with pastel colours and glowing lamps. They have also left space to fit Quang’s kitchen “toys”.
“The vibe we wanted was when someone walks in it is like being welcomed to our home,” Thy says. “Desserts should make you happy and joyful.”
So while Quang promises there will be room to experiment with more challenging dessert concepts – for instance, miso or fish sauce – he reckons his approach has matured.
“It’s an evolution of what we were back at Devour,” he says. “A lot of things have changed about what I like and my inspirations. It’s still us, but the next stage.
“My palate has changed, the ideas and concepts for a dessert have changed. Experience and maturity come into play .”
Thy agrees that the balance is different. “The original Devour was very experimental,” she says. “Shibui will be like that as well but it will also be flavours customers can relate to… We want to play around with what we loved in our childhood.”
Quang’s desserts are plated with an artist’s hand and offer layers of texture and flavour intrigue. His take on lemon meringue pie, for instance, includes a lemon curd mousse, pistachio in a crumble and airy sponge, torched meringue, vanilla ice-cream and a few dots of balsamic reduction.
“Even now we are getting messages saying can you please bring that back,” Thy says.
“We closed five years ago and for people to remember us, and be excited for us, is
really amazing.”
Opne sJuly 5, Shibui, 2/160 Grote St, city, open 5pm-late Wed-Sun, facebook.com/shibuidessertbar