Here’s a question for dessert lovers: what happens when you take Korean bingsu and Japanese Shibuya toast and give them a delicious Thai twist? You get mouth-watering desserts from Homm, a Thai-style dessert café from Australia.
The shop was founded in Melbourne in February 2023 by a husband and wife duo – Chiangmai-born, Melbourne-based Chayathorn “Bass” Sakdatorn, and his wife Praewthip “Proud” Saithai – and its outlet here is the dessert shop’s first international outpost. The menu remains unchanged from what you’ll find Down Under – nearly everything is made using in-house recipes, from the sablé crumbles to the pumpkin boba topping. That goes even for the condensed milk that’s specially ‘re-balanced’ for the perfect sweetness.
We first try Homm’s Thai tea avalanche bingsu ($19.80), its bestseller. You’ll want to save the pictures for later because this behemoth melts fast. Take it from us: the best time to start snapping is when you lift the plastic sleeve surrounding the mountain of pillowy Thai milk tea-flavoured ‘snow ice’ topped with Thai tea gelato, allowing the whipped cream cheese to cascade down its snowy peak – hence the name ‘avalanche’. Fresh sablé crumbles and chewy grass jelly add a nice texture to the delightfully soft snow. It’s easy to see why this is Homm’s signature dessert – fun theatrics aside, its earthy black tea notes are pronounced and elevated, thanks to the addition of rich cream cheese. Compared to other overly sweet desserts, we found this to be at an acceptable sweetness level – but if that’s not enough for you, feel free to up the flavour with an extra drizzle of Thai tea sauce or condensed milk. 
Taro lovers will be delighted to know that Homm’s taro bingsu ($19.80) delivers its earthy flavour to a tee. The shop prides itself on using real taro, sans artificial flavourings or colourings. This bowl of vivid purple taro-flavoured snow comes topped with creamy taro paste. Homm perfectly manages to convey the sweet nuttiness of this beloved ingredient in fine-textured snow, so much so that you’ll hardly need to dig into the paste for your taro hit. The addition of coconut meat and salted coconut sauce on the side works great with the taro – just make sure to try it with the hand-crafted pumpkin boba for a fun chew.
We found ourselves drawn to the coconut pandan shokupan ($18.80). Homm’s spin on Shibuya toast, or honey brick toast, sees brûléed thick Japanese milk bread topped with a helping of roasted coconut crumble and a scoop of Homm’s creamy coconut gelato, and generously spread with Proud’s homemade Thai-style pandan kaya – which tastes creamier and lighter than its local counterpart. We love the buttery caramelised flavour of the crisp toast paired with the spread of light and fragrant kaya – thanks to its moderate sweetness, the whole affair is not as cloying as we expected. You won’t be disappointed by Homm’s Thai-style twist on this classic.
Those looking for something light must try the mango sticky rice or Thai tea crumble mochi ($6.80). Unsurprisingly, the combination of creamy coconut ice cream, fresh mango, and chewy mochi doesn’t disappoint. Our only qualm is that, although there were sprinkles of fried mung beans and puffed rice bits, the 'sticky rice' aspect in its name could have been more prominent – or removed altogether.
There’s no doubt that Homm stays true to its name – the Thai word 'homm' means 'good-smelling' or 'aromatic,' as well as 'sharing' – and it’s the café’s thoughtful curation of flavours that will set it apart in Singapore’s crowded café scene.