Burpple Blog Inside Scoop SG: Twenty Grammes

This week, Yee Ning of Twenty Grammes talks waffles and ice cream, and sheds light on what inspired the family business to champion desserts.Hello! Tell us more about the people behind Twenty Grammes.Twenty Grammes is a family business. After I graduated, I decided to take over the business and I now run it full-time. My mom helps out in the store's day-to-day operations, while my dad manages the logistics. As for my sister, she'll help out here and there when I nag! Personality wise, I consider myself an extrovert, a coffee lover and I love to bake!What inspired you to open Twenty Grammes, and why the focus on waffles?My family loves desserts and every time we plan to hang out together, a dessert place will be the first on our list. We decided to share our love for desserts with others, especially families. I was having waffles at a cafe when I saw how a kid was enjoying his ice cream and his evident satisfaction while consuming that cup of gelato in his hands. We hence decided to start a cafe selling waffles and ice cream.What's the story behind the name, Twenty Grammes?Twenty Grammes is actually the ideal weight of coffee grounds to pull a good espresso shot.Is there any difference behind the menu offerings at both outlets?It's not a very significant difference - the Ang Mo Kio outlet focuses more on soft serve whereas the North Bridge Road outlet focuses more on gelato. The selection of cakes at the NBR outlet is also wider, and it serves as the pick-up point for whole cakes.You guys are known for your waffles, but we are sure it must have taken your team quite a bit of trial and error to arrive at the perfect recipe! Could you share more about your initial research and development process?It's quite a funny story. We would actually hide in my dad's office till late at night to make the batter. As it was an office, we did not want to let the neighbours know that we were cooking, so we had to be quite sneaky about it. And because we did not want to throw away the trial waffles, we had to play scissors, paper, stone to determine who would be the unlucky one to finish all the waffles AND cleaning up.Any mishap stories?Thankfully not!What's your craziest waffle creation so far?The S'mores waffle definitely! We infused the waffle with graham crackers to give it its crispy exterior. Chocolate hazelnut sauce is then drizzled onto the waffle, along with crushed graham crackers. We then torch the marshmallows, and customers get to choose a scoop of gelato. We top it all off with whipped cream - very decadent!We have to ask - sweet waffle, or savoury?Definitely savoury. I can eat savoury waffles daily but sweet waffles might be too much after awhile.Describe your dream waffle in 20 words, or less.It will be a waffle with a good piece of steak, topped with an egg and wild rocket.What's next on the pipeline?We are currently going to do a pop-up at Flashbang and also in the midst of coming up with a new product. We are also branching out into wholesale cake production.