U: Dessert Story, a sister restaurant to brunch favorite Kitchen Story, is expanding to the Marina. The dessert cafe’s sequel opens at 2120 Greenwich Street this Saturday, offering Japanese brunch and more of the Korean, Japanese, and Thai-motivated cakes that made U: Dessert Story a success in its first year of operation at 3489 16th Street.
Tammy Boonlieng opened U: Dessert Story after six years at Kitchen Story, a part of a small empire of SF brunch eating places consisting of Sweet Maple, recognized for their “millionaire’s bacon” dish and ensuing traces. While Boonlieng loves brunch, she was also given a sweet spot for dessert and saw a demand for a dessert cafe.
“I love Asian desserts, and I love Japanese, Korean, and Thai traditions,” says Boonlieng. Her cross-to at U: Dessert Story is bingsoo, Korean shaved ice.
By night, the new U: Dessert Story will serve extra goodies like matcha lava cakes; however, Marina’s sunlight hours recognition may be Japanese brunch. Look out for gadgets like Omurice, an oozing Japanese egg omelet positive to motivate an Instagram sensation. “We cut it, and it’s bursting in front of clients — the equal experience that a person receives after they visit Japan,” says Boling.
“We need to eat from the eyes first… It has to appear delicious.”
U: Dessert Story’s new 2120 Greenwich Street has been quiet given that January; however, before that, it did a bustling brunch business as Diane’s Bloody Mary Bar. That mission turned into one in a string of experiments examined by the Michael Mina group at what turned into the Mina Test Kitchen. The Mina Group owns the construction but is renting the distance simultaneously as it searches for a bigger take look at the domestic kitchen.
“MINA Test Kitchen has been noticeably a hit and has allowed our team the capacity to test many unique ideas over the past few years,” a representative for the Mina Group advised Eater SF. We’ve discovered a lot, been capable of tweaking recipes, and thought through complete standards to include wine, beer, cocktail menus, or even what décor works properly with the ideas.” Those ideas blanketed numerous that found permanent homes, like International Smoke with Ayesha Curry.
For the new U: Dessert Story, “A lot of human beings would possibly assume the extra Asian spots might be better,” says Boonlieng, referencing the Richmond and Sunset Districts. But the Marina appealed in component because it might allow her business to tap into a new purchaser base for her desserts: Non-Asians. “I want to educate them on how to play with and get to realize our Asian cakes and our cultures extra.”
To engage clients, U: Dessert Story encourages them to pick out their sweetness ranges and personalize their orders. “I name it ‘U’ because it’s yours, the consumer’s,” Boonlieng says.
