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We were walking through the city with a friend when we passed a long queue snaking out the front of a dessert shop. There were lots of foreigners in line, so I assumed it was just an influencer spot and kept walking.
Later I wanted a soufflé and went looking for guides, and everyone was recommending the same shop. So we turned straight back and joined the queue. The shop is Kumo Desserts, and tables turn over fast, so the wait wasn’t long.
Thai tea caramel
We each tried a different flavour, three in all, starting with the Thai tea caramel. It comes with Thai milk tea gelato, and the soufflé has Biscoff crumbs sprinkled on top. The texture is dense and smooth, and the sweetness is just right, so it never turns cloying. The menu says it’s only served at certain times, so ask the staff when you order.
The Boba Brûlée Bomb is the one to order first
This is the best seller on the menu, and it’s the safe pick if it’s your first visit. A layer of torched caramel is poured over the soufflé. It’s richer than the Thai tea one, but the sweetness is held at just the right level.
I had mine with vanilla gelato, and the hot and cold together was really satisfying. The soufflé itself is full of air, soft and fluffy, so it’s no surprise the Google rating is high. It’s very fluffy and wobbly, with no eggy taste, and it didn’t feel cloying. The cream and the gelato seem to come from the same base and flavour, though, and I found both a little sweet. Next time I’d skip the ice cream and just have the cream. One serve was $23, and it was my top recommendation.
The Pistachio Papi is for people who want sweet and rich
This one is the sweetest and richest of the three. There’s a generous pour of pistachio paste in the middle, with a raspberry sauce over the top. Once the raspberry goes on, it turns sour, so I’d use only a little of that sauce or leave it off. Eaten on its own, this flavour gets cloying fast. If you like it super rich, go ahead, and pair it with a hojicha cloud or another unsweet drink to balance it out. If you can’t handle much sweetness, don’t order it.
The drinks were worth ordering too
The Hojicha cloud is the light one. The tea base tastes strange in a good way, with a fragrance I can’t quite describe. The Peanut matcha is the rich one. It drinks like matcha with black sesame and peanut stirred in, and my friend said she’d order it again next time. I had the Strawberry Matcha, with strawberry purée at the bottom and matcha on top. Stir it well before you drink. The strawberry’s sweet-sour balance cuts the matcha’s bitterness, so it isn’t cloying overall, and the colour is great for photos. It was $9. None of the three drinks is very sweet.
The small downsides
The soufflé is made to order, so expect about 10 minutes. There aren’t many seats, and when it’s busy you may have to queue. The biggest downside, for me, was how bad the connection inside the shop is.
My picks if you’re going: the Strawberry Matcha at $9, and the Boba Brûlée Bomb at $23.
What else is worth knowing
Kumo is at 198 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. Your notes give the hours as Monday to Friday 3pm to 10pm and Saturday and Sunday 11:30am to 10pm, but I couldn’t confirm them in search, so check the website before you go. Kumo is run by brothers Jason and Jin Tan, who ran pop-ups in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth before opening this permanent spot in the CBD. “Kumo” means cloud in Japanese, and the pancakes are dine-in only, while drinks can be taken away. The batter includes cultured butter, which is unusual for soufflé pancakes, and the Boba Brûlée Bomb, a best seller, is finished with blowtorched caramelised custard. In a 2023 review, 3AW noted a one-pancake-per-customer rule and a 60-minute dining limit, and listed pandan as an after-7pm flavour. Broadsheet reported each pancake takes about 20 minutes on their custom machine, which is longer than the 10 minutes we waited, so allow for that.
Would we go back?
Yes, for the Boba Brûlée Bomb alone, though I’d order it with cream next time. If you’re planning a Melbourne trip around the holidays, check the Victorian school holiday dates first, because a spot with a queue like this gets busier when school is out.
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