Photos by Billie Winter

Maybe it’s the butter, the cream, the sugar, or the audacity of putting iconic Asian flavors like mango sticky rice into rice crispy treats and somehow making it work… Whatever it is, Kelly Miao, owner of Kemi Dessert Bar, seems to understand the alchemy and finesse of dessert craft better than most.

At her newly opened bakery, she’s taken everything she’s learned from a career in New York City fine dining and plated desserts and brought it to Capitol Hill in the form of Asian-inspired guilty pleasures verified to spark joy. The results are inventive, artful, and backed by the kind of technical skill that separates good from GOAT.

From the Cronut to Capitol Hill

When most Asian kids her age were at Kumon, Miao was in the kitchen. It started in Long Island, where Ina Garten reruns evolved into experimenting with boxed cake mix, and eventually, Miao was baking anything and everything at every opportunity. Teachers, neighbors, and family alike all knew there was butter in Miao’s veins. Even still, Miao followed the traditional college path she felt was expected of her, pursuing hotel management at New York University. Something for her parents to gloat about at lunch.

But then she did something unconventional: took a gap year and got herself into Dominique Ansel’s kitchen, the same bakery of Cronut infamy. A place where the margin for error is thinner than a layer of mille-feuille, and the pastry must be consistently flawless. She not only survived the demanding work, she excelled. And from there, she built a career in some of New York’s best restaurants: Ai Fiori, Bar Boulud, Claudette—places where every gram of sugar and every degree of heat had to be exact.

In 2023, she abruptly left it all behind: New York, fine dining, home. She and her husband-to-be packed up and moved to Seattle. “We visited back in 2021 and instantly fell in love with it, and liked how Seattle is a good mix of crazy and peaceful,” Miao says with a smile. “We came here because we were watching Seattle food videos throughout the start of the pandemic, and it didn’t disappoint. The Lao burger at Ox Burger is still one of the greatest things we’ve ever eaten.” That’s a surreal compliment from an NYC fine dining chef. (A reminder that Seattle still has motion!) And while Seattle doesn’t have a deep-rooted, high-end pastry culture like New York, maybe that’s a good thing. When a place doesn’t already have a story, you get to write it.

Betting on the Pop-Up

Before Kemi Dessert Bar had a storefront, it was a pop-up. Seattle’s café scene was the perfect playground—the right crowd, the right energy, and full of people who appreciated a well-executed dessert. Miao would set up at places like Atulea and Coffeeholic, neatly lining up her treats and sharing real-time inventory updates on Instagram Stories. I met Miao via email, at a time in my content creator journey when I would freak out over any message that wasn’t a verification code. The formality of her set-up, plus photos of her rice crispy treats that were dotted with chewy blobs of boba, made an impression. I had to pull up.

Kemi Dessert Bar grew from these moments—small but meaningful encounters where pastries weren’t just sold but shared. And as demand grew, so did the dream. Now, with a storefront in Capitol Hill, she’s got the space and the momentum. But opening a bakery in Seattle right now isn’t for the faint of heart. Minimum wage is through the roof, wholesale eggs require a mortgage, and even the most Instagram-worthy spots aren’t guaranteed survival. But Miao knew she had something worth betting on. Serendipity was on her side. “I’m not always the most confident person,” she admits, “but I felt like I had something new and exciting to offer Seattle. So I figured—what better time than now?”

Desserts That Delight

For anyone who visits her new shop, imbued with her good taste, from the pink tiling to the brilliant pastry packaging, it’s impossible not to buy into the vision. At first glance, their menu might look like Asian-flavor Mad Libs. But these aren’t just random pairings; they’re epiphanies.

The Pandan Crumble Cookie tastes like someone reverse-engineered my Asian American childhood, toasty and buttery and exactly how you wish more things tasted. Her Matcha Banana Pudding is a new favorite, but the Brown Sugar Boba Rice Crispy Treat—a ridiculous, chewy, caramelized square studded with globs of glossy tapioca pearls—is my primary care doctor’s #1 opp.

Right now, there’s no shortage of pastry chefs bringing matcha and ube into their creations. But Kemi Dessert Bar’s ability to deftly navigate trends in order to produce something simultaneously familiar and new is what separates her from the pack. It’s all punctuated by a self-mandate to make sure each dessert isn’t just interesting, but technically excellent, too.

Take the Thai Tea Basque Cheesecake (yeah, you heard me). Burnt just right, cracking under your spoon before sinking into something impossibly creamy, almost custard-like, culminating in a Thai tea-flavored crescendo. Popular for a reason. Or the Miso Sesame Cookie—deep and contemplative flavors that seesaw with the simplicity of their vessel, the marriage feels forever known. A recipe Miao has developed for years. Or even the humble “Chocolate Chip Cookie,” not qualified by any Asian flavors other than Okinawa sea salt (because, of course). This is the “chicken tenders” item on her menu, and as a litmus test, it’s a stellar A+ with extra credit. You can taste the experience, and the premium Plugrà butter, in every bite.

At a time when demand for newness in the city is at a fever pitch, Kemi Dessert Bar is ready to not only fill in the blanks, but push us forward. Supporting small businesses that bring something special to our city is important work. If you want a fun, vibrant culinary scene, remember your efficacy in making it happen. Because one thing is clear: Kemi Dessert Bar is proof that a city is only as good as the risks people take on it.