Paragon and Janice Wong unveil Singapore’s largest chocolate art installation

SINGAPORE – Paragon mall in Orchard Road is now home to the largest chocolate art installation in Singapore.

The feat was made official in the mall’s atrium, where a representative from the Singapore Book of Records certified the Blooming Imagination chocolate display for its record-breaking scale on April 8.

Designed by local chocolatier and chef-artist Janice Wong, the installation, standing at 2.4m-tall and spanning 18 sq m, is composed of three tunnels fashioned from 800kg of chocolate.

Every surface of these tunnels – from the walls to the ceiling – is clad in chocolate and studded with an array of vibrant, multi-shaped cocoa flowers.

The central tunnel, inspired by origami, features a hanging garden crafted from more than 500 suspended chocolate pieces.

The second tunnel evokes a gentle rainfall of chocolate petals. The third showcases chef Wong’s signature lollipops mounted on its ceiling, almost like a forest floor of mushrooms.

A team of 10, including Ms Wong, 43, took about 10 days to create the individual panels and decorations. These were then assembled on-site over two days, in time for the launch on April 9.

The greatest challenge, Ms Wong told The Straits Times, was ensuring the tunnel’s structural integrity for its multi-week run – it will remain open to the public till May 3 when it will be dismantled.

“We’ve already seen some kids running around. It’s great to see people enjoying it, but we will keep an eye on things to make sure it all holds up,” she said.

Visitors can walk through the tunnels any time during the mall’s opening hours, from 10am to 10pm daily. 

Chocolate lovers can pluck and eat bon bons off the installation during Chocolate Indulgence tasting sessions.

These bon bons will be placed in selected portions of the tunnels and replaced for each session. The treats come in chilli padi, yuzu and salted caramel – the three most popular flavours created by chef Wong.

​Chocolate Indulgence will take place once a day from Tuesdays to Thursdays, and twice daily from Fridays to Sundays. Slots are limited to 20 members for the once-daily sessions, and 50 members for the twice-daily sessions.

To book these sessions, register first for the mall’s Paragon Club via the club’s app. The basic Premier tier is free, while other levels can be achieved through various minimum spends.

Paragon Club members in the Premier and Prestige tiers, who spend a minimum of $100 with three same-day receipts, will be eligible for one entry pass to a Chocolate Indulgence session. Purchases at supermarkets or for services are not eligible. Find out more at str.sg/jQ2f

A separate open house for the public, similiar to Chocolate Indulgence, will take place on April 17. Details on the open house will be provided on the Janice Wong SG Instagram account @janicewongsg.

The Blooming Imagination collaboration is part of Paragon’s ongoing spring and summer celebration. The mall also has four new openings: Germany luxury fashion house Jil Sander; Italian fashion label Marni; jewellery and fine objects brand Maison Kuhn & Komor; and “premium wellness dining” restaurant Ultimate Midas Meal.