Fauré Le Page x Le Petit Four Pâtisserie at Gurney Plaza

When Paris Met Penang: Fauré Le Page x Le Petit Four Pâtisserie at Gurney Plaza

Nothing makes me lose my mind faster than pretty pastries.

Give me a pretty pastry and I can forget about everything else for a while. Diet? What diet? Besides, who goes to a pastry shop to discuss the dangers of sugar?

Women and girls apparently have a second stomach for desserts.

Aunty Dory just packs everything into her legs for good measure.

Beautiful pastries have a way of making my eyes rivet to the little morsels, blocking out everything and everyone else.

Growing up, cake wasn’t something we ate every other day. It was usually reserved for birthdays or when Mum felt like baking.

Her go-to recipes were pound cake and marble cake, baked in an empty Golden Churn tin with a cherry on top. For the marble cake, she would mix Van Houten chocolate powder into some of the batter before swirling it through the plain mixture.

Nothing fancy, but those homemade cakes, beaten by hand with a spring whisk, were special.

If we bought cake from a bakery, it was usually a simple slice of butter cake topped with a rather stiff buttercream flower. That was our idea of a treat.

My First Parisian Breakfast in 1994

Fast forward to 1994, when I went on a tour to Paris.

It was quite an adventure discovering that the French weren’t particularly interested in speaking English to me, and that baguettes weren’t garlic bread!

Breakfast always came with pastries and sweet Danish treats, but my favourites were the plain, warm croissants.

I also began learning to tell the straight ones from the crescent-shaped ones, including those delicious little croissants filled with ham.

Trying to communicate with the garçon (waiter) to order a bigger breakfast was a total failure.

My tour guide had to remind me that I wasn’t in the country for bacon and eggs! Well, what can I say? Dory was famished.

That trip introduced me to a different pastry culture, along with the idea of eating in moderation. (The moderation part clearly didn’t stick, as you can see!) Little did I know that years later, Penang would develop its own appetite for these French treats.

How Penang’s Pastry Scene Grew Up

Around 2015, I began noticing a more exciting side to Penang’s pastry scene.

French-trained pastry chefs were introducing us to little cakes that were a feast for both the eyes and stomach.

Suddenly, we were seeing colourful handcrafted European pastries, artisan breads, plated desserts and miniature treats filled with chestnut cream, matcha and all sorts of interesting flavours.

And don’t get me started on shiny objects like mirror-glazed pastries. So Dory, so FOMO!

There were cream horns, profiteroles and delicate pastries that looked almost too pretty to eat. Almost!

I also remember friends Lisa, Abby and Adrian being part of those conversations and discoveries as Penang’s pastry scene evolved.

One name I particularly remember is Le Petit Four Pâtisserie.

Some of you may recall its humble beginnings as a little pop-up at Hin Bus Depot. Chef Ooi Hooi Shing had returned from Le Cordon Bleu and was hand-rolling her croissants.

I remember walking past and seeing her at work in those early days. At the time, she was simply another young pastry chef quietly getting on with her craft.

I certainly didn’t imagine how far things would develop.

Over the years, Penangites also became more discerning about what makes a good pastry.

We began appreciating the differences between crisp, crumbly and melt-in-your-mouth textures. We learned to recognise the buttery layers of a good croissant and what happens when you tear one apart.

And no, you cannot simply bake a giant, puffed-up croissant and think it’s impressive. Well, it isn’t! There is a certain size, proportion and technique to getting it right.

I can say this confidently because I tried making them myself and simply could not master the art of hand-rolling a perfect croissant.
And when a croissant doesn’t give you that lovely pull? Aunty Dory starts asking questions. Hahahaha!

Once you’ve learnt to appreciate a properly made pastry, your expectations change. Mine certainly did. Pretty is one thing, but the taste and texture have to deliver too.

When Parisian Luxury Meets Penang Pastry Craftsmanship

Fast forward to 2026.

Seeing how far Le Petit Four has come is rather satisfying, especially when Fauré Le Page brought its Parisian identity to Gurney Plaza.
The French luxury house arrived with its distinctive bright yellow setup, signature scale-patterned leather goods and new collection of bags and totes.

That bright yellow certainly caught my attention. It was quite a change from the usual mall surroundings.

The collaboration with our very own Le Petit Four Pâtisserie made it even more interesting.

Paris brought the fashion, Penang brought the pastries. Now, that’s a collaboration I can understand!

There were plenty of lovely leather bags to admire, but let’s be honest. Aunty Dory’s eyes went straight to the pastry table.

Chef Danny later told me, “You were a woman crazed, muttering wildly, where’s our table? I want to eat!”

LOL. Guilty as charged. Some people come to admire luxury handbags. I came with pastry on my mind.

Chef Ooi Hooi Shing and her team had prepared a special selection of sweet and savoury creations for the occasion. There were beautifully presented individual pastries, chocolate-coated creations decorated with Fauré Le Page’s signature yellow motifs, savoury tartlets and little croissant sandwiches.

Even the lattes carried the Fauré Le Page crest. Someone certainly thought about the little details!

The Savoury Pastries Won Me Over

As pretty as the sweet creations were, the savoury selection won hands down for me.

My favourite was the truffle creation topped with shaved cheese. That combination was particularly delicious and easily the one I would remember.

The tiny ham-filled croissants brought back a flood of memories of my Paris breakfast adventures in 1994. Funny how food has a way of taking you back!

I also enjoyed the tartlet topped with roasted and fresh tomatoes and basil. It was a lovely savoury combination and a welcome change from the usual sweet pastry offerings.

Don’t get me wrong. I have plenty of room for pretty desserts, but sometimes savoury pastries know exactly how to win an aunty’s heart.

More Than Just Pretty Pastries

Chef Ooi Hooi Shing was a busy woman that day, running around making sure everything was in order.

I enjoyed being a fly on the wall watching the two chefs exchange tips and share experiences.

One thing I appreciate about Chef Hooi Shing is her generosity in sharing her knowledge. Over the past decade, I feel she has contributed considerably to Penang’s pastry scene, helping train and inspire other pastry chefs, including Chef Danny.

To me, building a legacy goes beyond running a successful pastry business.

A good chef makes good pastries. A chef who shares knowledge helps nurture the next generation.

And this is where I think the collaboration becomes particularly meaningful.

Fauré Le Page may have brought a little Parisian luxury to Gurney Plaza, but the pastries were created by our own Penang pastry team.

It was an opportunity to see local craftsmanship presented alongside an established French luxury name.

Penang Has Come a Long Way

Today, Penang can proudly say we have our own Le Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chefs creating beautiful French-inspired pastries, experimenting with ingredients and techniques, sharing their knowledge and inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.

Our Penang sis and Penang bro have certainly come a long way.
Thinking back, my idea of a special cake was Mum’s chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (after she levelled up from her pound cake days)

Today, we have local pastry chefs bringing international techniques home, developing their own craft and helping raise the bar for the next generation.

From tasting homebakes to seeing our own pastry chefs hold their own alongside a French luxury house, that’s quite a journey.
And that, more than the pretty pastries, is what makes me proud.

Now, excuse me. I think I need another pastry.