These M’sians are running a 6-storey fine dining dessert hub in Petaling Street

“Malaysia’s first fine dining dessert hub,” that’s what MONO calls Nucre Patisseries. 

A newcomer in the scene, the house of sweet treats is located on the bustling Petaling Street in KL and has arguably one of the best views there. All thanks to its tall building consisting of six floors, giving it a nice sight of the city skyline.

But what makes it actually “fine dining” is up for debate, as the establishment is still laying down its foundations in this regard.

Isaac Hew, the founder, explained that they’re working on setting up an open chef table on the penthouse floor. Customers will be treated to a 10 to 15 course dessert omakase experience. 

Though even without that, I’d argue that the pastry house’s current offerings already make it an interesting addition to the F&B scene. 

Aside from the usual snow ice and soft serves, Nucre Patisseries offers entremet (a small dish served between the main dish and a sweet dish) and plated desserts (an arrangement of one or more components). 

They sound simple enough but what makes them different from your average parlour is the presentation. What’s being served isn’t merely to fill the stomach. It’s more like edible art, where the craftsmanship and presentation aims to feed the eyes and soul too. 

Many other restaurants offer this as part of their dessert menu, especially the higher-end eateries. Though, it’s still uncommon to hear of a whole F&B brand focusing only on this in Malaysia, which is the gap Nucre Patisseries aims to fill.

Young and sweet treats

“Nou” means “new” (or young) in Latin, whereas “cre” is taken from “sucre” which refers to sugar in French.

Together, the pastry house’s name refers to Isaac’s philosophy towards dessert making, which looks towards its more innovative future; a future where dessert isn’t confined to just one thing.

“Desserts don’t have to be just salty or sweet, they can also be savoury as well,” Isaac stated. This is something he hopes his creations will help with in changing people’s perception.

For example, the dessert hub’s signature Polo Choux has layers of all four flavours in one treat. It’s made up of spicy curry leaf compote, salty and sweet soy sauce caramel, and silky butter mochi. It sounds like an odd combination but the Google reviews that mention it so far are positive.  

Nucre Patisseries’ brunch menu also features a Mochi set (starts from RM23.40). You’re able to choose from six flavours of mochi ranging from sweet to savoury—red bean with cream, black sesame with cream, salted egg yolk, kinako with molasses, coconut with flakes, and butter fried.

What they’re probably best known for, though, is their “Wagashi” line featuring traditional Japanese confectionery. And it’s all inspired by Isaac’s pastry apprenticeship in Japan.

From lab coats to kitchen aprons

Sharing with us, the now-29-year-old Isaac explained that he actually holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in physics. But baking and cooking had always been a passion of his since young. 

He could still recall the first dessert he ever made: a melted Snickers bar muffin taught by his mum. As he grew up, he began honing his skills by testing out cookbook recipes and experimenting with different baking techniques.

By the time he graduated from university, he was serious about getting into the culinary industry. Part of this drive can be traced back to his time working at a pastry shop and baking factory like Komugi.

Fast forward to a few years later and he finally set up his dream dessert hub. In between that, Isaac declined to share much about what he was up to.

Every single dish available is the creative work of Nucre Patisseries’ young team of ten. Even something as simple as the red bean paste and soft serve base are given the handcrafted treatment. This allows them to have control over the quality of ingredients and sugar levels.

All the recipes were made in-house and use fusion techniques that are a blend of different cultures. It’s one of the reasons why he chooses to work with the younger generation. “I prefer a young team as I hope to train a new generation of young pastry chefs, developing their creativity towards dessert-making.”

Not just in terms of following recipes, but really understanding the techniques and ingredients used. As such, he encourages everyone to learn from each other instead of having a competitive mindset.

Humble but driven aspirations

“Dessert should be fun,” Isaac stated. 

So you’ll notice that while Nucre Patisseries’ creations are aesthetically pleasing, they’re not so intimidating that you won’t demolish them.

In that same light, the brand plans to also host baking and pastry-making classes within the six-floor building. Isaac’s goal is to create a space where people can experience desserts in various forms, from making to savouring them.

As for the bigger picture, he admitted that there’s no specific ambitions at the moment. His team is just focused on creating delicious and memorable desserts for customers.

“Our aim is to reinvent the idea of dessert, pushing boundaries of what dessert can be,” the team shared. 

It’s still pretty early days for Nucre Patisseries as their doors only opened a couple months ago. Perhaps the launch of their open chef table might solidify the brand’s mission and standing in the market. 

But either way, the team seems to be passionate about what they do, and it shows easily with every bite consumers take. 

Featured Image Credit: Nucre Patisseries