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assisted, perhaps, by the fact that their
desserts, cakes and macarons are so aes-
thetically delightful. “If I post something
on Instagram, people come and ask for
it,” laughs Chu. With such a buoyant
reaction to their talents and products
in the five years since opening, the pair
have now branched out to a new venue:
T by LuxBite. “The T stands for tarts,”
says Chu, “and that shop will specialise
in tarts, and sell things you can’t get at
LuxBite.”
“We didn’t want to become a fran-
chise, we want to make sure each new
venue has a different concept, but is still
part of the LuxBite philosophy of high
quality.”
There are plans for more venues – C
for a chocolate-focused café and G for a
gelato joint. “I guess I’ll keep going until
I run out of alphabets!” jokes Chu.
Inspired by the dessert-focused ven-
ues of his home country, Chu vows to
continue to allow the flavours he tastes
in Malaysia to inspire his creations in
Melbourne, continuing to enhance the
understanding and appreciation of his
Australian customers.
“I don’t use these ingredients to try
and be different or unusual,” says Chu.
“I am working with the things I know. I
want Australia to understand where Yen
and I have come from.”
For more information, visit
www.
luxbite.com.au.
Malaysia, everyone does it, but in Australia people were taken
aback when we first started using it.”
In the early years, Chu and Yen had to explain to people how
the bamboo charcoal powder worked, but now they find their
customers are more knowledgeable on the Asian ingredient.
“Now people read more and travel more,” says Chu, “and also
Burger King did a black bun and made people aware of bamboo
charcoal, so they are not afraid anymore.”
Chu and Yen are constantly experimenting with
new Asian ingredients and flavours and these
Asian touches are liberally applied to their
macarons, which continue to be their most
popular sweet treat. “I keep thinking the
macaron craze will end but it never does,”
says Chu. “I think it’s because we are always
trying new flavours.”
While some flavours familiar to the Austra-
lian market are on the list – Peanut Butter and
Jelly is one example – there are alsomany Asian
ingredients making an appearance:
pandan,
kaffir lime, lychee
and even
Kopiko
.
New frontiers
It is the attention to detail and
high quality that ensures Chu
and Yen are so successful at
what they do. “We are ex-
pensive, but that’s because
we make everything fresh
daily, and when we sell
out, we sell out,” explains
Chu. “It is so important to
be high quality.”
They also use social
media to powerful effect,
The Endless Love cake features
lychee ganache, rose cream,
lychee and fresh raspberries
Bernard Chu is
bringing a taste of
Malaysia to Melbourne