Doux Doux by Chateau Dionne channels canelé

Continuing his French love affair, Chef Andy Choy has opened Doux Doux, his latest foray into desserts.

Located inconspicuously above a Chinese medicine shop, who knew a lovely French-inspired pattiserie serving excellent canelé existed? Like most cafes these days, Doux Doux by Chateau Dionne employs minimalist styling in its decor. The main hall keeps an open space except for one table, housing only the pastry and cake counter, while the adjoining room pans out to a private and cozy sitting area. 

French tunes play softly in the backgound and lest you forget, a picture of a blown up canelé reminds you of the in-house specialty and the large windows overlooking the road offer a front row view of the wet market below, brilliantly juxtapositioning two entirely different worlds in one stroke of genius.  

The order of the day are canelés which come in 3 sizes – mini, original and signature, ranging from RM4 to RM12. The outside is crusty and caramelised, while the inside is custardy and moist. I’ve tried the plain original, matcha and rum vanilla. All are very good, though the rum isn’t significantly apparent. There’s even a Cereal Milk flavour.

Also tried the croissants – Croque Monsieur and Mini Almond – flakey and delightful, each mouthful is calorie-worthy, making you with there was more to go around.

In true French pursuit, there are also madeleines, brioche, tempting tarts, souffles, paris brest and other pastries to choose from. You’d be hardpressed to pinpoint a favourite as everything is so good, or pick out a fault for that matter, as chef Andy proves he is just as adept at pastries as he is in the kitchen whipping up French cuisine.  

Only thing is prices are slightly on the high side and the pastries a wee bit smaller than average. But perhaps the old adage ‘good things don’t come cheap, cheap things don’t come good’ rings true here.

Add: 940 tkt (first floor), 1, Jalan 17/38, Seksyen 17, Petaling Jaya