Shuu Patisserie is a Muslim-owned café which started as a small, humble pastry shop in Johor Bahru with a Korean café-inspired interior. They were known for their signature choux pastries and caneles amongst other desserts like brownies and cookies.
I didn’t have the chance to visit until recently, after they relocated and expanded to a much bigger space at Taman Abad, an area that is also home to many popular cafes. Designed like a cosy brick cottage, both the façade and interior of the café were highly aesthetic, perfect for photos.
While the café has continued to focus on pastries and desserts, they have expanded their menu offering to serve brunch. Expect western brunch dishes such as Shakshuka (RM26, SGD8.4) and Chrysanthemum Benedict (RM29.9, SGD9.7), and Chinese-inspired dishes such as Beef Butter Noodles (RM28, SGD9.1) and Shuu’s Chicken Noodle (RM26, SGD8.4).
I chose the Prawn Toast (RM25, SGD8.1) as I saw strawberry ketchup listed as an ingredient and was curious. Plump and juicy prawn farci was sandwiched between two large slices of crispy fried shokupan, then topped with a thick layer of strawberry ketchup and garnished with spring onions. The tangy-sweet strawberry ketchup paired well with the prawn farci and toast, though I felt the toast was quite greasy and “gelak” towards the end.
I really wanted to try more from the brunch menu but decided to save space for more desserts. Choosing from the different flavours of choux puff, canelé and cakes on display was too difficult – they all sounded and looked appetizing.
In the end, I had the Mango Passion Oolong Choux Puff (RM15, SGD4.9), Matcha Canele (RM12, SGD3.9) and the Christmas Special – Christmas Tree Cake (RM21, SGD6.8). In my opinion, the most well-executed dessert was the choux puff – the choux layer remained airy, thin and crisp despite my extended photo-taking under the harsh sunlight. The generous filling of mango passion oolong was not overly sour or sweet.
Though the outer crust of the Matcha Canele was harder than I expected, I loved the inner filling of gooey, bitter matcha lava. The Christmas tree cake was also fun to cut into, with layers of chocolate fudge and sponge within.
I tried both the Hot Latte (RM14, SGD4.5) and Iced Matcha Strawberry Latte (RM18, SGD5.8), which were just alright.
Though the café is still relatively new to the scene, it has been gaining traction, with queues forming at peak hours especially on the weekends. Slot this brunch spot into your next JB trip as soon as you can, before the Singaporean crowd spots this under-the-radar café.
Do take note that prices stated above have not included service charge 10% and SST 6%, and only cashless payment (via Duitnow QR code) is accepted.
203, Jln Wijaya, Taman Abad, 81100 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta’zim, Malaysia
10am – 6pm daily except Wednesdays
Foodography: A Singapore Food Blog 