?This is seriously the best quiche I?ve ever tasted.?
?Yep, followed by number two and three right here.?
My lunch companions have it right! We struck the jackpot when we wandered into Exquise Patisserie, just off the main street in Freo, and ordered up a table full of treats. The pastry is just delightful ? crisp, light and fluffy all at once. You can taste that it’s been made with the good stuff: real butter in the hands of someone who knows what they?re doing. This is confirmed as soon as I sit down to chat with Esther Duan, the proud owner of Exquise. A commitment to making everything by hand, from the best ingredients she can find, sits at the heart of Exquise.
Before she migrated from China to Perth in 2007, Esther had very little to do with bread or pastries. Discovering a new passion immediately upon her arrival here, she began to study baking in Perth. However, she quickly worked out that 12am starts didn’t sit too well with her and so she decided to double down on the pastry side of things! After heading to Sydney to study pastry-making further by honing her craft at the well-regarded Sweetness Patisserie, Esther decided to bring what she?d learned back to Perth. There was a hole that needed to be filled: she decided to provide the best specialty cakes, pastries and handmade confectionary around.
Back at the table, the sweets and the coffee were starting to flow. Esther certainly hasn’t neglected the coffee side of things either, choosing a two group Synesso and Mazzer set up to pump out the brews. The Harvest Blend tasted clean and sweet with milk, the perfect accompaniment to the Almond Croissant (a sheer delight made only with ?homemade almond cream, marzipan is too sweet.?) We also tried a coffee cheesecake and a chocolate soufflé; the latter would be at home in any of Perth?s top restaurants. The final treat was a bag of marshmallows in different flavours such as passion fruit ? they were all delicious!
Am I impressed with Exquise? Yes. Am I gushing a little? Yes. There’s a lot of potential here, and I reckon you should get in before they start selling out. Esther is also planning to expand her retail and wholesale side, with a website coming this year to handle orders for parties and events. Oh, and if you’re curious about that no.1 quiche? Leek and Bacon.
Exquise Patisserie
Shop 16, South Terrace Piazza, 26-36 South Terrace
Fremantle WA 6160
Opening hours
Monday — Wednesday 7.30am — 9:00pm
Thursday — Saturday 7.30am — 10:00pm,
Sunday 7.30am — 9:00pm
facebook.com/pages/Exquise-Patisserie
© Photos provided with permission by Matt O’Donohue from Abstract Gourmet. All rights reserved by photographer
