For award-winning pastry chef Thomas Lui, the hard work he put into opening his own patisserie was rewarded when he made a beautiful cake for a young girl who, due to allergies, had never tasted one before.
'The little girl was around seven, and she was eagerly eyeing the cakes in our display case,' says the executive chef and proprietor of couture cake shop Thomas Trillion, which opened in Tin Hau last October.
'But her parents were standing behind her, anxiously hoping she wouldn't be tempted.'
The girl was allergic to eggs and nuts, and had never tasted a cake in her life. So Lui offered to create a cake that was free of these ingredients.
'When I saw this happy girl picking up her birthday cake ... it was very rewarding for me,' he says.
Thomas Trillion is one of a growing number of bakeries in town crafting 'couture cakes' that place an emphasis on quality ingredients and presentation but have their own unique tastes and techniques. These 'bespoke bakeries' pride themselves on their signature creations and aim to up the ante in a competitive market by taking their confections to a new level.
Others looking for a piece of the cake action are the JC Group, which opened its Carousel Fine Cakes and Pastries in November, and Bonnie Gokson's Ms B's Cakery, which opens next month.
