In the bustling dessert scene of Klang Valley, Xiao by Crustz stands out for its delicate, innovative French-inspired pastries.
We sat down with its founder, Chef Xiao Ly to talk about her journey from a fresh graduate to a celebrated pastry chef, as well as the inspiration and milestones that shaped this beloved dessert destination.
The story began in 2011...
21-year-old Xiao Ly, having just graduated, noticed a significant void in the local culinary landscape.
"When I graduated, there really were no options for French pastries in Malaysia," Xiao Ly shares. It was this absence that sparked her ambition.
Xiao Ly took her passion into her home kitchen, starting her venture as a home baker and relying solely on Facebook and a simple website to promote her creations.
Through word-of-mouth and sheer quality, she began securing customized jobs for events like birthday parties and weddings, steadily building a reputation for crafting beautiful, memorable desserts.
A Decade of Growth
Five years into her journey, in 2016, Xiao Ly took the leap and opened her first retail store. However, the market, still unfamiliar with modern French desserts, took time to catch up.
The next great challenge arrived with the COVID-19 pandemic and MCO lockdown. Like many businesses, Xiao Ly had to pivot, focusing entirely on its online store. Contrary to expectations of a sales slump, the lockdown unexpectedly boosted their growth.
"We thought sales would take a hit, but surprisingly, they didn't. Sales actually increased, and we really built a name for ourselves during that period," Xiao Ly recalls.
The post-MCO period saw a burst of expansion and creativity. Xiao Ly branched out, opening Tanuki by Crustz, a separate concept store focusing on ice cream cakes, while her original Happy Mansion store continued to focus on classic cakes and pastries.
Xiao by Crustz: A One-Stop Sweet Sanctuary
The final chapter of this evolution unfolded two years ago when Xiao Ly made a strategic decision to unify both her ventures under one roof.
She closed both the original store and Tanuki to open this current, combined retail space - a one-stop shop offering both her celebrated cakes and her innovative ice cream cakes.
The Name and the Mascot
"The 'Xiao' is of course, derived from my own name," Xiao Ly explains the origin of the brand name. "The 'Crustz' part actually came from my old blog, which I named that way because tart was my favourite pastry back then."
And for those wondering about the mischievous creature found around the new store, the Tanuki which was the namesake of her previous ice cream cake shop has been retained as the official mascot for the combined location, adding a playful, recognizable symbol to the brand.
Japanese Zen Meets French Elegance
Xiao Ly notes that while she finds French style elegant, she is drawn to the Japanese style for its sense of fun and cuteness. This is why her desserts are primarily Japanese-style French pastry, balancing technical precision with cute aesthetics.
This fusion is apparent in the store itself, which embraces a very zen Japanese style.
In Klang Valley’s highly competitive dessert landscape, Xiao by Crustz employs a clear differentiation strategy centered on its signature look and dynamic menu.
The Signature Look
Xiao Ly's main strategy for standing out is the incorporation of cartoon faces on her cakes. This playful, recognizable style separates Xiao by Crustz from its competitors and gives the brand a distinct visual identity.
The Dynamic Menu
Xiao Ly also designs a theme for her cakes and updates the menu regularly, typically changing offerings every four to five months. She also introduces special seasonal cakes for festive periods like Chinese New Year, Mother's Day, and Christmas.
This constant introduction of new products is key not just for the business, but for Xiao Ly's personal passion. "I like trying new things and I want to continue being interested in what I do," she explains. "By changing the menu, it helps me stay excited. Otherwise, it will be so mundane."
Exploring the Soft Side of Sourdough
Xiao Ly understands the difference between her core products: cake is an indulgence, but bread is something that most Malaysians consume daily. This insight is why she has recently expanded her focus into bread and pastries.
She is already selling some bread and pastries in the store now, including savoury options to satisfy those hunger pangs, as the store does not offer hot food.
Building on this, Xiao Ly is currently diving deeper into the world of bread, focused on developing a range of sourdough using long fermentation and high hydration techniques, inspired by the Japanese approach.
She notes that Japanese consumers, like most Asians, prefer a softer texture, leading Japanese chefs to masterfully adjust the traditional European sourdough to be less chewy. This exploration aims to achieve a soft-textured sourdough that appeals to the local palate.
Her Core Values: Taste & Consistency
When sourcing ingredients, two values matter most to Xiao Ly: taste and consistency. She firmly believes that a very good chef can use normal ingredients to create products that are both creative and delightful.
Enhancing the customer experience is also paramount, especially concerning her dual offerings of gateau cakes and frozen ice cream cakes. She notes that customer education is key, ensuring her patrons know the proper way to store their cakes to maintain quality and enjoyment.
Sourcing Excellence: Marubishi's Quality Ingredients
Xiao Ly has a strong appreciation for Marubishi as one of her key suppliers, specifically because Marubishi Malaysia carries many Japanese brands and products.
While Xiao Ly sources quite a number of ingredients and equipment from Marubishi, the following items in particular stood out most to her:
Flour: Xiao Ly sources a range of Japanese flour for her bakes and plans to explore French flour as she embarks on her sourdough journey. She notes "always the best flour".
Pistachio: She notes that the MLG brand pistachio stands out for its excellent taste, bright green color and affordable pricing, being one of the cheapest in the market.
White Couverture Chocolate: She particularly pointed how our white couverture chocolate is easy to use for her decorations, noting that it is highly stable.
This cute little Camper gelato cake shown above is one of Xiao by Crustz best-selling item, featuring Marubishi's Matcha Morihan C and white chocolate for decoration.
Packaging: Xiao Ly values their packaging not just for its affordability and reasonable quantity, but for the thoughtfulness. She points out that the USP of our Package Nakazawa packaging products lie in the attention to detail, from the way the box is folded to how the customer opens it, including features like an integrated holders within.
We are sure it is not because we are interviewing her that she says all these nice things about us, but that she genuinely loves the products we supply! Proof in point in photo below:
Money-Cannot-Buy Experience
Beyond the products themselves, Xiao Ly praises Marubishi for the invaluable service of constantly bringing in good chefs for demo sessions in Malaysia.
She calls this "experience that cannot be bought with money" noting how much she has learned from the previous demo sessions.
Words of Wisdom to Aspiring Entrepreneurs
We asked Xiao Ly what advice she would give to young pastry chefs or aspiring entrepreneurs who wish to follow a similar path.
Xiao Ly stresses that attitude is everything. Her key advice is simple but profound: "Stay humble for a long time. Stay curious and always feel like you’ve got something to learn."
She also reminds new business owners that the path is rarely easy, urging them to build resilience. "Persevere even when the going gets tough to reach your goals."
This is evident in her own values. When asked where she envisions Xiao by Crustz in the next five to ten years, she said she only hopes to endure her presence in the local culinary landscape.
"I don’t intend to be just a trend item that comes and goes. I hope to be around for a long time and establish myself as a long time brand."
Xiao Ly's journey, fueled by passion, curiosity, and the resilience to adapt is a compelling example of how dedication can bake an enduring success!