Malaysian Couple’s NYC Patisserie Wins Customers With Asian Kuih Muih Flavours
Seleste Tan and Mogan Anthony started Lady Wong from their home kitchen before branching out to pop-ups and opening their own patisserie in New York City.
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When you’re far away from home, you’ll long for your favourite comfort food or at least a taste of home-cooked meals.
Fortunately for those in New York City, Seleste Tan and Mogan Anthony, a couple from Malaysia started Lady Wong, a patisserie serving traditional and modern desserts in the East Village.
Based on searches online, some of the traditional “kuih muih” labelled as Asian Sweet Treats that can be found at Lady Wong include pandan layer cake, lapis sago, kuih seri muka, talam pandan, and two nian gao flavours: baked pandan rice cake and baked ube rice cake.
Since the Chinese New Year is approaching, Lady Wong currently has a range of mooncake flavours, including snow skin versions.
I always have the business plan of making our local kuih even grandeur and selling it like the French that are proud of their own patisseries.
— Januar Haikal (@Januarhaikal) December 31, 2024
Someone did it anyway! And they open their shop in NY and are being labelled as "the hottest bakery in NYC"
Kuih seri muka mendonia! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/i3Tns4CaZv
How did Lady Wong begin?
Tan and Anthony have decades of culinary experience from some of the best kitchens in the world such as Michelin-starred restaurants like Jean-Georges, Perry St., WD-50, Shangri-La, and Four Seasons.
By blending Southeast Asian influences with French pastry techniques they’ve mastered over the years, they successfully introduced delicious Asian desserts or kuih muih to New Yorkers and many visitors.
The couple first toyed with the idea of introducing Asian sweet treats during the pandemic. Their motivations largely stemmed from feeling homesick and longing for the comforting flavours of home.
They set out experimenting in their home kitchen and started small. They sold their food in small pop-ups around the city before opening a brick-and-mortar establishment in New York City.
They have gone on to open booths at the Urban Hawker food hall near iconic landmarks such as the Rockefeller Centre and Times Square.
Their passion and hard work paid off because they were quickly recognised by prestigious outlets such as The New York Times, Eater, Forbes, and Food & Wine.
In 2022, Lady Wong was also named Best Bakery by Eater NY. The patisserie continues to bring in a stream of diverse customers today and receives praise for its food and flavours.
Meanwhile, some Malaysians were delighted to see our kuih muih making waves abroad. Since our kuih muih has unmatched flavours, some people are encouraging Malaysian businesses to master making kuih instead of focusing on croissants.
Kedai ni antara yng popular di NYC, tak silap depa pun ada buat kek dan penduduk sekitar bagi feedback baik dan suka dgn dessert mereka.
— AdmarMac (@mac_adimac) December 31, 2024
our kuih muih is ssoooooo authentically pleasing ye, the taste the texture lagi lagi yg buat secara traditional lagi lah rich taste tak bawak bincang aaaaa ya Allah kalau life aku bukan focus buat buat pro lead team, aku nak buat cafe untuk kuih kita je weh https://t.co/4Wgddlzo2p
— aida ❀ (@shotofaida) December 31, 2024
Seri muka mendunia!!!
— cxingt (@cxingt) January 1, 2025
Msians gonna conquer the world culturally one cup of santan and secubit pulut at a time.
Investing in the ori post at 983 likes. https://t.co/2cA7WmFJC2
Always happy to see that our local cuisine makes waves globally. https://t.co/08h9GjKYXS
— Tang U-Liang (@uliang6482) January 1, 2025
Dear Malaysian doing business. Instead of making croissants, master buat kuih Melayu! https://t.co/6qFN1VmMKr
— Wardah Faisal (@WardahFaisal) January 2, 2025
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