The nostalgic bakery is back to butter you up with irresistible French pastries.
It’s the comeback of the decade. After abruptly ghosting on everyone back in 2016, the French bakery Delifrance has quietly returned to Malaysia. Whereas before they had over twenty locations across the country, Delifrance (for now) has only their singular flagship store, located at the Publika Shopping Gallery.
Ambience & Amenities
Delifrance knows what we all want to see. Rows of freshly prepared pastries, sweets and sandwiches lay temptingly in food cabinets set up in the windows. On the way to the entrance, there is a long, large window that peeks into their bakery kitchen where you can nosily watch the pastry chefs kneading dough and sticking them into the giant ovens.
Inside, there are a couple of cool circular booths if you keep walking straight from the entrance. These will likely be the hottest seat in the house and will be constantly occupied. The European cafe vibe is well replicated with spaciousness, lots of faux brick, and simple wooden tables and chairs.
The outside patio is just as pleasant. It is the same tables out here as inside, with the addition of a few bar-style tables. If you get a spot right at the edge, you’ll have a view of the Publika courtyard below or the Petronas Towers if you’re facing the right way. There are also blinds that you can draw to hide from the sun if you’re sitting at one of these tables by the railing.
Delifrance does have an in-house toilet in the back corner on the left when you walk in.
Menu
In case you don’t already know what you want from ogling the food cabinets, the Delifrance menu will be available via a QR code on a podium out front. While this menu does advertise certain promos that are not obvious anywhere else, not everything is listed on their menu. For example, there were at least five different danishes available on this day, but none were mentioned on the menu. If you’re looking for lunch food like sandwiches and pasta, the menu is better for making your choice. If you’re just looking for coffee and a pastry, browse the food cabinets so that you can get a full sense of what’s available.
Food
We ordered a hot Americano (RM10) and Cappuccino (RM10) to pair with our pastries. I’m a coffee noob so I can’t critique the drinks in great detail. RM10 for a cappuccino is a decent price though, considering many of the other big chains price theirs at RM12 and above. The cappuccino tasted nice – it was not too bitter, and didn’t need any additional sweetener. I don’t know what good Americanos taste like, but Mark drinks it regularly, and he thought Delifrance’s brew was average.
The Pineapple Tropica Danish (RM9) is not as flaky as a croissant but easier to eat. This had a good ratio of fruit to bread. The large pineapple ring occupies decent acreage so that you only have to take one bite until you get to the sweet fruit.
The Pain Au Chocolat (RM8) was fluffy and just the right flakiness, but we need to talk about just how much chocolate is in this. This is pretty much a plain croissant for 95% of it. Only when you’ve eaten to the middle will you finally get these two short tubes of chocolate baked in. This amount of chocolate apparently costs RM1.50 more than a regular butter croissant. Total bullshit. Delifrance needs to up the “chocolat” in this pain au chocolat, even if it was with a chocolate drizzle on top or something.
Saturday Worthy?
Not many cafes offer croissants, and when they do, they’re too dry, too moist or too small. The coffee is forgettable, but Delifrance does have great tasting authentic French pastries. I wouldn’t call it cheap, but the portions are reasonable. There is such a wide variety that I’ll be coming back to Delifrance when I’m craving an afternoon sweet.
Price for 2 Pax: RM 37.00
Cappucino (Hot): RM10.00
Americano (Hot): RM10.00
Pain Au Chocolat: RM8.00
Pineapple Tropica Danish: RM9.00
Delifrance Malaysia
Lot G3-30 & 31, Block C5 Level G3 (upper floor in the corner, above The Social), Publika Shopping Gallery, Solaris Dutamas, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: Daily, 8am – 8pm
Alcohol Served: No
