Trincy Teoh, owner of Kiara Cakes in Mont Kiara shares with The Yum List the story behind the opening along with some challenges and successes along the way.
What made you want to open a dessert shop?
Kiara Cakes is my second food and beverage venture. Personally, I went through a lot of thought and process and realised that I love eating a myriad of desserts and spent a lot of time exploring places that have them. Kiara Cakes had been in the pipeline for two years. Finally, a nice and serene location came along and we opened.
Share with us an interesting story from behind the scenes.
The most interesting part of our story was during planning. We had a few business partners and presented our ideas and proposal but things nothing materialised. The latest one bailed on us once we had our deposit down for the premise. Lucky enough there was an angel investor that came to the rescue. We have accepted this as part and parcel of business. You need believers more than investors, maybe these are the recipes of success.
What’s the best/ worst part of your job?
The worst part of the job is recruitment; getting right-minded people to fit into our small humble place. I think a lot of crew would think I am a control freak, but I believe that the founders should be hands-on to ensure the guests are experiencing the type of service we want and that is also the hardest part of the job.
The best part of the job is putting smiles on people’s faces. Our aspiration is hoping to provide happiness to our guests. One wise man told me that any person who steps into our establishment should be welcomed and engaged just as if they were guests in your own home.
What’s your favourite dessert in Kiara Cakes?
There are too many! My preferences are always well-balanced in sweetness. To me, more sugar means the masking of good flavours.
Approximately how many types of cakes and pastries do you display each day?
Around 20 to 30 types of sweet and savoury items.
What is the most challenging situation to date?
Catering to different palates. Some people prefer gluten-free. Some prefer savoury items. In time, we hope to be able to cater to most of our guests’ preferences. For now, we do have an array of gluten-free items. Knowing your guests well is a bonus!
So what are your best-sellers so far?
Strawberry lychee rose cloud cake, salted caramel cookie crumble cake and the pandan gula Melaka cake! We were surprised that so many patrons prefer more localised flavours.
The perfect day off would be…
Wishing we had more off days!
What’s something you’d like guests to know about Kiara Cakes?
That we are a cake shop that is not just focusing on cakes and pastries but we also do care about our coffee. I believe that different cakes can pair with different coffees or teas to bring you different experiences. For instance, cheesecake pairs well with hot long black. Dark chocolate cake goes well with a cup of latte or earl grey tea.
We would also like our guests to know that we rotate our cakes to keep things exciting and so that guests always have something new to look forward to. Same goes for our coffee selection.
We provide delivery services for our cakes, pastries, drinks and even food via GrabFood.
We provide space for parties, workshops or any events.
So far, the misconception about Kiara Cakes is that we have a hot kitchen. Which sadly, we don’t.
What’s in store for you in the upcoming months?
We are in the midst of adding more savoury items to our selection. As of now, we have more sweets than savoury.
Check out some of Trincy Teoh’s sweet offerings at Kiara Cakes here and find more stories of people in the food and beverage industry here.
Yes, from what I’ve heard, even here too, recruitment is a problem. Most are not willing to work hard, no long hours and lack initiative, dedication and everything.
Sounds like a great place to me wish it was a little closer!! Have a happy week, Cheers Diane
She definitely is in the right mindset when it comes to operating a small business and being hands-on. Here’s to continued success.
Good job!