Pantry’s Best — Shanghai, China

Pantry’s Best has opened two outposts in Shanghai
(Image credit: Peter Dixie)

When Illinois-native Mark Huetsch began making his grandmother’s small-batch pies and cakes for friends and family in Beijing, few would have placed bets that it would eventually turn into a sweet little empire. This year alone, Pantry’s Best has opened two outposts in Shanghai, the newest one in the basement of the swanky all-white Arabesque luxury mall, L’Avenue designed by architect Jun Aoki. While the other Pantry’s Best at K11 mall is basically a concession stall with no seating, L’Avenue offers seating and cake for shopaholics taking a break from retail therapy at Prada and Louis Vuitton upstairs. The interior design - by local firm Luk Studio - anchored by mismatched Eames-like chairs and blonde wood tables, is unapologetically frothy whimsy, but in a good way. The space opens towards the mall on three sides, with the fourth taken up by the counter display of radiantly hued cupcakes, chocolate glazed confections and other sugar-loaded treats. Rising from the centre of the room is a stylized tree, its ribbed trunks made of individual rods that float up towards a ceiling of waves that, depending on who you ask, resemble either soft-serve ice-cream or cupcake icing. Depending on the menu’s seasonality, a decadent mocha coffee cake might be found amongst a classic apple pie, a bacon and maple bourbon cupcake and a salted caramel pumpkin cake. It is all, literally, a real treat.

The basement of the swanky all-white Arabesque luxury mall, L’Avenue

(Image credit: Peter Dixie)

Mismatched Eames-like chairs and blonde wood tables

(Image credit: Peter Dixie)

The counter display of radiantly hued cupcakes, chocolate glazed confections and other sugar-loaded treats.

(Image credit: Peter Dixie)

INFORMATION

Website

ADDRESS

Second lower ground floor
L'Avenue
99 Xianxia Lu
Changning District

VIEW GOOGLE MAPS

TELEPHONE

86.21 400 831 4159

PHOTOGRAPHY

Peter Dixie

Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.