Ensconced at the end of a long stretch of shop lots in Petaling Jaya’s densely-packed Taman Megah is Magnificent Park Bakery (MPB).
The eatery is a calm, cool oasis of serenity, enhanced by the olfactory bonus of dozens of baked goods packed into glass enclosures. It’s a space that offers comfort and respite from the unrelenting heat and snaking, snarling traffic outside.
In many ways, the bakery is owner Tan Boon Wy’s love letter to a neighbourhood that means a lot to him.
“MPB was inspired by my love for this neighbourhood; Taman Megah has always felt familiar to me because I used to live nearby, so it carries sentimental value. I wanted to create something meaningful here: a bakery that feels rooted in the community, not just another place to ‘drop by’, but a place people genuinely return to,” he says.
Tan is the chief executive officer of Wyld Group Asia, which owns and operates a string of eateries like the Antipodean-influenced Tapestry, speakeasy bar PS150 and coffee brand Eight Ounce Coffee.
With MPB, he was looking to fill a gap in the market for baked goods that were made well but also had the denizens of the neighbourhood engrained in its foundational whys.
“I wanted to build a bakery ecosystem that supplies consistently fresh bread for the neighbourhood, not just pastries for hype. At the same time, we want to create something special that draws people into Taman Megah because this area has so much to offer.
“Longer-term, we also hope to supply smaller cafés and communities who want quality in small batches, without having to hit big suppliers,” says Tan.
MPB occupies a space that was once a bank and Tan says one of the challenges of converting the lot into a restaurant was that the bank vault literally had to be torn down to make room for the bakery.
At MPB, the focus is on hand-crafted sourdough breads, croissants and other baked treats that infuse local flavours and ingredients in thoughtful, considered ways. The eatery has a range of mainstays as well as fun, festive offerings designed to imbibe the spirit of festivals and celebrations, like the upcoming Chinese New Year.
Coffee is also available, courtesy of Eight Ounce Coffee.
“My focus with MPB from the very start, has been on creative daily bakes that reintroduce classics, not overly trendy, but always thoughtful – with local touches that feel familiar and exciting.
“Technically, our edge is the craft: we lean deeply into French baking techniques, then weave in Asian ingredients in a way that feels balanced, not gimmicky,” says Tan.
There is so much to choose from at MPB, but if you’re here for lunch, try some of the hot items on the menu. It’s a sparse, lean menu but one that has been designed with thought.
Of what’s on offer, the Ronald Croger (RM25) is a stand-out. Here, the burger bun is fashioned out of a croissant (hence the moniker “croger” for croissant-burger) and this is accentuated by a homemade chicken patty, cheddar, sunny side up egg and a spicy tomato mayonnaise.
There are so many high points in this sensory experience – from the crisp, yet yielding bite of the croger to the tenderness of the chicken, the richness of the cheese and a hint of cream and fire from the spicy tomato mayo. All these seemingly disparate ingredients collude together to form a dream team – sort of like when all the superheroes from the Marvel universe come together.
As a result, you’ll experience flavour bomb upon flavour bomb from the very first mouthful.
Another lunch option worth your time? The Salt Beef Cheese Melt (RM33) which as its name implies, features house-made salt beef, pickled kyuri (Japanese cucumber), cheddar, onion confit and a spicy aioli between toasted sourdough bread.
The homemade sourdough bread has a firm structure that yields easily upon contact with your mouth, while the salt beef is tender and perfectly seasoned.
The cheese meanwhile is suitably melty and gooey while the pickled kyuri is a crunchy, acerbic treat. This is a sandwich that is thoughtfully-constructed, indulgent and begs repeated eats.
From the viennoiserie selection – there is so much to choose from that your biggest headache will be making the decision of what to eat. Of what’s on offer, look at sampling the Chrysanthemum Pear Danish (RM18) which is a festive treat designed for Chinese New Year.
The pastry is buttery and flaky to the touch and the chrysanthemum ganache and poached pears add a nostalgic Oriental slant to the meal that gives it a refreshing new twist that plays on tradition without going overboard.
More festive treats abound in the form of the Oolong Chocolate Tart (RM15) which juxtaposes roasted Oolong caramel and dark chocolate ganache against the backdrop of a brittle, dextrous tart base.
The tart base is honestly textbook material – the perfect buttery bite and push-pull factor. The roasted Oolong caramel features hints of Oolong undulating gently throughout, like a boat bobbing on the sea.
This is paired with a potent chocolate ganache that has power flooding through its veins. It’s a very good match – sort of an east Asian version of salted caramel and chocolate that delivers on premise and promise.
For more eastern offerings, try the Chinese New Year special Tang Yuan Escargot (RM13) which is so named because it is shaped like a snail.
Here, black sesame paste and mochi are wound around flaky pastry in what draws the mind to simple staples at Chinese stalls – but executed around a European pastry base.
Classic options also abound in the form of the Miso Chocolate Swirl (RM17) which highlights both miso and chocolate aboard a croissant shaped like a cookie.
This is a lovely interlude of two seemingly contradictory ingredients that actually seem to have a genuinely good relationship with each other.
Here, the chocolate is rich, dense and dark and this intersects beautifully with the smoky umami notes of the miso, which add depth and mystique to this little pastry, which is itself flaky, crisp and enticingly indulgent.
MPB also has a smorgasbord of cakes: try the Pineapple Upside Down Cake (RM18 per slice). Here, a vanilla butter cake is interwoven with fresh pineapple slices and topped with a caramel and coffee mousseline cream.
It’s one of the loveliest things to emerge out of this bakery – a dense cake that is moist, packed with the fruity tropical overtures of pineapple and cleverly balanced against a coffee cream that sluices through the richness of this sweet treat.
Moving forward, Tan says while there are currently no firm plans to expand MPB’s footprint, he isn’t negating the prospect that it might happen in the future.
“Right now, our focus is on producing meaningful seasonal products and educating and exciting our customers’ palates.
“But we’re always open to opportunities, so who knows what’s ahead – we could be coming to your neighbourhood next,” says Tan.
