HAVE you visited the exotic bakery on Buttermarket Street where you can buy fresh oysters from France, live crabs and razor fish?

Grand Patisserie UK first opened in town centre in September 2022, selling delicious fresh authentic Asian cakes and desserts.

Owners Cheryl Chan and Jeremy Au moved from Hong Kong to Warrington to start a new life just over a year ago.

Warrington Guardian: Owner Cheryl Chan still makes fresh cakes for all occasionsOwner Cheryl Chan still makes fresh cakes for all occasions (Image: Dave Gillespie)
As their charming bakery enters its second year on the high street, with the sad closure of the Hong Kong Superstore based in Cockhedge, Cheryl said they decided it was important for somewhere to continue supplying the native foods they know and love.

The owners decided this year to begin bringing in traditional Asian foods into the shop to sell, with a range of produce varying from Honk Kong, Japanese, Malaysian and Korean.

“We decided because of the demand for Asian food we would start to sell some. We kept increasing the variety of foods and built up more and more stock,” Cheryl said.

Warrington Guardian: The shop has a great selection of different Asian foods The shop has a great selection of different Asian foods (Image: Newsquest)
While Grand Patisserie still sell professionally-made birthday cakes as they did originally, these are no longer on display in the shop and are made to order – you can visit their website.

The cakes are made bespoke and all they ask is for a couple of reference pictures to be provided prior to making it.

Stocking a wide variety of foods, each shelf varies from flavoured packet noodles to hot, sweet and sour sauces, authentic snacks and even make-your-own sushi kits which Cheryl explained how easy it was to make.

Warrington Guardian: Cheryl has now taught her daughter how to make sushi from the make-your-own kits she sells in the shopCheryl has now taught her daughter how to make sushi from the make-your-own kits she sells in the shop (Image: Cheryl Chan)
“Here it is not very easy to find a lot of Asian foods,” Cheryl said, “So we want people to be able to make things at home and for people to feel at home with these foods.”

Freezers in the shop are also stocked with delights, including frozen seafood, with likes of squid, octopus, shrimp and more.

“We have a supplier in the UK who imports them from different areas all over the world,” she added.

Warrington Guardian: They have a fresh fish counter and a separate counter with oysters imported from France and IcelandThey have a fresh fish counter and a separate counter with oysters imported from France and Iceland (Image: Newsquest)
Amongst the varying produce in the shop also lies the live produce by the counter. This includes live crabs and razor fish straight from the water.

And if you are a lover of oysters, you can purchase fresh ones imported straight from France and Iceland too – if you ask at the counter someone can open them for you.

The smaller ones are priced at £1.40 and the larger priced at £2 per oyster.

Warrington Guardian: More uniquely they sell live crabMore uniquely they sell live crab (Image: Newsquest)
Formerly a teacher in Hong Kong and a trained baker, Cheryl moved to Warrington with her partner Jeremy and their eight-year-old daughter.

She said since buying in stock to make sushi for the shop, her daughter has enjoyed learning how to make sushi rolls – something she said is a great activity for parents with young children and is really easy to do.

“We would love some more locals to come in and enjoy the different foods we sell. The sushi is great to make with your children and a lot of people in the UK do enjoy eating out at Asian restaurants, but it can be so expensive, instead you can buy the ingredients here to make it yourself at home.”

Warrington Guardian: Plenty of frozen goods including dumplings, seafood and Chinese new year cakesPlenty of frozen goods including dumplings, seafood and Chinese new year cakes (Image: Newsquest)

The 35-year-old hopes to see more residents of Warrington enter the shop and said she is happy to help assist in recipes or tips on how to make some of their delicious homeland dishes.

A hit with locals however has been to purchase the TikTok famous spicy noodles Buldak-bokkeum-myeon that are a trending challenge on the popular app currently and can be purchased in the shop.

Warrington Guardian: They also sell fresh fruit and vegetablesThey also sell fresh fruit and vegetables (Image: Newsquest)
Lastly but ironically the first thing you are greeted by when you enter the shop is their collection of fresh fruit and veg originating from different part of Asia.

These include mooli, used to make the traditional Chinese New Year pudding Taro, bitter lemon, pak choi and a range of different types of mushrooms.

Grand Patisserie is open from Monday to Saturday 11am to 6pm and Sunday 11pm to 4pm.