Motte Bakery

Growing up on Réunion Island, Olivier Chan Chan was the kid with the most impressive birthday cakes. His Chinese-born grandfather was a self-taught baker, as are his father and brother. After a 15-year career in accounting, Chan Chan rose to the family legacy and started Motte as a lockdown project, making and delivering sourdough and baked goods to the western suburbs.

Naturally, the family brains trust came in handy. Chan Chan mastered his skills over regular Facetimes with his father. Those calls manifested in an offering that celebrates his Chinese heritage, upbringing in Réunion and decades in Melbourne. Chan Chan has mastered classics like almond croissants and cinnamon scrolls. But his skills really shine through in the ube cookie (made from vibrant purple yams), the pandan and coconut cake, and the reinvented yuzu Basque cheesecake.

Motte also offers made-to-order buttermilk dark chocolate banana bread, and traditional strawberry sponge cake sprinkled with sea salt and mascarpone. There are a few small rounded chairs out the front, but it’s mostly takeaway here. Pair your canelés or stewed-apple cream buns with a hot coffee, and see why Motte is one of the west’s best-kept secrets.