Pourquoi Pas Patisserie Shares the Local Love in Coquitlam and Beyond

It’s not hard to find fresh, made-in-house French-inspired pastries in Coquitlam if you know where to look. Tucked away in a little plaza on Lansdowne Drive, Pourquoi Pas Patisserie sells quality coffee and baked goods. After moving to Vancouver from Montreal in 2018, owner and chef Annie Chang made the career switch from finance to pastry arts, inspired by childhood memories of eating pastries every weekend with her family. And what began as a self-taught passion evolved into formal pastry studies at Vancouver Community College and eventually opening her own business in Coquitlam in 2022. Here, Chang shares some favourites from her shop and recommendations around the area.

What was it like starting your business?

We opened our little shop in December on like the snowiest day of the year. We opened quite secretly; we put the word out by putting a sign on the glass door. We’re kind of tucked away in a little plaza, so you can’t really see us from the road. But people who lived around the area would come into the plaza and stop by, so we let our growth organically spread.

Throughout the two and a half years, we’ve been able to meet so many people and we have a bunch of regulars. We don’t just care about the quality of our pastries and drinks, but also our team. As the owner and chef, it’s really important to me that we keep that community and family vibe. So, yeah, we’re like a little family.

What are some of your favourite pastries that you make?

We do both entremet cakes and pastries. One of my personal favourite croissant flavours is our coconut caramel apricot danish. Then one of our most popular croissants is our French onion pull-apart, which is a savoury croissant. On the cake side, I would say the raspberry dark chocolate is one of my favourites, and so is our hazelnut roasted banana choux (it’s like a cream puff), which is also really popular.

Whether it’s a baked good or a drink, what’s something you’d recommend people try from your shop?

They should try our maple sea salt latte! It’s a nice balance between savoury and sweet. We also, in general, pride ourselves on how well we balance flavours. Nothing is overly sweet—and that applies to our drinks, pastries and cakes. Everything is made from scratch and we don’t add any extra sweetness or sugar; we really let the ingredients shine as they are.

We also have really nice canelés. It’s a vanilla rum cake from Bordeaux, France, and we do it the traditional way. We use the real copper moulds, so it’s crispy on the outside and very custardy and gooey on the inside. As for cakes, the mango coconut cake is really popular.

Aside from your own shop, do you have a favourite cafe or coffee spot?

Our coffee roaster, Honest to Pete, is based out in Kitsilano. They work out of a small studio that’s a shared space with other artists in the community, and they actually serve coffee there. So whenever I’m in Vancouver, I always visit and support them by buying coffee from Pete. We have a very good relationship with them, and we get fresh beans from them. My husband goes and picks them up every week.

What’s something delicious that you’ve eaten recently? It could be from a restaurant, a recipe, etc.

Recently, we went to Henry’s Kitchen in Port Moody. It’s a small business as well, run by the chef and his wife. They’ve been there for a long time, and you have to make a reservation to go, so they do fine dining. I went there with my husband to try it out, and it was really nice. We went because our son’s name is Henry.

Do you have any local grocers or markets that you like to shop at?

I like to go to farmers’ markets whenever I can. But I go to Pomme Natural Market in Coquitlam. It’s like a health food grocery store.

If you’re shopping locally to buy a gift, where are you going?

I like supporting local ceramicists. Port Moody has an open warehouse where they have events, and they invite pop-up vendors and small businesses to showcase their art or items. They even have some food trucks that come as well. Usually I’ll just find ceramics, either a really nice mug or a set of dessert plates.

When you’re not at work, where are you going to unwind (aside from being at home)?

I spend so much time at the shop that I don’t often get to enjoy that much quality time at home. But I really like walking around, or going for a stroll. There are so many good trails around Coquitlam, especially near Burke Mountain. Even around Lafarge Lake, there is a really popular lake trail and recreation area where I love walking with my dog, my son and my husband.