Have been noticing Yunma Bakehouse in the works for quite a while when passing by Purvis Street — these folks have had quite a long stint of renovation works before its soft launch where they had only been opened for weekends; with all that being said, these folks had finally opened their doors to patrons on weekdays as well. Yunma Bakehouse is located in the very same shophouse that houses Tanoke — Yunma Bakehouse takes up the space of the ground floor of the shophouse. Inside, the cafe is decked in a manner that is very similar to some Chinese-owned dining establishments that features a raw yet minimalistic and close-to-nature look that is soothing to the eyes — free from unnecessary clutter, and welcoming whilst being aptly lit with lighting of a slightly yellow hue. As one would have caught from the namesake of the establishment, Yunma Bakehouse is pretty a bakery — all of its offerings are prominently displayed in both the display fridges and the display cases at the front of the shop; the former would be where the cakes are being stocked while the latter is where one would find the various Focaccia, buns and even entire loaves for retail. Beverages offered at Yunma Bakehouse seem to revolve around espresso-based specialty coffee and canned drinks; the former of which seemingly being brewed using beans sourced from Guerilla Coffee.

We visited Yunma Bakehouse during weekday lunch hours and there is a small variety of bread and cakes already on display in the display case and display fridge; the Garlic Cheese Shio Pan was the only Shio Pan offering that we had found inside the display case until a subsequent batch of Shio Pan offering of another variety was being stocked in the middle of our meal. For those whom are unaware, Shio Pan can be translated as Japanese Salt Bread; while Yunma does not provide any description about its offerings on its description cards placed in front of the items in the display case / fridge, it can be observed that the Garlic Cheese Shio Pan does come with minced garlic topping the Japanese Salt Bread. Taking a bite into the Garlic Cheese Shio Pan, what we really liked is that crusted bottom that comes crackling crisp — definitely hit the right spot there for us. The bread comes served warm and toasted upon order — the hint of garlic immediately hits with the buttery flavours and saltish notes of the Shio Pan itself. The inclusion of cheese here isn’t the stringy, melted and gooey sort, but is the type that comes baked on the surface of the bread — just about right considering how flavourful the Garlic Cheese Shio Pan is already by itself, while the bread still remains light with a firm bite for some tension to chew apart. At $4, this does present itself as a pretty reasonably-priced snack for those looking for something light to have to pair along with a cuppa on the side!