Bread

Like the rest of Gokoku’s mochi mochi buns, this bread is characteristically chewy, but not exactly mochi. I like how the bun is largely plain yet tasty, with faint bursts of sweetness from the bits of figs.

Anyone who loves matcha must try this. Like the regular shichifuku bun, this is a chewy springy bun with grains in it, but elevated with the earthy taste of matcha infused into the dough. It’s not sweet, and neither is it bitter. It’s huge, but not overly filling, and tastes healthy as it doesn’t have any unhealthy fillings in it. One of the best matcha buns around.

I’m not sure how this bread is more “mochi” than the other Gokoku buns. It has the distinctive Gokoku chewiness, but so do the other Gokoku buns. I like the chewiness, and I loved how every bite of bun came with a few pieces of juicy cranberries. It’s great both at room temperature and toasted.

This is a soft bread with a thick chewy crust, studded with blueberries. I enjoyed the bread, though I prefer the green tea one more.

A new flavour in this year’s line-up of Cedele’s hot cross buns, this is a different creature from the other hot cross buns, being denser and with a dough that is swirled upon itself. It’s the decadent cousin of the others, with a chocolate pistachio paste smeared between the swirls. I couldn’t really taste the pistachio, but the chocolate was of just the right proportion to the dough to create a sweet but not overly rich treat.

This is my favourite item from Asanoya and I eat it every 1-2 weeks. The bread, raisins, chocolate bite and custard mix together for a delicious treat, and when heated up it gives me a warm hug in my belly. There is also a chocolate bread pudding which is sweeter and more decadent, and just as delicious.

This is a soft and fluffy bread with a nice, thick, chewy, slightly burnt (in a good way) crust. The matcha taste is subtle but fragrant, and I liked how the white chocolate isn’t in chunks but is instead mixed into the dough, so the taste is again subtle instead of being overly sweet.

My only gripe with this is the size. It’s too huge for breakfast, but half a slice is too small. It’s a very minor issue but it’s because of the size that I have not bought this for 3 years despite loving it and passing by the store every day.

Smooth kaya encased in soft, fluffy bread, with a good bread-to-filling ratio (neither too little nor too much). What I liked most about this was the mini bun size which allows for customisation. For breakfast, eat 3 or 4. The division of fillings into mini buns avoids the problem of having all the kaya at one corner and all the dough at the other. For fellow bread-lovers who want to snack on bread throughout the day without the calories that comes with a big bun, eat 1 or 2. The buns come with many other options for fillings too.

Studded with raisins and gently spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, this soft hot cross bun goes perfectly with a hot drink for breakfast or tea.

Found this neighbourhood bakery selling small buns for $0.50 and big buns for $1. Love the old school feel of this bakery, where all the buns look the same, no special colours or toppings on top, and all are soft and give you exactly what you expect, all at an amazing price.

From the appearance of the bagel I thought it would be nice on it's own, but it came short of my expectations. Rather oily, not much cheesiness, and generally rather bland.

Studded with wolf berries and dried longans, this brilliantly coloured mantou is a good option if you want something less sweet. Unlike some of the other mantous, this one doesn't have any filling, but is instead soft bread dough with bits of sweetness in each bite. I liked it a lot. Ask for one of the ready-steamed ones if you're eating it on the spot.