Nos Bakehouse, a Cafe Specialising in Shokupan and Japanese Cakes, Opens in Dutton Park

Brisbane is a city that loves a baked good. From the endless lines outside Christian Jacques every morning to the expansion of Agnes Bakery and two Lune locations, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to bread and pastries.

With an established and growing Asian community, it makes sense that Asian cafes and bakeries are emerging as popular – just look at the cult status of Korean cafe Snug; Runcorn’s Mountain River Patisserie; and the Japanese desserts coming out of venues like Sonder and Supernova.

“After Covid-19, a lot of Aussies have been travelling, especially to Japan and Korea, so they’re more open-minded to Asian foods and [they’re] very welcoming. And it’s very trendy right now,” says Susan Koh, owner and chef at Brisbane’s newbie, Nos. The bakehouse is a culmination of Koh’s decade of pastry experience (Cakes by Judy, Florence cafe). She’s narrowed down her focus to just one thing: shokupan (Japanese milk bread), which she bakes fresh every day because “it has a short life span as it doesn’t have any preservatives”.

You can purchase loaves of the bread in-store, but its main role is as a vessel for a line-up of sandwich fillings: beef bulgogi, prawn cocktail, tuna mayo and more. Koh also experimented with a vegan shokupan for the teriyaki tofu and paprika mushroom sandos. All of these sandos can be turned into a bento box complete with a sesame dressed salad, tamagoyaki and miso soup.

Koh is committed to making everything in-house. She’s expanded the kitchen and put in two ovens to fit its bakehouse billing. “Usually, cafes will focus on coffee and savoury [dishes] and they’ll buy in pastries and cakes. I want to balance out all these areas,” Koh says. “It’s good to support local Aussie farmers. We buy everything fresh and we make everything from scratch. It’s really labour-intensive, but it’s better than buying commercial [products] because at least you’re able to fine-tune the taste to what you want.”

The only thing they buy in is their plain croissants, which are from Danny’s Bread. For sweets, they have a yuzu cheesecake with sugar brûléed-to-order, banoffee tart, twice-baked chocolate cake and a purple potato Basque cheesecake with vanilla cream. There’s also milk pudding and French toast.

Nos’s no-frills coffee selection is made with beans from Five Senses in Melbourne. Ceremonial-grade matcha is flown in from Kyoto and can be paired with a three-berry puree or lavender foam.

Nos Bakehouse & Cafe
109 Annerley Road, Dutton Park
No phone

Hours:
Mon closed
Tues to Sun 7am–2.30pm

@nos.bakehouse