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