First Look: Japandi Bakery Bloomwood Opens a Second Space With Everyday Pastries

When Bloomwood burst onto Melbourne’s cafe scene in 2024, it quickly became a destination for its Asian-influenced viennoiseries. So far, the team has dreamt up inventions like Korean-corn-cheese danishes, pandan pain suisse, and a limited-edition pastry that echoes Chinese tangyuan (sweet rice balls) with mochi, black-sesame custard and ginger-and-sesame cream – all served alongside a menu of specialty matcha and coffee drinks. 

“We’ve definitely hit a capacity ceiling [on Exhibition Street],” says co-owner Brian Taing. “We often hear from people working on this side of the city who want to visit more regularly, but by the time they travel over and grab something, their break is basically over.”

So, on April 13, Bloomwood opened a second location, at Bourke Street’s Galleria. The new space retains the original’s Japandi-influenced interior design, while a roomier outdoor seating area is decked out with wooden benches and modular chairs. 

Head baker Max Loh, who previously led the kitchen at Bakemono and did a stint as senior chef-de-partie at the acclaimed Logan Brown in Wellington, New Zealand, will be pushing the menu towards “items that are more easily paired with daily coffees”, Taing says. “You can’t really have one of our Dubai chocolate flower [danishes] every day, you know?”  

The majority of Bloomwood’s customers are office workers looking for simple pick-me-ups. Buttery shio pan fits the bill; Bloomwood’s is made with salted butter and a super-crisp bottom. The newest addition comes plain and in rotating specials at both stores. Salted egg yolk, ube, garlic cream cheese, mentaiko (cod roe) and Hokkaido milk are all on the cards for the latter. 

The revamped menu also includes a range of croissants and scrolls that draws from quintessential grab-and-go fare: toasties and bagels. Expect triple-smoked ham, bechamel, cheddar and wholegrain mustard rolled into ham-and-cheese croissants, and a latticed “pain au Reuben” filled with thinly sliced brisket pastrami, kraut, pickles and a secret sauce that’s “a cross between Russian dressing and Big Mac sauce”, Loh says. 

Plus, a new five-grain scroll inspired by everything bagel seasoning, finished with honey, sea salt and whipped goat’s cheese. Two scrolls – a maple-glazed version layered with house-made cinnamon butter, then a savoury one with truffle-infused spinach and duxelles mix folded in – were added to Bloomwood’s rotation six months ago, and Taing says that they’ve been selling out almost every day. These might look like your traditional fluffy rolls, but they’re made with laminated croissant dough that bakes into crunchy spirals.  

As his croissant dough takes centrestage, Loh is constantly tweaking the recipe. The latest update – an extra layer of dough, added post-lamination, for better texture and shine – results in a golden crescent with rich chestnut-brown streaks running through it.

It’s not all savoury. The details are still being ironed out, but the team is toying with flavours like pandan brûlée (in danish or flan form), blueberry crumble and a banana-pudding matcha.

Bloomwood
385 Bourke Street, Melbourne

Hours:
Mon to Fri 7am–5pm
Sat & Sun 8am–4pm

@bloomwoodmelbourne