New bakery Bloomwood on Exhibition Street serves classic pastries including pain au chocolat and plain croissants. But the Asian-influenced viennoiserie are what make it a truly exciting addition to Melbourne’s bustling pastry scene.

“Part of our pastry menu is curated to celebrate flavours from our heritage that we grew up with,” Brian Taing (Foc, Sloppy Joe’s Deli), who co-owns the bakery with Joe La and Darren Nguyen, tells Broadsheet.

Head pastry chef Aram Yun – whose resume spans Kudo, Nobu Melbourne and Chin Chin – has created a danish version of corn cheese, a common Korean side made with canned corn and melted cheese. Charred corn is paired with parmesan and smoked paprika before it’s baked on top of laminated pastry.

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Head baker Didiet Radityawan, who’s had stints at Cobb Lane, Antara 128 and Penny for Pound, developed the pain suisse dadar gulung – a take on the pandan crepes filled with shredded coconut and palm sugar and rolled into a cigar. It’s made with pandan curd and caramelised coconut and Radityawan says, “It reminds me of my childhood outings [in Indonesia] with my mum, when she would take me to the markets to get dadar gulung as a treat.”

Khloe Liau, a former Via Porta chef who now works under Yun, created Bloomwood’s coco taro flower danish. The taro milk tea-inspired pastry features taro curd baked into laminated pastry and topped with coconut cream jelly and ube mascarpone cream piped in the shape of a flower.

Other creations include a matcha castella (Japanese sponge cake); a mochi flan danish; an ichigo matcha croissant, inspired by a strawberry matcha latte and developed by pastry chef Michael Tran; and a pistachio kataifi croissant, inspired by the viral chocolate bar from Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai.

House-baked focaccia pizzas are available during lunchtime, and you’ll find toppings familiar from the sangas at Taing’s Sloppy Joe’s including pepperoni and hot honey; mortadella, provolone and pickled red onions; and truffle mushroom with stracciatella.

Specialty drinks, including coconut iced matchas and citrus cold brews, have been brought over from the deli. But at Bloomwood there’s the option to turn any drink into a “Bloom-tini”, which means it comes garnished with three baby croissants on a skewer.

The bakery’s name is a nod to its interiors, which feature a lot of light wood and are designed to bring a sense of calm. “We wanted a light-filled space that is warm and welcoming like some of our favourite cafes and pastry shops across Japan,” Taing says of the venue designed by Deepdene-based studio Hacsan Design and largely inspired by Japandi design.

Across Bloomwood’s two floors you’ll find white stone pebbles at the base of the benches, timber panelling, circular paper lantern ceiling lamps, and custom noren curtains separating the dining area on the top floor from the back-of-house.

Bloomwood
121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne
No phone

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

@bloomwoodmelbourne