2 in 1 Japanese Bakery, Gold Coast

2 in 1 Japanese Bakery

Robina, Gold Coast

I have two pet hates, the first… food franchises, the second… food courts. So how is it that I am eating from a franchise in a food court? The answer is, my curiosity got the better of me! A friend mentioned there was a Japanese bakery which had opened up near her house only a month early, and they had the most gorgeous cakes. Those are magic words to me so I fell, hook, line and sinker.

This rather unique bakery displays sweet and savoury baked goods, in clear plastic bins allowing for self service. Whilst I was only intending to take a few photos and sample one or two items the strange sounding names got the better of me and before too long I had piled a bunch of bakery items on a tray and was heading to the cashier.

The first item on my tray was a Curry Donut. I was interested to see if it would resemble anything we had eaten in Japan. Surprisingly the yeasty sweet bread took me straight back buying bread in Kyoto. The bread was unimaginable light, white and fluffy, with a hefty dose of yeast and sugar to boot. The outside had been fried in a crunchy crumb. The curry inside the donut was the delicious Japanese style sweet curry which I love. So all in all it was an okay experience. It was still not my favourite food or setting, but definitely bringing back food memories of Japan.

My Savoury Selection

Next up was the “Ham Boat.” The bread was the same light sweet bread, but this time shaped as a roll with sweet caramelised onion, cheese and ham baked on top. It was a strange combination of sweet and savoury but still quite good.

For the little ones I bought a “Hot Dog.” Whilst it looked pretty much like any other hotdog the bread was once again the sweet light Japanese style bread so the hotdog tasted like no other. The roll was baked with cheese and herbs but had the texture of the lightest sponge cake. The children treated the flavour with suspicion, but ate it just the same.

The Nagoya Donut had an authentic Japanese look. The three balls had been covered in bonito flakes and made to look like Takoyaki. When we bit into the crispy exterior we found a light sweet bun filled with seasoned rice and pork. The flavour was good but all the tastes by this time were starting to have the same artificial, chemical taste.

The dessert cakes I purchased were really not my cup of tea. I have a feeling that I could have left them on the counter for a month with no appreciable change.