Thursday, November 8, 2012

Korean bread at Footscray's Bread Kingdom

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Footscray has gone Gangnam style!  In the space of a week, not one but two new Korean businesses have opened on our fair streets.  Bread Kingdom is the latest addition, a Korean bakery specialising in fluffy cakes and other sweet treats.

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It was early in the morning when I stopped by so the baskets weren't fully loaded, but I still took my time weighing up the flavour of my mid-morning blood sugar spike.

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Apparently French-style bakeries are big in Korea and Bread Kingdom certainly continues in that vein, with madeleines, layered sponge cakes (including pumpkin and purple sweet potato flavours) and girly-pink Swiss rolls.

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There are savouries too, like these mini burgers, croque monsieurs and toasts with an egg cracked in the middle, each one wrapped in crisp, shiny cellophane.  Everything's very reasonably priced so you can get yourself a great little spread for not much dosh.

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I love Asian breads.  They don't seem so much kneaded as spun, like fairy floss.  This means that for each earnest Sourdough Kitchen fruit bun, I could cram in at least five Breadtop baked goods, each one bristling with different combinations of pork floss, Kewpie mayo and loads of buttery margarine.  YUM.

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This is super-sweet Janet, the owner-operator of this franchise of Bread Kingdom, who you're likely to see seconds after entering as she springs up to you with a tray of samples.  She'd written to me out of the blue earlier in the week to tell me she'd opened up.  I introduced myself after paying for my goodies.  

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Because the station's in the way, it's easy to forget that it's a mere 9-minute walk down to the river...

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Shell ball $2.50

...and what a lovely place to spread out in the sunshine and unwrap your treats, with palm trees waving above and people fishing languidly beside you.  These are "shell balls", piped cookies with an extremely tender crumb like the crumbliest shortbread.  Apparently they are made with zero flour - just condensed milk, regular milk, eggs, baking powder and surprise ingredient, white bean paste!  The bean paste (white beans as in like cannellini or navy) gives the cookies body and also adds loads of protein.  The orange flavour (above) is delicious, made with real orange peel in the mix - there's also coffee and green tea flavours.  And they are definitely 100% gluten and wheat free - I have checked with Janet that the baking powder is indeed so (McKenzie's brand).  Silly yaks, get on down!

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Cinnamon manju, $3.20

These are manju, kind of like moon cakes with a thin, not-too-sweet dough dusted with a little cinnamon and wrapped around jade-green sweet bean paste.  Yummy!  PS:  The vast majority of goods are made in store and are made fresh each day.

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Sandwich, $3.50

Yes, I am telling you to eat a cold, triple-decker, plastic cheese and ham sandwich.  Why?  Because it is SO DARN YUMMY.  I admit I would never have bought this but Janet had it out as a sample.  I went round and round the store and I still couldn't bring myself to leave without buying it.  The bread is soft yet crisp with golden margarine/butter, the melted cheese, the salty ham...  You might think I've lost my mind but I loved it!  Sometimes the wrongest things are the rightest.

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Honey castella, $2.20

Janet threw in this freebie for us and it was a light, airy, chiffon-style sponge with just a touch of rich egginess.  Quite plain, but like sponge or tea cake, I think it's meant to be like that.

Bread Kingdom have a coffee machine ($2.50 coffees!  Party like it's 2001!) and a few small tables up the back so you can sit in and share some coffee and cakes.  The hot tip for next time is their "rice donut", made with sticky rice powder and cinnamon sugar - the rice powder is specially imported from Korea, so it's as authentic as possible.  Could it be that Footscray will now be famous for not one, but TWO donut varieties?

PS:  If you are vegan and/or interested in Korean food, you should read Alien's Day Out, a super-cool blog about eating 100% vegan in Seoul, South Korea.  Ever grateful to the reader who sent it in after I (I now realise stupidly) said Korean was not vego friendly.  :-)

Bread Kingdom
7 Paisley Street, Footscray
Hours:  Daily 7am-7.30pm

22 comments:

  1. hey sexy lady! I have not one but two eyes on those shell balls ... we may have to break the diet temporarily to check this place out!

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  2. Well, aren't I glad I scrolled past the burgers and kept reading? Thanks for pointing me to that vegan Korean blog!

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  3. I am very impressed with the art direction and use of the river as a backdrop... you have lifted the bar for bloggers

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    1. Thanks Dad :-) It's just an old hipster trick - anything looks better on barn wood. Seriously though, it was fun to do something different!

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    2. I thought your Dad's comment was one of those spam things you get every now and then. Haha!

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  4. I love how you call it "plastic cheese" : ) ……can't wait to check out Bread Kingdom!

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  5. More Korean in Footscray. I love Korean food!

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    1. I know, isn't it the best? We did have a Korean BBQ place a couple of years ago that was inconsistent but it was nice to have something different.

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  6. The western suburbs are looking more and more exciting.I love being a westy! I found Breadtop in Malaysia and was enamoured with all things sausage, cheese or Mayo but those shells sound good in orange or coffee yum!

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    1. Me and Breadtop = danger. I feel like a kid in one of those pick n' mix lolly shops with the cabinets and the scoops! Plus for kids their little cupcakes are only 75 cents!

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  7. ZOMG! Just took the clan here and tried their honey toast...a big chunk of bread with a crunchy, buttery, honey crust...REALLY good. I have hidden some to have with coffee tomorrow.

    Bread Kingdom is a winner. Yes please to more Korean in Footscray.

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  8. So ... where did you hide it? :)

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    1. Nice try Kenny...I wont fall for that one! Rest assured it is well guarded from marauding hordes.

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  9. Good to hear. My wife loves their bread so it's good to have one in the neighbourhood!

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  10. Nothing is what you expect at Bread Kingdom, in a good way. Some of the sweet things aren't very sweet, and yet the savoury things are. The owner very kindly gave me some free garlic toast - it was very garlicky but also sticky and sugary. Strangely compelling!

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  11. I agree sometimes the most wrong things are the most right - I can imagine that sandwich would be delicious.

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  12. I was sucked in by the croque monsieur on my way to the station the other day. I was a little hung over, so it hit the spot. A little sweeter than your average, but you kind of expect that when you walk into one of those breadtop/talk/kingdom/aroma places. ;)

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  13. hi there !!!!

    WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bread kingdom closer to home !!!

    would you know the trading hours for the store

    much appreciated !!!

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  14. Gah, not sure why I didn't reply to all your kind comments at the time. Rei Chan, hope you found the trading hours! The last I had were 7am-7.30pm.

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