Growing up in Prairie Village, I’ve only experienced the magic of Asian bakery snacks and cakes while visiting my Vietnamese grandparents in Orange County, California. There, every street corner is lined with Asian bakeries.
But now I don’t have to wait until vacation to enjoy authentic pastries since discovering Beyond Bread — a local Asian bakery gem nestled between a Kung Fu dojo and a Cantonese restaurant on 95th and Antioch.
This local business bakes its own sweet bread each morning along with an assortment of more than 20 baked goods like milk bread and jelly rolls. Customers can grab a woven basket at the door and go through a line to fill it with sweets to purchase.
This bright yellow rolled cake filled with sweet whipped cream looks almost like an animated pastry emoji behind Beyond Bakery’s chilled glass case. A small serving of the cake with four fluffy hockey puck-sized sliced pieces costs only $3 — a very generous amount.
The swirled cake has a subtle sugary flavor but is less sweet than American yellow cake, making for a delicately light and photogenic treat. The whipped filling is best cold, making it taste almost like ice cream.
Tucked into a pastel pink wrapper and dusted in powdered sugar, the snow white pastry is essentially a souffle crossed with a vanilla chantilly cake — the Disney princess-like combination we all needed.
The muted sweetness of the plain white sponge cake pairs well with the cold, smooth ivory custard filling that is similar to a homemade vanilla pudding. Overall, the snow white pastry is not too heavy and makes for a cute individual portion of cake.
I’ve had at least a dozen different variations of the classic Japanese red bean bun pastry while visiting California, and Beyond Bread’s take on the treat doesn’t disappoint.
The individually wrapped pastry shines with egg wash and a liberal sprinkling of dark sesame seeds that add crunch to the fluffy baked sweet bread bun. Inside, a velvety red adzuki bean paste filling is naturally sweet and nutty — almost like a subdued chocolate — and I wish there was more of it.
As someone who doesn’t typically like beans, this melt-in-your-mouth red bean bun is definitely an exception.
Maybe seeing room-temperature slices of french toast tucked individually into clear wrappers isn’t as enticing as seeing slices that come off a pan at home — but I promise this Hong Kong-style french toast is on-par, if not better.
The middle of each thick slice of bread is moist and cinnamon-y sandwiched between the crust and buttery crispy golden brown edges. Though I tried this one immediately, the owners recommend heating it up — either way, the bread is clearly fresh and much better than store-bought bread at home.
Beyond Bread also offers more savory pastries like their miniature Chinese hot dog bun.
These baby hot dogs put regular pigs in a blanket to shame, wrapped in milk bread and sprinkled with asiago cheese baked to a crackle. The bread is so soft that it is almost crushed when you pick it up and has a slightly sweet tinge.
Two palm-sized hotdog rolls are $2, and these are seriously addictive without being overly salty.
Ending:
Even if you missed celebrating Lunar New Year on Feb. 10, it’s not too late to experience some traditional Asian cultures in our own city by filling a basket of affordable baked goods at Beyond Bread.