Two unique new bakeries — one Japanese, one Vietnamese — are earning fans in Wichita
Wichitans have been enjoying access to authentic Mexican pan dulce for decades: Juarez Bakery, the city’s most well-known purveyor of Mexican baked goods, first opened its doors in 1995, allowing people armed with cafeteria trays and tongs to load up as many conchas, churros and sweet empanadas as they wanted.
And recently, the city has gained access to the types of pastries made and served in other parts of the world — Japan and Vietnam, to be specific — and local dessert fans are starting to discover them.
One of the new additions is Komugi Japanese Bakery, an almost 1-year-old venture by two transplants from Japan who plan to start selling their sweet and savory buns, cakes and other treats at the Old Town Farm & Art Market in a couple of weeks.
The other is Mi No Bakery, a business by a Vietnamese couple who last month put on a soft opening for their bakery at 2528 Oliver. They closed it for a week to do some remodeling but plan to reopen on Saturday morning offering the kinds of French-influenced egg tarts, cream puffs and pork “floss rolls” that young people in Vietnam love to eat.
Below is a closer look at both of the new new bakeries:
Komugi Japanese Bakery
Kaori Goff and Misaki Ocha were both born in and grew up in Japan, and as adults, they both relocated with their husbands to the United States and landed in Wichita.
That’s where the two friends met — and where they realized that Wichita was lacking the kind of sweet and savory pastries they’d grown up enjoying in their homeland. The women, who both love cooking, decided they should do something about that.
Almost a year ago, they opened Komugi Japanese Bakery in Wichita and have run it as a special order business. But soon, Wichita will be able to shop directly from the bakers and see their colorful, unique creations in person.
On Saturday, July 17, Goff and Ocha will make their first of several planned appearances at the Old Town Farm & Art Market, which happens from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday mornings at 835 E. First St. They’ll also be at the market on July 31, Aug. 14, Aug. 28, Sept. 18, Oct. 9 and Nov. 6.
The biggest difference between Japanese and American baked goods, the partners said, is that the Japanese don’t produce as many sweet options. Among Komugi’s most popular offerings are curry buns, called kare pan, which are a popular street food. The buns, which have a puffy inside and crunchy outside, are made by filling dough with a curried ground beef mixture, coating them in panko bread crumbs and deep frying them.
Komugi (the Japanese word for “wheat”) also offers anpan, which are buns filled with a sweet red bean paste and topped with black sesame seeds. They also make buns topped with asparagus and bacon, corn and mayonnaise, tuna and mayonnaise and pizza toppings.
But the bulk of their menu, which includes about 50 different items, is made up of the sweet treats American palates crave. Many of their offerings are made with sponge cake, including eye-catching roll cakes they offer in flavors like triple berry, green tea, coffee and chocolate.
They also make things like eclairs, cream puffs with various flavored fillings, matcha pudding, matcha tiramisu, lemon souffle cheesecake and a cupped strawberry cake. Tarts are also on the menu, and one of their most popular is topped with grapefruit.
When they decided to start the business, the pair was baking and selling items from their homes. But in October, they started renting commercial kitchen space at Reverie Coffee Roasters, 2202 E. Douglas. They bake there every Monday, Tuesday and Saturday, and that’s where their customers go to pick up their items. There are also pick-up spots at Central and 127th and at Harry and Oliver.
Customers can peruse the week’s offerings at www.facebook.com/komugi.jpks2020 and then place orders at komugi.order2020@gmail.com.
The partners decided to expand into the farmers market, they said, because even though they’ve built up a following, they want to expand their customer base.
“One of the reasons is that we are still strangers and new to a lot of people,” Ocha said.
Mi No Bakery
Tam Ho moved from her native Saigon to Wichita a few years ago when she married her husband, Peter Ong, who immigrated to the United States when he was a boy.
She was a stay-at-home mom for a while, but then she started to bake, and she soon was operating a business out of her home selling cakes and the types of French-influenced pastries that the younger generation in Vietnam loves to eat.
The business quickly outgrew the couple’s home, so they found a spot to open a bakery, taking over a former insurance office at Oliver and Pawnee. They named the bakery Mi No and quietly unlocked the doors for a “soft opening” last month. They’ve been closed since last week, though, while they work on their HVAC system and parking lot and research new products. They plan to reopen on Saturday morning.
The bakery is set up similarly to Juarez Bakery, Ong said. People pick up a tray and a set of tongs and load up on items they find in the bakery case. So far, he said, the most popular offerings are cream puffs with various flavors of filling and egg tarts. The floss rolls, which feature pork rolled up with dough and baked, have also been a big seller. Also available are things like milk tea buns, taro buns, strawberry buns, matcha cakes and green tea cakes.
There’s some seating in the bakery, and Ong said that eventually, the couple plans to add milk tea, boba and other drinks to the menu.
So far, he said, the bakery has received positive reviews. People mostly just complain that they want more choices, and they’ll get them as soon as the couple adds more display cases.
Once it reopens on Saturday, Mi No Bakery’s hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. It’s closed on Mondays.
This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 1:39 PM.
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