Located in Shangdu Soho, new bakery Umassif plays to the cosmopolitan tastes of the well-healed CBD crowd with a dazzling array of breads combining global flavors. Although Umassif initially seems more in the style of a Chinese bakery – you select the breads yourself, piling them high on a tray, before taking them to the counter to be packaged – the sleek modern industrial décor and hardwood tables give away their global ambitions.
What Umassif peddles is not your average loaf of sliced white; these are breads with something to say. The piquant Hollandaise Sauce, Mustard and Bacon Roll (RMB 22) is just begging to be served with a Bloody Mary at your next brunch. The Honey Multigrain Pineapple Roll (RMB 28), with its secret swirl of cream cheese filling, is the voice in your ear convincing you to cancel your plans and curl up on the couch on Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea and a good book.
The flavors may not be what you’re used to (although you can pick up a plain baguette as well), but step out of your comfort zone and you will be rewarded with a feast of carbs worth the extra hours on the treadmill.
This post first appeared on thebeijnger.com on September 17, 2014.
