Japanese sweets, savoury brunches and silky matcha await at KYO Bakehaus
Inspired by the quiet charm of Kyoto, KYO Bakehaus is bringing a taste of Japan to Kelvin Grove. The neighbourhood cafe pairs handcrafted pastries, inventive brunch dishes and specialty matcha with a philosophy centred on slowing down and savouring the moment. Need to take time out? Drop in for butter mochi, steak sandos and a little slice of serenity.
If there was a city other than Brisbane that Rosie Tran could easily spend some extended time in, it’s Kyoto. The pastry chef counts Kyoto as one of her favourite places – a city that feels calm, even at its busiest, with a perfect blend of the modern and the traditional.
“When I travel to Kyoto, even if it’s a busy time, everyone looks really chill – they look really relaxed, even when they’re working,” says Rosie.
It’s this sedate speed of life that forms the inspirational basis for Rosie’s new cafe, KYO Bakehaus – a Japanese-inspired eatery nestled near the buzzing epicentre of QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus.
Initially devised as an outlet for Rosie’s cake-making talents (Rosie also runs Minimal Cake Studio on the side), KYO has quickly grown into an in-demand destination for a broad array of Japanese-style sweets and savoury items.
“In the beginning, I just wanted to start with sweets and cakes,” Rosie reveals. “However, my partner convinced me to do savoury as well.”
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The decision to diversify KYO’s offering has quickly paid dividends, with the cafe swiftly building a following since its early-July opening on the back of its ever-changing menu.
“[The range] depends on my mood and what I can get from the market,” says Rosie. “Sometimes ingredients go out of season, so I just get what is in season to make whatever I make in the morning.
Those with a sweet tooth should make straight for KYO’s counter, where a short selection of artisanal treats will be on display. You’ll spy Portuguese tarts, butter mochi, cinnamon buns, genmaicha buns and coconut bites.
Rosie turns out a special cake on weekends – we’re talking yuzu pound cake, hojicha cheesecake and mochi burnt cheesecake. The cafe also doubles as the primary order and pick-up point for Minimal Cake’s custom creations.
Subscribe for updatesWhen it comes to savoury items, KYO’s offering is as imaginative as it is delicious. The menu kicks off with house-made butter focaccia served with your choice of condiment, including pistachio honey cream cheese, genmaicha butter and local raspberry jam. The focaccia can also come topped with a tornado egg and a furikake sprinkle, or serve as the building block for three kinds of sandos.
Flip the page and a selection of brunch plates appears – 48-hour marinated miso barramundi with yaki yuzu onigiri, soy-marinated egg and house pickles, 150-day gran-fed steak donburi with tornado egg and pho gravy, and braised yaki tofu donburi with egg and bamboo pickle. There’s also coconut purin (Japanese pudding) served with whipped mascarpone.
“Some days I feel like KYO is not a bake house, but a steak house,” Rosie says, laughing. “I’m cooking steak all of the time – steak sandwiches, steak rice, steak sandwiches, steak rice.”
KYO Bakehaus has secured Paradox Coffee Roasters for its bean supply, with espresso-based coffee available alongside specialty cold-brew beverages like the Coco Noir (coconut water and cold brew), Raspberry Brew (raspberry compote mixed with cold brew) and the Kinako Black (cold brew with ginger syrup and kinako tofu foam).
Matcha is also a big focus of KYO’s beverage menu, with signature drinks like the KYO (cold-whisked matcha with ginger syrup and kinako tofu foam), Tokyo Fog (cold-brew Earl Grey, local honey and matcha foam) and Zen (coconut water, jasmine tea syrup and matcha foam) available alongside genmaicha tea, chai and hot chocolate.
From the beginning, Rosie has wanted to bottle the feeling she found in Kyoto as much as its flavours. Beyond the Japanese-inspired menu, KYO Bakehaus is intended as a calm refuge – a place where students, workers and locals alike can step away from the rush of the day and simply enjoy the moment.
“‘Kyo’ means today, so it was my hope when I opened this shop that everyone who came in could simply enjoy the moment,” says Rosie. “Because it’s our job to bring peace to people.
“If you’re struggling with assignments at uni, you can come here to take a little break. Or if you’re feeling stressed at work, come down for a cake and enjoy that moment.”
KYO Bakehaus is open to the public – operating hours and other details can be found in The Directory.
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