Milk bread, where have you been all my life? Found primarily in Asian bakeries, this Japanese style of bread (also called Hokkaido) makes a supple, sweet, heavenly loaf with nary a sprout or seed or whole grain in sight. Perfect for toast, sandwiches or simply nibbling from the bag, fresh loaves are baked daily at the recently-opened pan-Asian Bakery, East Wind (3851 Sebastopol Rd., Santa Rosa) flecked with bits of Earl Grey tea, herbs or cinnamon (as well as plain) for about $5 each.
But that’s just the start of your inevitable caloric overload.
This beautiful little bakery owned by partners Doug Quick and Tony Tam also features homemade bbq pork curried beef, red bean and taro bao (baked); kimchee and Chinese sausage-stuffed croissants (along with bacon chocolate and plain); Chinese sponge cake, garam-masala-spiced sweet buns, Massaman beef and Thai chicken pot pies, pork banh mi and, well, you get the idea.
Go with a sense of adventure and a hungry belly, and don’t miss out on the Sea Foam coffee (made with a sweet-salty whipped cream, Asian spices, and coffee) or boba tea. I’d be remiss to leave out that they’ve also got plenty of Western sweets (cupcakes, lemon tarts, etc) that are equally delicious, though less exotic.
East Wind Bakery, 3851 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa, Hours: Tue-Fri 8am-4pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 9am-3pm; 707-568-6081.
