The Loaf Bakery & Bistro @ Pavilion

The Loaf Bakery & Bistro @ Pavilion is a Japanese concept bakery (co-owned by our former Prime Minister) which is renowned for freshly baked handmade artisan Bakery and Pastry, made daily using traditional Japanese techniques, with no chemicals, preservatives or artificial colouring.

Since the opening of its first outlet in Langkawi Island in 2006, The Loaf has steadily gained popularity and have now expanded to more than 10 outlets in Malaysia.

Having patronised their outlets in Pavilion and Great Eastern Mall, I found the one in Great Eastern Mall pretty small and more kiosk-like (with some seats outside) and offers only a limited menu plus less choices of their bakery items.

You'll definitely be more comfortable in the outlet at Pavilion.  The Loaf is located on the 3rd and 4th floor (with an alfresco dining area on the 3rd floor) serving a full range of 'a la carte' breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.  I just love the small but welcoming cosy dining ambience here. 

Walking past the aroma of freshly baked breads wafting through the air was indeed intoxicating.  I finally succumbed to my temptation and decided to walk in (and wondered why I had not done so sooner).

Whether it's breakfast or tea or anything in-between, the main attraction here is (unquestionably) their bakery items.  I ordered a couple of baked goods because you just can't come to The Loaf and not try their impressive Japanese-inspired freshly baked breads and pastries....and, to be honest, that's the only thing I'm after when I visit The Loaf.

The Tuna Mayo Bun @ RM3 was made up of creamy tuna on a superbly soft bun, one of the best I've had.  If you love tuna (like me), you're sure gonna love this!

The Mango Pan Cream @ RM3 comprised a generous amount of luscious mango cream in a delicious soft bun with a nice crunch from the chopped peanuts on top.  The mango cream was tangy and had a fruity mango flavour and (let me tell you) they were not stingy on the mango cream.  It was good.

The Mini Vanilla Silk Chiffon Cupcake @ RM2.90 had an extremely soft and fluffy texture.  It was so light you can eat many without the feeling of fullness.  It was delicious (as advertised on the cupcake container)....in fact, it was excellent.

Some other bakery items I tried during another visit to Great Eastern Mall.

The Fish Tartar Bun @ RM3.60 had some fish chunks in a soft bun topped with a bit of melted cheese.  This was no where near as good as the Tuna Mayo Bun though.

The Egg Roll Bun @ RM3.70 is quite similar to an egg mayo sandwich except this one is in an unbelievably soft bun topped with some melted cheese.  It was creamy, it was savoury, it was yum!

Of course, I just had to try their Croissant @ RM2.80.  This was just a plain croissant but it was buttery, flaky and light.  It was good but not the best I've eaten.  I saw croissants with chocolate filling and others with different fillings as well.

I did not get to try their Creamy Ampan (Japanese Red Bean Bun) in different flavours...perhaps, next time.  For those who love cheese (not me though), you might want to try their Uhuhu cream cheesecakes.

For drinks, I ordered The Loaf Cube -60C @ RM12 which was their signature drink comprising of a glass of frozen Espresso cubes served with warm fresh milk and a sugar syrup.  This drink is rather unique as it comes with coffee cubes frozen at -60C.

Pour the milk over the frozen coffee cubes and slowly let it melt in the warm milk and add your preferred amount of sugar.  Stir it if you want the coffee cubes to melt more quickly and your iced coffee is ready to drink....enjoy!

It was a pretty decent glass of coffee....just wished there were a few more cubes of frozen coffee (than just 3 cubes).  A check on the menu revealed that there're 3 choices for The Loaf Cube, Doppio Bliss for RM10, Triple Smack Down for RM12 and Quadshot Heaven for RM17 (which I didn't notice on the menu).  Looking at my bill, it looked like I got the Cube 60 Triple Smack Down (probably that's why I got 3 frozen cubes).  I guess I should order the Quadshot Heaven (4 cubes maybe?) the next time for a stronger coffee flavour that I need.

This was my cup of Hot Latte @ RM8.50 (from Great Eastern Mall) which was alright.

I also bought 3 of their famed Oyaki to try at home.  Traditionally, Oyaki is a Japanese dumpling made from a fermented buckwheat dough wrapped around a stuffing of meat, fruit, vegetables or paste and roasted on an iron pan.  However, The Loaf has modified the traditional Oyaki by using butter roll dough stuffed with sweet or savoury fillings and baked in an oven instead of using a frying pan.

The first was the Green Tea Oyaki @ RM1.90 which had an overly generous amount of green tea paste filling.  I'm not one to complain about an insane amount of filling (in anything) but this one was just too much till it became slightly bitter.  I guess you've got to be a real fan of green tea (and its bitterness) to really like this one, so I wasn't too thrilled about this one.

The second one was the Red Bean Walnut Oyaki @ RM1.90.  This was a red bean paste with crunchy chopped walnuts filling and a fragrant sesame seed crust.  I definitely preferred this one to the green tea oyaki.

The final one was the Tuna Mayo Oyaki @ RM3.20.  The thin pillowy texture of the bread, with a generous amount of creamy tuna mayo, was just perfect....and (mind you) they don't stinge on the tuna.  The creamy mayo didn't feel 'heavy' at all and I could eat a few more of these without problem.  This was my favourite among the three.

My Personal Opinion

It's a wonderful place to just sit and relax over a good cup of coffee with some premium breads and pastries...ahh, it will make your morning sunshiny bright!  It's also perfect for some afternoon 'pick-me-ups' when you need to rest your tired legs after a bout of shopping!

Their recently introduced new Asian dishes looks tempting as well but, more than anything else, I can't wait to return to try more of their bakery items coz I'm just loving their incredibly soft, fluffy, airy, light texture of their buns and oyaki.

Prices here are pretty reasonable with many of the bakery items under RM3.  I absolutely loved their savoury (and some sweet) bakery items, especially the (OMG) Tuna Mayo Bun & Oyaki as well as their Vanilla Chiffon...so light, so soft, so good!

I have to come back for more (of their savoury breads and pastries)....and soon!

The Loaf Bakery & Bistro
Lot 3.13.00 & 14.12.02
Levels 3 & 4 Pavilion KL

168 Jalan Bukit Bintwng

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2145 3036