PETALING JAYA, Oct 26 — Piped taro cream, the hue of pale lavender. A slab of cold butter. Perfectly crumbly scone. It’s a little slice of heaven sandwiched in your palm.
Breakfast bagels spread with a choice of yuzu passion fruit cream cheese or mashed red beans and salted butter. Buns topped with Parmesan, olives and tomatoes, as well as the unlikely pairing of spring onion and cheese.
Sea salt pretzels or sea salt kouign-amann: take your pick. Or for an unexpected hit of umami, try the tuna bonito focaccia, the flakes of katsuobushi fanning hapless appetites.
Or perhaps a tray of simple shio pan or salted butter rolls, tenderly chewy with crisp, buttery bottoms.
It’s just another day of freshly baked goodies at Kona Bakehouse in SS2, PJ. Founded by Selangor-born Emerson Yak, 32, the bakery has become a fixture in the neighbourhood for residents craving their fix of croissants and canelés.
After graduating from Ming Chuan University of Taiwan in 2010, Emerson worked as a senior technical advisor at Puratos, a Belgian company servicing the bakery, pâtisserie and chocolate sectors.
He says, "I was in charge of developing and training for F&B retail, factory and bakery segments for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.”
With over 10 years of experience in the baking industry, Emerson was crowned the winner of Singapore Bake-A-Star Bakery Championship in 2018. The next step was naturally to open his own bakery.
Which brings us back to Kona Bakehouse, with its minimalist duotones of washed concrete and wheat ears. The display of pastries and breads is less haphazard than at other bakeries; each item is lovingly arranged on wide dishes and placed upon large woven coasters.
There is an almost Nordic aesthetic to Kona Bakehouse’s décor but it’s not exactly what you might envisage.
Even before customers step foot into the shop, its unique name catches their attention. For travel fanatics, kona means "leeward” in Hawaiian.
It is also the name of Arabica coffee beans cultivated in the mineral-rich soil of Hawaii, one of the most expensive coffees in the world. That was my first guess, having recently been gifted a bag from a friend returning from a vacation there.
Yet Kona Bakehouse’s name has nothing to do with the American archipelago state in the Pacific Ocean — but another island nation in the north-west Pacific Ocean. Not quite Nordic, then, but more Japanese.
Perhaps we can call this the Zen of Kona Bakehouse. Certainly the calm exuded by the name and the décor extends to the very concept of the bakery. Calm, care and craftsmanship.
Emerson explains how he chose the name for his first bakery: "Kona means ‘flour’ in Japanese. This emphasises the essence of flour in our products, as we exclusively employ the finest Japanese flour in all of our offerings.”
Branding works in mysterious ways: the initial lack of information can be helpful in triggering a conversation.
After all, given the plethora of bakeries (and bakery-cafés and even bakery-roasteries) nowadays, any narrative advantage can assist a new business in standing out from the pack.
With this in mind, connecting his bakery’s name to the notions of quality and artisanship is paramount to Emerson. He says, "Our process for developing pastries is a meticulous and creative journey that is driven by a deep passion for the art of baking.”
Standouts include Kona Bakehouse’s Taro Butter Scone, a fusion of Western and Asian flavours. Emerson notes, "The rich, creamy taro butter complements the scone’s crumbly texture, creating a perfect balance of sweetness and earthiness.”
Given how croissants in their many forms still capture the imaginations of Malaysian pastry lovers, it’s no surprise that Kona Bakehouse has its own unique take on the French viennoiserie — their Matcha Mochi Frangipane Croissant.
Emerson shares, "This croissant marries the elegant flavours of matcha with the delightful chewiness of mochi and the nutty richness of frangipane. It’s a whole new texture for the croissant.”
Of course, it’s not all fancy baked products. Sometimes it is the most basic fare done well that blows one’s mind.
Kona Bakehouse’s shio pan, or salted butter roll, comes to mind. For Emerson, the soft roll embodies "simplicity and indulgence. It celebrates the pure, unadulterated taste of high-quality butter and a touch of salt.”
And what’s more emblematic of Japanese breads than a freshly baked shio pan, really?
Emerson adds, "We take pride in crafting each item, and these are a few special and signature creations that have made their way into the hearts of our customers.”
Which is not to say customers just miraculously materialised on Day One. Plenty of hard work and elbow grease went into launching the bakery, Emerson recalls.
"When Kona Bakehouse first started, our operations were relatively modest, reflecting the beginnings of a small bakery with big dreams. We had a hands-on approach with a small team, which allowed us to maintain the high quality of our products. Customer service was crucial.”
On the latter, Kona Bakehouse primarily catered to customers in PJ. Emerson says, "Our clientele was mainly drawn from the neighbourhood and surrounding areas, and word-of-mouth played a significant role in building our initial customer base.”
Another way the team reduced risk and food wastage was by restricting their introductory product range to basic bread varieties and pastries, plus a few experimental items.
Their signature products came later once they had a good grasp of what their customers enjoyed.
Once that first hurdle was overcome, Emerson continuously innovated and expanded their menu to include their current bestsellers. He says, "The Taro Butter Scone, Matcha Mochi Frangipane Croissant, shio pan, etc. — these unique creations helped set us apart from competitors.”
As with the rest of our local F&B industry, the post-pandemic space requires businesses such as Kona Bakehouse to establish a strong online presence. Emerson says, "By enabling customers to place orders for pick-up or delivery this move significantly expanded our reach beyond our local community.”
Indeed a robust e-commerce system is no longer a "nice-to-have” but a "must-have” given other bakeries, often in the same neighbourhood, can be counted on to offer such services too.
Still, Kona Bakehouse’s operations have stabilised enough for Emerson to hire additional staff to meet the growing demand. A passionate team grew to handle both the back-of-house and front-of-house aspects of the business, from baking to customer service.
This allows him to focus on product development and innovation, a pursuit that remains a passion of his. Emerson says, "We will continue to create new baked items, exploring seasonal and thematic offerings, such as holiday-inspired pastries or limited-time creations.”
Regulars might well expect more Japanese influences beyond the matcha and the mochi. Perhaps a mentaiko (salted pollock roe) rendition of the signature shio pan?
I’m sure Emerson is more than game to experiment: research has never been more delectable.
Kona Bakehouse
49, Jalan SS2/30, SS2, PJ
Open Tue-Sun 8am-5:30pm; Mon closed
IG: instagram.com/konabakehouse
FB: facebook.com/konabakehouse
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