Master Fang [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Master Fang (方師傅點心坊)
Address: No. 307, Chongde Rd, Zuoying District, Kaohsiung
Website: http://www.masterfang.com.tw/
Style: Chinese
Price: $$

What appears to be one of the bakery institutions of Kaohsiung (at the very least any bakery with a retail outlet in the train station is a clear sign they've made it), Master Fang is a well-established local bakery with around eight locations scattered throughout the city, most - oddly enough - occupying coveted, nearly identical corner spots. Are they on the prowl for any real estate that pops up to suit their needs? XD

Anyways, Master Fang was certainly one of the more spacious and "fancy" bakeries I went to in Kaohsiung. The bakery is not only large, but it's fully stocked with sweet and savoury baked goods along with gift boxes, cake slices - they really had it all and they actually gave a bag too!

This is also one of the bakeries (there were several during the course of my Taiwanese bakery tour) specializing in large, eye-shaped "Russian bread". Despite not being sweet, these have been enticing me since my first bakery back in Taipei. Coming in classic butter, cheese or green onion, these differentiate themselves from all other Chinese-style buns by their crusty exterior, amazing smell and the fact they come in full-sized loaves. A bit too much for one person on a bakery tour to eat on their own. This place, therefore, is probably the only place where you could get individual slices of Russian bread. At $15 a slice, I just had to give the cheese one a try. To my surprise/disappointment, the dough was actually quite similar to Chinese buns, especially in that it was so sweet. Too sweet. The subtle, mildly salty cheese baked nicely on top was totally overpowered by the sweetness and that made it just taste weird. Are they all that sweet? Needless to say, I think that's as far as my foray into Russian bread goes.

However! - and yes, that's a huge however - my experience didn't just end there. Amid all the tasty baked and fried sweet items, the most appealing had to be this doughnut twist ($32). This was a Chinese doughnut done to near perfection: it was crispy and a bit oily - just how I like it. The dough was soft, slightly chewy with a multi-tiered flakiness that you don't often come across in these simple pieces of fried dough. Topped with just the right amount of sugar, it was...fantastic!

Rating: ***1/2