Hogan Bakery [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: Hogan Bakery (哈肯舖烘焙)

Address: No. 11-B2F, Songgao Road, Xinyi District, Taipei

Website: http://www.hoganbakery.com.tw/

Style: Chinese, European

Price: $$$ 

This sleek and modern bakery is located in the basement and just outside the Eslite food department (i.e. you actually have to leave the Eslite store - it took me awhile to figure that out), very nearly lost among all the underground food businesses in the area. Of course, any time you get a bakery where some effort has been put into the decor, you're going to have to pay for it. Hogan is no exception. They do, however, have a fairly impressive selection of more rustic, Western-inspired bread and baked goods that range from several varieties of bagels and pound cake to cannelés and croissants. Given that they don't have the same old bun sweet and savoury bun types you'll find everywhere, Hogan is indeed something different - and a breath of fresh air. The vast majority of labels include English. 

I knew what I wanted the moment I saw it: the "caramel pastry" ($47). Also known as a kouign amann. No one can fool me and, as seen in previous posts, if I see a kouign amann I get one. To my surprise and delight, I encountered a few kouign amann in Taiwan. This one was my least favourite. The dough was flaky, but lacked any sort of distinct flavour. It wasn't buttery at all, which is a big no-no for this sort of pastry. Anyone who's had a kouign amann knows that the best part is that incredible, chewy caramelized sugar bottom; here, the sugar pooled and formed a thick layer of rock-solid candy. I had to end up just peeling the whole layer off. It was impossible to eat, certainly not together with the pastry. Honestly, I was expected more from Hogan.

Rating: **1/2