Viral shio pan bakery Kohpan opens second outlet at Kovan

Any shio pan lover in Singapore would’ve heard of Kohpan, a Japanese bakery that’s gone viral on Instagram. I’ve personally watched one too many ASMR videos of its crispy shio pans being broken into to reveal their soft, fluffy interiors. 

Kohpan’s been on my to-visit list for the longest time, but its original location at Springleaf made it quite difficult to travel to by public transport.

Having caught wind of news that Kohpan had recently opened a second outlet at Kovan, I — a northeastie — no longer had any excuse to put off this overdue visit.

Second home at Kovan  

Kohpan’s second outlet at Kovan is a welcome addition to the vibrant food enclave With established cafe mainstays such as Lola’s over at Simon Road, and iconic supper favourites such as Ponggol Nasi Lemak and Hainanese curry rice Sin Chie Toke Huan right across the street, Kohpan is a breath of fresh air. 

Much like its OG Springleaf store, Kohpan’s latest outlet is also takeaway-only, but Gerald, one of Kohpan’s owners, hopes they can one day open a cafe-style outlet with dine-in seating. 

As he tells us, he wanted customers to be able to enjoy shio pan that’s fresh out of the oven, which is why Kohpan has provided small benches and tables right outside the bakery for customers to take a quick bite. 

While we were there, the Kovan outlet seemed to be doing just as well as its Springleaf one, with a steady stream of customers walking away with boxes of shio pan, from when it first raised its shutters at 12pm.

The team tells us that sometimes the weekend crowd is so overwhelming, the shelves are wiped clean within an hour of opening. If you’re planning to get some shio pans for yourself, we’d recommend either coming down on a weekday afternoon or pre-ordering the breads for pick-up.

Kohpan’s shio pans

Kohpan keeps its menu tight, with only three types of shio pan on the menu — original, mentaiko, and truffle mushroom. 

The breads are also sold in units of three, six, and nine, where an original set of three goes for S$11.70, a truffle mushroom set of three for S$21.90, and a mentaiko set of three for S$18.90. 

For those who’d like to try a bit of everything, the mixed set of three (S$17.90) has one of each.

If you’re a shio pan fan, like I am, you might know there’s quite a difference between Japanese shio pan and Korean shio pan (or sogeum-bbang). 

Japanese shio pans tend to be softer with a fuller, fluffy bread filling when you bite into it, whereas Korean shio pans are big on the crispy, golden crust while being more hollow in the middle.

Kohpan’s original shio pan manages to strike a perfect balance — it’s got the best of both types, giving you a satisfyingly crispy exterior, while still managing to deliver a chewy and soft bread filling. 

Most shio pans I’ve tried in Singapore nail the Japanese style of shio pans, which has left me yearning for its crispier Korean counterparts. I’m glad to say Kohpan’s rendition has satisfied this yearning!

According to the owners, should you leave your shio pans out in the open for a day or two, the breads will become harder in texture. 

“That’s because we don’t use softeners or additives to keep the breads soft. Everything is 100% natural,” adds Gerald. 

Meanwhile, Kohpan’s flavoured versions build on the original shio pan by topping it off with different flavours — truffle mushroom and mentaiko.

Kohpan’s mentaiko shio pan amazed us with how generous the topping was — the entire top crust was covered in sauce, before being flame-torched. I liked how the mentaiko flavour was prominent, unlike others I’d tried where the mayonnaise outshines the cod roe.

With the truffle mushroom shio pan, we found the truffle mushroom topping slightly too overpowering, masking the taste of the shio pan. I’d expected it to be fragrant with truffle, but this seemed overruled by the flavour of mushrooms, with the former coming through only occasionally.

Of the two flavoured options, the mentaiko stood out more to me, purely by virtue of how generous Kohpan was with the mentaiko mayo topping. 

If you’re looking to pair your shio pans with some drinks, there’s coffee up for grabs, too. Perk yourself up with an americano (from S$4.50) or a latte (from S$6) to sip on, while you’re digging into your breads.  

Kohpan’s shio pans will set you back anywhere from around S$3.90 to S$7.30 apiece, depending on your selected flavours. But if there’s anything my shio-pan expeditions have taught me, it’s that good quality shio pan always comes at a price. 

Would I come back for more, though? It’s not easy on the wallet, but I absolutely would. I haven’t been able to find a bakery in Singapore that satisfies everything I want in a shio pan — crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy within, but Kohpan has changed that.

Looking for more Kovan food places to check out? Try this matcha specialty cafe, or this coffee shop serving up old-school Western fare.