Rose Ave Bakery

Donuts, cookies, coffee and mochi puffs

Familiar bakery forms pushed through ube, pandan, passion fruit, guava, matcha, hojicha, coconut, black sesame and Saigon cinnamon: that is the argument at this Asian-American bakery-cafe in Washington, D.C. The executive chef sets the brief plainly, which is to arrive open-minded and ready to try something new. The white-and-pink Woodley Park room backs it up with plenty of seating, soft rock and a drinks list treated with the same flavour vocabulary as the bakes.

The case is clearest through its brioche donuts. The passion fruit donut carries sweet-tart curd, raspberry sugar and rose petals; pandan coconut takes pandan coconut cream and coconut flakes; ube layers ube cream with ube sugar; guava cheese adds guava lime glaze, guava jam and sweetened cream cheese; mango dream goes further with mango cream, mango curd and fresh yellow mango. Laminated work runs to croissants, pain au chocolat with dark chocolate batons, strawberry passion fruit kouign amann, ube cheese kouign amann and twice-baked croissants in matcha chocolate and banana chocolate. Cookies include salted chocolate chip with Korean soybean paste, black sesame swirl and Saigon cinnamon banana.

A cafe made for staying a while

Rose Ave Bakery is more than its pastry case. The pristine white-and-pink room, ample seating and soft rock give it a sit-down rhythm rather than grab-and-go energy, with the counter lineup of pastries, savouries, coffee, tea and refreshers in full view.

The savoury side is substantial: a curry butternut squash tart with coconut curry squash, shallots and pickled fresno chilis; a vegetarian garlic scallion bun drawn from Taiwanese scallion pancake; scallion, egg and cheese sandwiches and a bacon version; and a crab rangoon tart. Drinks stay in the same register with Vietnamese iced coffee, ube iced coffee, brown sugar latte, Saigon banana latte, mango matcha, hojicha latte, chai latte and passion fruit iced tea.

Order the ube iced coffee, then one filled thing

On a first visit, start with the ube iced coffee if you want the cafe side to lead. Pair it with the ube donut for the most direct read on a defining flavour, or the passion fruit donut for sharper fruit curd against raspberry sugar and rose petals. For a filled pastry beyond donuts, the ube cheese kouign amann keeps ube inside caramelised croissant dough, while the strawberry passion fruit version brings cooked strawberries and passion fruit curd.

Coconut mochi puffs give the contrast worth building a box around: fried rice balls, crunchy then chewy, coated in coconut caramel and finished with coconut shreds and sesame seeds. Round it out with the black sesame swirl cookie, or the salted chocolate chip with Korean soybean paste for a sweet, salty, umami finish.