[On Fire] Two Bakeries Lighting Shanghai Afire with Addiction

Back in the day, options for decent bread in Shanghai were horrendously limited. I'm talking 2007, when I arrived. Walk into any Chinese bakery and the options were invariably sweet.Even the sandwich bread was sweet. Unnecessarily so. Why!

The dessert cases were filled with light cream, glazed fruit sitting on top like a hat it didn't need. It wasn't very good. Your best bet for a decent baguette was the bakery inside the Hilton on Wulumuqi Road (now the Kunlun Hotel) for a lonnng time. Then came a "PAUL" phase in the city. A Krispy Kreme moment. And now, it's like the bakery gods cracked open a piñata over the entire city, because they are everywhere. Not as pervasive as coffee has become, but getting close.

And truly, some of these new bakeries, Butterful & Creamorous, Amann London, have treats that could plausibly be part of a diabolical plot to expand insulin resistance citywide. That's only a complaint if your Doctor has declared that "paradise is over" when it comes to sweet treats (as mine has).

There are two bakeries (well, a few, but these two share a common thread) that caught my attention for falling outside the current trend of basic-and-boring versus bombastic-and-outrageous. They occupy a middle road: genuinely good, artisanal baked goods. Now, I may be accused of being easily pleased when it comes to food (true), but what inspires multiple, consistent orders in a single month has to meet a very discerning, capricornian disposition. These two hit that spot.

It started with Sloppy Gin and their kouign-amann, which were so good I was ordering them by the dozen and distributing them around the office, workplace generosity that mostly disguised my own steady appetite for them. Then it was Seven Riverlight's Butter Crumble Croissant, which is just so damn good that it became something that I would randomly order delivery for people I love whenever I thought of them. They would have the same reaction, naturally. I've since ventured out across both menus, and it's clear these are two bakers with genuinely good palates. With Sloppy Gin, though, every item comes with a shelf life: by the time you read this, half the menu will already be gone, replaced by something else. That's more a feature of the place than a bug (though a genuinely annoying one, if you found something you liked, here today, gone tomorrow).

Still, both of these places represent something fascinating: China's sea turtles ("haigui," for the Chinese nationals who study or work abroad and eventually swim back) are returning home and bringing their overseas food obsessions with them. For JQ, it was a love of baked goods picked up in London. For Gin, it was an expansion of the palate due to his years in Michigan and a diet of American confectionery.

Here are two Chef's Tables wrapped into one, for two genuinely outstanding bakeries that have earned themselves the label "On Fire": consistently busy, and frequently sold out of their most popular items.

This is feature length by the way, so look either of them up on Eleme, and order something, and snack while you venture onward.

Part One: Sloppy Gin - The American-French-Japanese Inspired Bakery Where Everything Is 'Limited Edition'

Credit: Brandon McGhee

Sloppy Gin sits on Yanping Road in Jing'an, the kind of shop the neighborhood's camera-happy, sweet-toothed crowd treks up for on purpose. Artisanal, slightly pyrotechnic donuts and pastries, drawing on haute French training and a more recent education in Japanese technique. The menu has run through things like a Pistachio Black Currant Donut (28rmb), a Dulce de Leche (26rmb), and a Blood Orange, Hibiscus, and Vermouth Danish (28rmb), though don't hold us to any of that, for reasons that will become obvious.

There are a few ways to enjoy it: grab something on the go and fix your day up a little, buy a box for a party and be the hero of the night, or grab a table inside, stripped back and industrial-chic by necessity, because the money all went into the baking equipment.

We sat down with the man behind it to hear his story and try his most popular creations. (The "Sloppy" in the name, and the man, is best read as "carefree." We were about to find out just how carefree.)

CNS: So when did you guys open up?

Gin: 9am. 9am every day.

CNS: No, I mean, when did the shop open?

Gin: Oh! Actually, two years ago. It's been two years now.

CNS: Two years is a long time in Shanghai, right? It must be really competitive.

Gin: It's not too bad actually! I think we've found our place…

CNS: Where does the name come from?

Gin: Sloppy is more like, how can I say, just trying to make people feel relaxed, not formal. It's just a name.

CNS: Maybe to start, you could just introduce yourself and tell us where you're from.

Gin: I'm Jay, from Beijing. I grew up in Beijing, Chaoyang District. But I went to school in America, studying advertising at Michigan State.

CNS: From advertising to baking. So how did you first get inspired to open your own bakery?

Gin: Actually, I used to be working in the coffee profession, so I'm coming from that area of the industry. At the time, two years ago, really the opportunities and the market, it just didn't look right to me. So I just stopped doing that. And I thought it might be a good idea to do something more culinary related. By then I think I was 25 years old. And I was thinking, it's going to take me a lot of time and maybe it's too risky to start to do formal culinary training, so I thought baking might be a better, a more focused choice to get into the culinary side of things. So I went to culinary school, just to focus on baking.

CNS: Is there a specific style of baking that you learned, like French baking?

Gin: It is French baking. Exactly, yeah. After I finished my baking study, I went to a small workshop in Shanghai to learn more about sourdough baking and more Japanese styles.

CNS: How does the Japanese style of baking differ from the French style of baking?

Gin: It's quite different actually. In a lot of aspects. For Japanese style baking, they prefer more bleached flours. More refined flours. The baked goods you get are more soft and tender. Compared to French baking, it might be more wheaty…

CNS: Let's talk about the bakery. How would you describe Sloppy Gin's to someone who's never been here before?

Gin: I think we try to have a more fun and relaxed vibe here. And we do a lot of experimentation. We're trying to do lots of new things here. We try to have things here you can't get anywhere else in Shanghai. Not only in Shanghai. Like maybe somewhere else in the world as well! Like we're creating our own recipes for donuts, and not only the dough, all the fillings as well.

CNS: Oh, really?

Gin: Yeah, yeah. We're always trying to do something more innovative with flavors. It's not super edgy because we're not that good, not yet! But we're trying to make it more fun. Fun is the main thing here.

CNS: How do you go about making your own donut recipe? How does that work?

Gin: Trial and error. It's a lot of trial and error. Like first, you must imagine the flavor and the texture in your mind. And then you just keep adjusting the recipe to achieve it, or something close anyways.

CNS: Coming from Japanese and French training, what do you think of American donuts?

Gin: Well, for me actually, it's all the same. People try to define the donuts like "Japanese donuts" or like "American donuts" or like Italian or whatever. But the thing is, in professional aspects, it's all the same. It's just about the ratio of your enriched elements like egg, milk, cream, or butter or like the hydration percentage or like how you ferment it or how you fry the dough. And your flour choices. Nowadays in any major city in the world, there are a lot of good donut shops that do all kinds of different styles, mixing techniques. Donuts in New York, in Vancouver as well.

CNS: How are Canadian donuts?

Gin: Oh, Canadians are really good at donuts.

CNS: Oh, really?

Gin: Yeah, yeah. Of course! But what I mean is, you can get different kinds of donuts in any city, and it just depends on the scale of their operation and what they are trying to do. It depends on what the business model is. But if you're really trying to define what "American donuts" are, what people think, it's more commercial, mass-produced, and fast-proofed donuts.

CNS: Fast food donuts?

Gin: No, fast-proofed. They're using less time to do the fermentation, and they are usually fried in lard, in vegetable lard. It saves on time and cost and doesn't taste as good. And probably pretty bad for you! But in a smaller place like this, it's more individual. And then people can do a range of different styles. Like Italians, they do the so-called bomboloni, or like the French, they do the beignet. But honestly, it's the same concept. Donuts are donuts!

CNS: Do you think about local tastes when coming up with recipes? Are you trying to work with flavors and styles that might appeal to a Shanghai market?

Gin: I don't think Asian people, especially Chinese people, are very into the more traditional sweet donuts. But it would be a lie if I tried to change to suit an audience. So I honestly don't adjust anything. I mean, I'm just trying to do what I like. That's what I'm only capable of.

CNS: So, how do you decide what's on the menu? I guess it changes a lot, but you have a few signatures.

Gin: The menu? It depends on how long it's going to take for our baking staff to get bored of it! When we're bored, we just move on to the next project. That's it. Or it depends on the season as well, of course. Like availability, like what kind of fruits you can get during the season or what kind of mood you are in.

CNS: Also a seasonal thing. Let's eat some donuts. What's this here?

[Copy Editor's Note: This was the tasty treat that started everything. It flavors are exactly how it looks, texture-wise its sticky with butterscotch. This was being ordered upwards of twice of week and in batches. Sadly, it is no longer on the menu... an existential reminder that death is part of life, and all good things must come to an end. Or perhaps a subtle rebellion against capitalism, i.e. something popular with patrons, yank it off the menu, to hell with profits!]

Gin: The Kouign Amann, a French butter cake. From Breton. Yeah, but it's not like a cake in the traditional sense. It's more crunchy, you know. We used a low-hydration dough and put some butter and sugar in. Then you just roll it out and do the lamination. That's it. That's your cake. This is more like a modern version of it, and I thought it might be a good idea to change the white sugar to something else to have a more complex flavor in the caramelization. So, I thought maybe I'd make my own butterscotch and put it in, and it turns out great.

CNS: You make your own butterscotch, huh?

Gin: Yeah, yeah.

CNS: What's your day like? Are you waking up at like four in the morning every day?

Gin: Yeah.

CNS: Every day?

Gin: Yeah, every day. I'm a baker. It's early afternoon now, and my baking team has already left for the day!

CNS: So what's this one? An Amaretto Sour Donut?

Gin: So, this was inspired by my favorite cocktail, the Amaretto Sour. It's one of the alternative versions of the whiskey sour. It has the sourness and refreshing flavor, like the whiskey sour, and also has a little bit of a hint of bitterness. It would be great to pair it with the cocktail!

CNS: This one seems really unique. Do you pay attention to other bakeries in Shanghai, like what other people are doing?

Gin: Of course I do. Yeah, it is competitive in Shanghai. After I started to make donuts, you know, donuts are not a popular item in China in general, but it's becoming a trend maybe. Like maybe only a few shops in Shanghai have one or two donut items. But now there are maybe 10 shops doing it. We'll see where it goes!

CNS: Tell us about your classic chocolate donut.

Gin: You've had a chocolate donut before, but this is a chocolate bar donut. This is the 5.0. We've had four previous versions, each inspired by a different chocolate bar. The first one was Twix. The second one is more like a winey flavor. And the third one was Bounty. The fourth one, the chocolate, was inspired by Kinder eggs, and this one is mint chocolate.

CNS: So, do you have any plans to open venues? Take over the world?

Gin: Yeah, maybe next year. I just don't want to do the chain. It just doesn't look cool. I want to do something more. I want to do a completely new project.

CNS: Something completely different? Like a restaurant or... Amaretto Sours and donuts. Maybe a cocktail bar?

Gin: Yeah, yeah. Still thinking about it.

CNS: So tell me about your glazed donut.

Gin: It's a glazed donut.

CNS: That it is! Pretty straightforward. I grew up on Tim Horton's French crullers. This definitely tastes like a step up! What's your favorite donut?

Gin: Me myself? PB&J.

CNS: That's a good shout. Last one. The famous breakfast roll. Tell me about the breakfast roll. How did you develop the breakfast roll?

Gin: This one, actually, was not invented by me. Do you know one of the most famous bakeries in San Francisco, Boudin? It's famous for popularizing sourdough bread into a worldwide thing. Sourdough bread basically came from there…

CNS: Is this sourdough?

Gin: No. No, but the guy there wrote a book on baking that is like the Bible for bakers. And this is called a morning bun.

CNS: Oh!

Gin: Yeah, a morning bun. And in the original version, they put cinnamon sugar as a coating and probably some butter and sugar inside as well. We're just trying to make our version of it. So we have espresso dust on the outside. And some organic coconut sugar in the inside as well, and then some butter and sugar bake in the pan at the bottom, so you get this sticky, gooey, bit at the bottom.

CNS: I think that's it! Any special deals we can stick in there at the end for the people?

Gin: Hmm. Well, you get a free pastry on your birthday!

CNS: Hey, that's alright! So you bring in your ID, and then you get a free pastry?

Gin: You don't need to bring your ID. You just need to register for our membership.

CNS: Oh, okay.

Gin: That's how I'm able to collect all the data!

CNS: That's sneaky. I like it. Respect. Not so "sloppy" after all… "Sneaky" Gin?

Gin: No comment!

Part Two: 7 Riverlight - Bringing British Bakery Nostalgia to Shanghai

Credit: Brandon McGhee

Caption: On the left, is an glass enclosed kitchen where you can see the baking take place. The two columns surround the rather petite entrance to the right.

If Sloppy Gin's whole instinct is "we'll make what we want, whenever we get bored of the last thing," Seven Riverlight runs on the opposite one: an English-leaning bakery built by a 28-year-old former womenswear student who fell hard for London's particular daily ritual of pastry, coffee, and croissant, then rebuilt it from a Shanghai storefront named after their old apartment building.

JQ didn't set out to become a baker. Fashion was the plan, until a COVID-era layoff and a family emergency back home rerouted everything. What followed: a bagel shop, a pivot once Shanghai's brief bagel craze died out, and eventually the British-leaning bakery it is now, turning out sausage rolls, hand-peeled cardamom buns, and a Guinness cake dense enough to make you forget lunch.

We started, as one should, with the food.

CNS: Which ones represent the culture of Riverlight the most?

JQ: The sausage roll, I'd say. It was the first thing I tried when I was in London. We're doing an English-influenced bakery, so this one represents our culture, I'd say.

CNS: Okay. And this one has been here for a while. Tell me a little bit about this one.

JQ: It's kind of my personal favorite. I was testing out some different things in the kitchen the other day, and it was an accident, I'd say. I put balsamic vinegar into the chocolate ganache. Basically, I was thinking, can I put a different layer of flavor into the chocolate ganache? I was trying to add treacle into the ganache, treacle is a type of sugar, but by accident, I picked up another bottle and added vinegar into it. Eventually, I tasted it, and it turned out surprisingly good! So I just kept this flavor, and now it's become my signature. I think nobody else is doing this.

CNS: No, I haven't seen anything like this anywhere else. And this one is new, right?

JQ: Yeah, this one's new. It's called an Apricot Remonce.
CNS: Remonce?
JQ: Yea, so its a Danish confection, a sort of soft, spreadable paste made by creaming together butter, sugar, and usually with almond paste or marzipan, which is then put into a laminated dough. On top we have an apricot jam that we make.
CNS: Oh.. this is quite nice. Very gentle in texture, but very dense in flavor. This you definitely need to pair with coffee or tea. So... and then this one, you said, was one of your best sellers, is that right?

JQ: Yeah, the cardamom bun.

CNS: Tell me a little bit about this one. I know a few other places have had something like this before, but curious why this happens to be a best seller here, I've not yet tried it.

JQ: This has a Nordic vibe. In Denmark, they can straight-up buy cardamom seeds, but we have to peel ours here because we don't have just the seeds for sale. Other stores usually throw the whole cardamom, the green pod, into the blender and blend it. But that leaves a bad aftertaste from the shells. We tried so many different ways to get the seeds, but those methods didn't work out.

CNS: Now, I'll be honest. This one looks very boring. And dry. But... wow, it soft and moist. Oh, well, now this is quite good. This pasty's appearance is verrry deceptive. I can see why it's popular. It's unassuming, not too heavy, and your right, the salted butter adds a dimension. Very nice.
JQ: Yea, so, we have to peel every single cardamom seed by hand to get that unique flavor from the seeds, making it more authentic. Also, unlike other sweet breads, we use salted butter in there. So it's not only sweet and spiced, but it also has a a savory undertone.

CNS: Very cool. Now, this one [points] this one, is what got me addicted. I've been ordering it almost every week and sending it to many of my friends, and everyone's response has been "wow" or "holy sh...ucks". Had a running bet on what that particular spice is that you put in it! Tell me a little bit about that one, because it's a croissant dough, but it's very unique in terms of its flavor, the outer crust, and what you put inside.

The Butter Crumble Croissant - Devil's Food...

Credit: Brandon McGhee

Caption: The infamous butter crumble croissant. Order this one now. If you have people around you, order one for each of them. This is not for sharing.

JQ: There is a pastry called Tebirkes in Denmark, it basically looks like a bear's claw. It has a custard-like filling inside called Riemens, and you put a lot of poppy seeds on top. We cannot use poppy seeds here because it's illegal. I found that flavor quite unique, so I took a few ingredients from that to recreate my own version. I was thinking while making it that the inside is basically just sugar and butter, but I added cardamon to set it apart, so you essentially double-bake the leftover croissant. You put the filling inside, and the crumble on top is an ingredient we used on our apple crumble last year. I put them together, tried it, and it was nice.

CNS: Pfff. It was nice. You created something with addictive properties JQ. And is butter crumble popular, or is it just me?
JQ: I think it's too sweet for Chinese people!

CNS: Oh, really? Oh for heavens, sake, God forbid, don't get rid of it. Keep it on the menu, I've told all my friends about it. It's not that sweet...

JQ: No, no, I'll keep making it. Sometimes it sells well, large orders... maybe that's you? haha. Anyway, our various products have very specific target customers, some people love this batch of treats, while other groups go for another group of goods.

CNS: Which ones would you say are most popular with your Chinese audience, and which are most popular with expats and foreigners?

JQ: For Chinese customers, I think they love the Guinness cake and the pistachio one, maybe because of how they look. The croissant, pain au chocolat, and kouign-amann sell well too. For Western or foreign customers, they move more toward my savory pies and focaccias. We have four different flavors of focaccia. The original is a classic that foreigners love. Chinese customers like more creative stuff, like the garlic butter or the dill and paprika, sweeter and savory options, so they go for those quite a lot.

CNS: Tell me about the Guinness cake. I'm not super familiar with it. It's a chocolate cake, right?

JQ: Yeah. You put a whole bottle of Guinness into it. The Guinness isn't for you to taste the alcohol itself, it's to embrace the flavor of the cocoa and chocolate. It leaves a slightly bitter aftertaste. It's a traditional Irish dessert, usually made around St. Patrick's Day.

CNS: Which of these on the menu here do you think we should shoot? Maybe just choose two.

JQ: This one is great for presentation, its a dish I would get a lof when I would visit Ireland, its the Irish Soda Bread plate. And I do love the ham and mozzarella one, because it's just a classic basic that tastes good and isn't too fancy.

CNS: Okay, well thank you for covering the treats with us. Let's sit down for a moment, now, and get into your story a bit. Introduce yourself, your name, where you're from.

JQ: My name is JQ. I'm from Hangzhou, China.

CNS: All of this started because of your journey in the UK. Tell us about how you ended up in the UK, what you studied, and what you did there.

JQ: I was a womenswear student. I wasn't in the food industry before at all. I had a job in London with a brand that I loved, but when COVID happened, they had to lay off employees. I was one of the unlucky ones who got picked. After that, my passion toward fashion went down, so I stopped doing design for a few years. During that time, I didn't know what to do. But I eventually realized that the food we need every day is essential for me, especially bakery stuff.

CNS: Were you big on bakery stuff before you went to the UK?

JQ: No, I wasn't at all. It was just a whole lifestyle change when I was in the UK. As a designer, my daily routine was weird, so I would normally get up, get a pastry and a coffee, and go to school. It slowly became my daily routine. That's why I thought, why not try to make my own stuff? Especially since the Chinese market didn't really have these kinds of pastries.

CNS: How did Riverlight get started? You finished everything in the UK, got laid off, COVID was happening. Did you want to come back to China?

JQ: No, I didn't want to come back, but my father needed serious surgery, so I had to return. After I came back, I felt like I had less to do here because I wasn't familiar with what was happening in China. Since I didn't know what to do, I tried starting with something I loved to eat. It didn't start with these kinds of products, though. I loved a store called Beigel Bake in London, which focused on salted beef bagels. I started from there. That's why I have so many bagels in my logo! That's where Seven Riverlight started, it was basically a bagel store.

CNS: So when you started, Riverlight was a bagel store?

JQ: Yeah, it was a bagel and sandwich store, and I progressively added new things to it.

CNS: I see there are no bagels now, though.

JQ: No, because the market changed, and I had to go with it. Bagels were quite a big thing in China about two years ago, but after the novelty wore off with customers, it wasn't a product they came back for, so I had to adapt to suit the market more.

CNS: So Seven Riverlight has been open for two years here?

JQ: Here, yes. But in total, if you count the store in Hangzhou, it's been about two years.

CNS: Hangzhou was the first, and it was successful?

JQ: I wouldn't say "successful," but we became known and stood out because we were unique. In the city we're recognizable, I'd say.

CNS: When did this place open?

JQ: Last year.

CNS: Well it seems like this place became popular. It's Tuesday afternoon and we couldn't even get a seat to do this interview, we had to do the food first. I've been here for a while, but I didn't really start seeing Riverlight until a few weeks ago, probably because of delivery apps. What do you think happened that created more popularity over the last year? Or have you always been popular and I just didn't know it?

JQ: We've kind of always been popular, but we didn't open up delivery until this year. Last year, we only did in-store because we wanted to focus mainly on getting the product right.

CNS: Has delivery added more business for you guys?

JQ: Obviously, yeah quite a lot. It sort of served as a marketing engine for us, because people outside the neighborhood started ordering, and then we would see them show up at the store eventuall. But it takes more effort because I had to redesign the packaging and order more boxes. You never know how the drivers are going to handle the food. I personally don't like delivery that much because I feel like for some of my pastries, you have to enjoy them here in the store, like the sandwiches, or pastries that we warm up for you, like the croissants or scones.

CNS: That's important to know. I don't warm anything up at home! What about the butter crumble croissant, is that supposed to be eaten warm?

JQ: No, that one doesn't need to be warmed up. But you can if you want.

CNS: Tell us a little bit about when you first opened your store. You're a pretty young entrepreneur, you're 28, right? You came back to China and opened your own store without prior experience in F&B. What made you pull the trigger?

JQ: All of this was started by myself, but I have a really supportive and wonderful girlfriend, who is now my wife! She supports my decisions every time and helps me through a lot of hard times. As I mentioned before, I'm a krump dancer. That mindset helps me a lot with the process of opening this store. We always have a saying: if you have an idea or a feeling, you just have to do it first. If you hesitate or show that you're not sure, other people might take the shot or see your hesitation. So I just went for it. Krump is an expression of your emotions, it's an ugly dance, but you have to express your feelings. I bring that same mentality to my bakery. If I want to create a bizarre flavor, I just try it first. You never know if it's good or not until you try.

CNS: It's almost like a creative expression for you, right? This didn't start purely as a business, it was something you wanted to create. You came from the fashion industry, which is innately creative, and while you lost that passion for fashion, you still had this drive for expression.

JQ: Yeah, it's an expression and a way of being myself. If I create something that the local market doesn't like or even hates, that's okay for me. I'll just keep going and create more stuff. I'm never afraid to get something wrong.

CNS: What's your wife's favorite item?

JQ: Sourdough. She's just like me, a bread person.

CNS: She doesn't have a sweet tooth?

JQ: We do love sweet stuff, but... Have you tried our cookie yet? We have a New York-style thick cookie. It's a seasonal item, so we're not doing it right now, but we love that, and so do our friends. Those are our daily basics and main carb intake!

CNS: Last question: What's the history behind the name Seven Riverlight?

JQ: It was my apartment in London! I lived in an apartment called Riverlight Quay. I was going to name the store Riverlight Quay, but "Quay" is hard to pronounce for people here, they'd pronounce it "Kway" or something like that. So I got rid of "Quay" and made it Seven Riverlight.

CNS: Very cool. Well, it was nice to meet you, JQ!

Two returnees, two very different temperaments. One treats the menu as a living thing that occasionally has to be euthanized out of boredom. The other is quietly building an entire identity around a single word: British. Both left with an ordinary life plan, both got knocked off it, and both came back from it with a very specific, very foreign craving they decided the rest of us needed too.

Go get the kouign-amann at Sloppy Gin if it ever comes back. And go get the butter crumble croissant, get two, because you'll want one for tomorrow. You won't have it tomorrow though real, talk. You'll eat both tonight. Best time to order is in the mornings, afternoon's at both places, many things are sold out.

Have a bakery in the city that absolutely blows your mind? Drop a note in the comments, or leave a note for Gin or JQ.