Big Bear Baked Goods and RuKis' New Branch is a Treat
Any Beijinger with a sweet tooth will be familiar Jonathan Ellis’ Big Bear Baked Goods. The 33-year-old Chicago-born baker rose to local dessert fame in 2013, when he won The Hutong's Charity Cookie Monster Bakeoff (read more about that here).
Since then, Ellis has been building his brand, Big Bear Baked Goods, and selling his wonderful creations at both branches of Palms L.A. Kitchen as
well as a sprinkle of other joints and events. Well, lucky for us
dessert enthusiasts, Big Bear Baked Goods finally opened their first
ever branch in the alleys of Dashibei Hutong, and with none other than Anete Elken from RuKis Estonian Bread, another one of our favorite bakers.
Big Bear Baked Goods
We paid Big Bear a visit over the long weekend, on a particularly sunny and sweaty afternoon. The shop, located right next to 4corners,
wasn’t difficult to find – partly due to the smell of freshly baked
cookies and bread wafting in the air. It’s a small, quaint shop painted
light blue. The little space inside (not mentioning the kitchen, where
they bake fresh batches of cookies) is just enough for a cashier counter
and a stack of coffee machines. Despite this, the shop doesn’t feel
cramped due to it simple design.
A bag contains 5 cookies (RMB 40)
Even
in the sweltering heat, the cookie queue was already overflowing onto
the streets during their soft opening weekend. We quickly placed an
order for a bag of cookies, which contains five cookies for RMB 40,
and since customers can mix and match, we asked to try one of each
flavor. Sadly but unsurprisingly, they had ran out of their specialty,
the Mud & Snow, which
is a salted dark chocolate cookie. We didn’t let this break our spirit,
though, for we still had two other delicious flavors to taste.
We had the Afternoon Delights,
which is loaded with toffee, walnuts, and cinnamon. The toffee and
cinnamon had distinct flavors, yet the pairing created a smooth and
comforting harmony. The soft cookie combined with its gooey toffee
filling and chunks of walnuts, creating an array of textures that made
each bite a satisfying mouthful. They truly were an afternoon delight.
Afternoon Delights
Their chocolate chip cookies are
also delicious, but are different in texture than the Afternoon
Delight. Big Bear’s chocolate chip cookies are for those who prefer
drier cookies, and while we personally prefer chewier cookies, the
chocolate chip cookies were nonetheless tasty and very comforting.
Chocolate chip cookies
We also got half a loaf of Estonian rye bread from
RuKis (RMB 25 for half, RMB 40 for a full loaf), a baked goods brand
specializing in Estonian rye bread. RuKis has had a strong following in
Beijing for about a year now, and have made its way to Beijing's Farm 2 Neighbors Market. Their bread is made from scratch using fresh and high quality ingredients.
RuKis Estonian rye bread
For
the time being, Big Bear cookies are now exclusively sold at their
shop, but according to Ellis, they are starting "an aggressive marketing
plan to sell to other restaurants and cafes.” Following this soft
opening weekend, the store will be open on weekends to start off with,
from 11am-7pm, with the aim of expanding opening times. Several local
craft goods are also on hand at this new bakery, like Mantra bars, Naked Nut Butter, Yeyo, and more.
The
owner and baker also told us that cookies are just the first phase of
Big Bear Baked Goods’ plan. Their second phase is to venture to pies and
cakes, then donuts and other confections, and eventually bagels and
other baked goods. Ellis had previously sold donuts for Hatchery for a limited amount of time. His innovative donuts include flavors like the straw-thorn (strawberry and hawthorn). As fans of the brand, we are definitely waiting for the next phases with bated breath.
Photos: Carmel Moersalim
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