Some things are worth waiting for, like the offerings at 85C Bakery, where folks have been queuing up since its December launch at Chinatown’s Shanghai Plaza.
Founder Wu Cheng-Hsueh first opened the Taiwanese export in Taipei in 2004, and there are now more than 900 locations across China and Taiwan, plus another 80 or so throughout the U.S., Australia and Hong Kong. Named for the temperature at which Cheng-hsueh insists coffee tastes best—85 degrees Celsius—the café offers a variety of coffee and tea drinks, slushies and smoothies, with or without boba (the taro tea latte is a must). But it’s the baked goods that make 85C a true standout.
85C’s tagline is “Sweeten your life!” and it’s easy to with the array of sweets and treats laid out before you.
Grab a plastic tray like it’s your high school cafeteria and hit the cases stocked with sweet and savory pastries. For the best experience, bring a group of friends to divide and conquer the vast bakery floor, and to try as many of the offerings as possible. Keep an eye out for the latest from the kitchen as bakers whiz by with warm trays of apple-almond Danishes, cheese dogs, choco-buns and loaves of fresh brioche, yelling “Fresh bread!” as they go. Once you’ve loaded up, move to the next line, where an employee will bag each item in cellophane. When you reach the counter, it’s time to order that perfectly brewed, 85-degree drip or the fan favorite iced sea salt coffee. Is the wait worth it? Absolutely.
85C BAKERY 4258 Spring Mountain Road, 702-247-4094. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m.-midnight; Sunday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m.
