We’ll get things off to a start by saying, “Skyways”, for we’re not going to go there. That’s figuratively, not literally. It wouldn’t be fair on the competition.
For we don’t all live near a branch of Nanjing’s favourite-foreign bakery. The very basic, but million-dollar, question therefore becomes, where to buy a decent sliced loaf of whole-wheat bread in our fair City? In a China where locals obsess over sweet or milk bread, there are in fact more options that might first be imagined.
In reverse order, three brands stand out. First up is the pack of sliced whole wheat from Fujian-based Dali Foods (达利食品).
A little on the heavy side and with a taste that is a tiny bit synthetic (that’s probably down to the milk powder therein), this could easily be found on the shelves of a low-end supermarket in Europe. It’s not, of course, but Dali like to think it would qualify. The publicly-traded company’s website describes its product range as, “authentic European-style snack food”.
Authentic? That’s just a maybe, given that readers may likely be familiar with another of their offerings, the Copico brand of crisps with their uncanny similarity to a tube of Pringles. That all said, it should be noted that, in terms of price per slice, “Meibeichen” (美焙辰) knocks it out of the park; an eight-slice pack goes for ¥7-8.
We found our pack of Dali’s Meibeichen whole-wheat bread in Nanjing in a large Suguo.
Next, in the runner up position is 85 Degrees, named after the supposed-perfect brewing temperature for espresso.
It’s been over a decade since the Taiwanese coffee and bakery chain made their first splash in Nanjing, bang in the middle of Xinjiekou on Shigu Lu. Today, they may be ubiquitous in our city but they also remain synonymous with sweet. Not so their whole-wheat sliced bread.
A bit smaller, more pricy (¥12 for six slices) but nevertheless a very competent qualifier for a fine piece of toast in Nanjing.
At the top of the bread heap, though, is the retailer that was runner up when we sought out Nanjing’s best milk last month. Well done to Yiming (inm; 一鸣). Their whole-wheat sliced bread, better priced at ¥8 for the same six slices, takes The Nanjinger’s crown as best in our fair City.
Interested readers can find out more about the innovative, Zhejiang-based outfit in the previous issue of The Nanjinger, and naturally, via this link.
But, it can be nigh on impossible to stop Yiming’s over-enthusiastic staff from giving you a plastic bag, even despite it being patently obvious you are carrying a feel-good, canvas-shopping bag of your own bringing. Still some work awaits on the eco-friendly front.
