This European-style shop specializes in Japanese breads—volcanoes hiding custard, pudding, and fruits inside!

Text & photos byXiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog

Many friends who know I love Chifeng Street keep recommending delicious spots nearby to me. This hidden bakery tucked away in a hard-to-find alley is one such find—or rather, I should say I’d missed several chances to spot and learn about it. But as I often say, connections between people and food are also about fate, and now that fate has arrived. This 1+2 visit is dedicated to fellow fans of Chifeng Street.

The address says it’s on Chengde Road, but the actual location is midway down the alley on either side. Because you can’t see it from either end, and there isn’t much else to explore in this alley, even though I go to Chifeng Street two or three times a week, I hadn’t noticed this bakery recommended by many friends.

Because it’s quite hard to find, I deliberately took photos of both ends of the alley. If you’re coming from Chengde Road, you’ll see a “peekaboo Bakery” sign at the entrance.

If you’re exiting Zhongshan MRT Station and walking along Chifeng Street, when you reach this intersection, just head toward “Chengde” for about a minute and you’ll see it.

Well, if you can’t find it even after I’ve gone to the trouble of mapping it out, then I give up XXD.

This is a small shop with a slightly European-style exterior, but it mainly sells Japanese breads—a different kind of vibe for my beloved Chifeng Street. The types of bread they offer are also less common around here, and they post their daily featured breads and desserts at the door every day.

It feels like it might be a bakery opened by someone from a wealthy background trying to make it on their own—definitely worth encouraging. Also, the opening and closing days for the month are posted at the entrance, and it seems they regularly take Sundays and Mondays off.

The bakery’s head baker studied at a specialized school in Japan.

The shop isn’t very big. As soon as you push open the door, you’re hit with an overwhelming aroma of freshly baked bread… Some have said there are two smells that are hardest to handle: one is grilled meat, and the second is freshly baked bread.

A relatively large portion of the store is given over to the bread-making kitchen. In this small shop, there are three or four bakers bustling about—it seems business is pretty good.

One of these breads had an aroma and appearance so enticing that it was the first one I decided to take home during my first visit—even though I still don’t know its name.

I was quite interested in the pumpkin toast, but as many friends who make desserts or breads with pumpkin say, pumpkin is actually tricky to incorporate well into sweets. The reason is that to get a strong pumpkin flavor, you usually have to add artificial flavoring. When I snuck a sniff while no one was looking, sure enough, there wasn’t any pumpkin scent XXD. So I brought half a loaf to a friend’s house as a gift during my second visit.

The chocolate marble toast and brown sugar toast made me feel like this is a bakery that really knows its way around toast.

This cylindrical bread seemed to be called something like “kumquat lemon macaron”—though why it’s called a macaron, I have no idea. Anyway, a friend said it’s one of their signature items, so I bought one to try.

There were also some curry breads that felt different from what I’ve had before, and a somewhat odd-looking but very unique pineapple cream stick.

Additionally, the shop offers some whole wheat breads too, though those weren’t really my thing!

This bread looks a lot like a “bagel.”

Besides bread, the shop also offers some cakes and other sweet treats—some with varying degrees of European flair, or perhaps it’s better to say they don’t look purely Japanese, and may even carry a hint of Taiwanese flavor. But no matter—the most important thing is that they taste good.

At checkout, I noticed that certain fruit rolls and cake rolls are limited daily, so you have to be quick if you want to buy them. Also, spend 300 NT and flash your membership card to get a free coffee.

Since I didn’t flash my card, I didn’t get coffee XD—I just borrowed a shot of a customer’s coffee!

Besides bread and cakes, the shop also offers some handmade cookies that you can sample on the counter before deciding whether to buy.

When you break into this bread, your fingertips are greeted by an astonishingly soft texture. The contrast between the crispy crust and the fluffy interior, even the slight chewiness once it’s in your mouth, is all fantastic. The lightly baked cheese on top is already a favorite of mine—this bread truly has the flavor of Japanese soft bread. I love it.

This curry bread is quite different from the ones I’ve had before, both previously and in Japan. The main difference lies in the crust, which is much less oily—or should I say, almost not oily at all—which makes the slightly salty filling taste just right. Also, there’s quite a lot of filling, and the curry flavor comes through in layers between bites, mingling with the bread’s aroma to deliver varying tastes. Big recommendation.

If we’re talking softness, this bread absolutely beats the one with cheese I mentioned earlier. Just pulling apart the toast gives you that satisfying feeling. The dough’s aroma occasionally carries a hint of “kumquat,” but that’s a minor note—the real star is still the soft texture and fragrance of the bread.

The pumpkin toast really doesn’t give off much pumpkin flavor after eating, but the bread itself is soft and solid. The edges are a bit dry and slightly hard for my taste.

Next up is my favorite cake (drooling). Okay, I admit I didn’t take note of the cake’s name when I bought it… I just couldn’t resist how gorgeous it looked XD.

Once cut, the top has a light mousse-like texture from the whipped egg whites, the middle layer offers a creamy, cheese-infused richness with a milky aroma, and the bottom is a slightly dry sponge cake on its own. Overall, the texture and layering are quite impressive. The real surprise is the hidden berry jam beneath, whose tangy flavor just tempts you to take another bite or two. This is also how Xiaohu recommends eating this cake—“one clean slice.”

Another dessert my friend insisted on ordering resembles jelly. It has a lemon zest-infused cream on top, a generous middle layer of jelly mixed with a thick, cheese-whipped cream-like consistency that adds a slight emulsified effect to the texture. What’s truly brilliant is the grapefruit inside, which combines sweet, sour, and bitter notes in perfect harmony—it’s the highlight that ties the whole dessert together. Delicious!

This cake is absolutely stunning, with translucent, jelly-like little squares on top that sparkle like diamonds under the light—super unique. In terms of flavor, it mainly features juicy, sweet grapes and the taste of the custard sauce underneath, along with a tart crust that’s crisp yet tender. It’s spot on, though the flavor is pretty much what you’d expect.

I’m not sure if this is called a strawberry cream puff or something (XXD), but the choux pastry shell looks a bit dry, yet it isn’t when you bite into it. Instead, it has a satisfyingly crisp and flaky texture, along with the aroma of roasted almond slices. Inside, there’s freshly whipped cream that’s not overly sweet, paired with mildly tangy strawberries to cut through the richness. I finished it in just two or three bites—it’s delicious.

I ordered this cake simply because its name is “Volcano.” When I asked a rather knowledgeable staff member, she explained that the top is designed to look like a “volcano”...

The name may sound a bit silly, but this is actually my favorite cake. On top, there’s something like a thin layer of soufflé crust, followed by a layer of custard (in the middle) and a base of pudding. Even more impressively, this small dessert is packed with five or six different kinds of fruit pieces. Both the texture and the flavor are incredibly satisfying. It’s insanely delicious—sweet tooth lovers definitely shouldn’t miss this uniquely wonderful cake.

This is a fruit roll I brought back during my second visit for friends. I cut off a piece to try. The outer layer of the cake roll has a rich eggy aroma and a texture that’s soft and moist—just the kind I love. The whipped cream has a decent milky flavor, and while its melt-in-your-mouth quality isn’t perfect, it’s relatively refreshing. For those who enjoy cake rolls but don’t want too much whipped cream, it’s less heavy. It’s perfect for bringing home to share with family and friends. Next time, I’ll try the milk roll!

Peekaboo Bakery:
No. 16, Lane 53, Section 2, Chengde Road, Datong District, Taipei City
Phone: 02 2555 7100
Business Hours: 1:00 PM – 6:30 PM

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