Third Culture Bakery Address: 9935 E Colfax Ave, Aurora, CO 80010
Introduction:
The term “third culture kid” refers to children who grew up in a different culture than that of their parents. The owners of Third Culture Bakery, Sam Butarbutar and Wenter Shyu grew up third culture kids, and have put their Indonesian and Taiwanese childhood influences on full display at Third Culture Bakery.
Picture of the outside of Third Culture Bakery Aurora. https://www.westword.com/. February 6, 2020. https://www.westword.com/restaurants/third-culture-bakery-brings-mochi-muffins-and-doughnuts-to-aurora-11632155
Third Culture Bakery has a very focused menu of just butter mochi desserts and matcha drinks. Butter mochi is a cross between Japanese style mochi (a chewy rice cake made with glutinous rice) and American yellow butter cake. It has a signature soft, chewy, and springy texture and a rich buttery flavor. To complement these desserts, you will also find matcha drinks on the menu. Matcha is a very fine powder of specially grown green tea leaves, most commonly used in East Asia. It is a very versatile ingredient and can be used in baked goods, ice cream, drinks, and much more. Third Culture has two locations, one in Aurora, Colorado, the one is visited, and another in Berkley, California, their original location.
My Favorite Treats:
At Third Culture Bakery, I wanted to make sure that I got a wide selection of pastries in order to make a fair judgement. I decided to purchase 5 different flavor of butter mochi donuts: Raspberry Lychee, Guava Cheese Cake, Mango Passion Fruit, Banana Dulce De Leche, and Vietnamese Coffee. I also got the Ube Mochi Muffin, The Original Mochi Muffin, and the Chocolate Mochi Brownie. Out of this wide assortment of pastries, I narrowed down my favorites to the Mango Passion Fruit Donut, the Raspberry Lychee Donut, and the Chocolate Mochi Brownie.
The Mango Passion Fruit Donut:
This donut flavor is by far the bakery’s most popular, and rightfully so. As soon as you bite into the donut, you are hit with the flavors of the bright and refreshing glaze. The glazes are always made using real fruits and ingredients, and that was certainly evident. The tang from the passion fruit and the sweetness from the mango combined to make a really well balanced and enjoyable donut flavor. However, the actual star of the show was the cocoa nibs that topped the donut. In contrast to the fruitiness of the glaze, the nibs gave the donut a rich chocolatey flavor as well as a nice crunch.
The Raspberry Lychee Donut:
The Raspberry Lychee Donut was also quite delicious. The combination of lychee and raspberry is not particularly common, however, they worked really well together in the glaze. The glaze was well-balanced and not too sweet, and worked well to cut through the richness of the mochi donut itself. Additionally, this doughnut really reminded me of one of my favorite childhood cereals, fruit loops, and I definitely think that’s a positive.
Chocolate Brownie:
I really didn’t know what to expect from a mochi chocolate brownie, but after trying it I was blown away. The texture is far from the classic fudginess of a regular brownie, but it is something absolutely new. Its texture was chewy and dense and the top of the brownie was slightly crisp. The bakery uses high-quality cocoa powder and chocolate in its brownies and you can definitely taste it. The flavor was rich, sweet, and slightly bitter; all signs of a perfect brownie. Overall, this brownie can be classified as a successful reinvention of the classic American dessert.
Overall:
Before a few months ago, I never heard of Third Culture Bakery, and that’s a real shame. As a lover of desserts, I believe that after my visit, Third Culture has established itself to be one of the premier dessert shops in Colorado. This bakery is so unique. Not many places in Colorado sell mochi in general, and to find mochi transformed in such an interesting way as donuts and muffins is very intriguing. Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Third Culture Bakery and will absolutely be coming back soon. My rating is 4.8 stars out of 5.
If you enjoyed this restaurant review, go to check out our restaurant review of Safta, a restaurant in the RiNo district of Denver dishing out modern Israeli Cuisine.
