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We Tried Shio Pan From 12 Local Bakeries In Klang Valley To See Which Shop Has The Best

June 26, 2026
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We Tried Shio Pan From 12 Local Bakeries In Klang Valley To See Which Shop Has The Best

Best shio pan in Klang Valley

Bread isn’t usually the go-to carb for Malaysians. We love our mixed rice and bowls of noodles and will have them at any time of day. But with viral creations like the shio pan making an appearance at bakeries abroad and now locally, too, you might want to swap your regular visit to a hawker stall for a drop-in at a bakery.

To help you find the best in Malaysia, we visited 12 bakeries in Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Selangor to try their shio pan and bring you this review.

What is shio pan?

You might be wondering – what’s the difference between a shio pan and a croissant anyway?

For the uninitiated, shio pan (塩パン), or salt bread, is originally Japanese. It’s now a popular menu item at bakeries internationally, particularly in Korea, where it takes on the name sogeum-ppang.

This bread features simple flavours that are usually centred around just a few key ingredients – butter, salt, and a touch of milk – with the texture of its dough the highlight of sinking your teeth into one. The top and bottom of the shio pan take on a crisp crackle thanks to the butter, while the inside remains soft and airy.

Some bakeries have turned the shio pan into a carrier for sweet and savoury fillings, but it is enjoyable on its own.

12. Kefi Kohi 

Seksyen 19, Petaling Jaya

shio pan malaysia - kefi kohi

Kefi Kohi is located discreetly on the third floor of a shoplot in Section 19. This coffee house offers coffee and non-coffee beverages, alongside light bites, including the shio pan for just RM8.

The shio pan here is smaller in size in comparison to the ones served at other bakeries – it’s just slightly larger than a palm. There’s no seeming presence of butter embedded inside, with butter served separately on the side instead.

shio pan malaysia - kefi kohi

However, in terms of texture, Kefi Kohi’s shio pan didn’t have the usual crisp, crunchy exterior layer common to shio pan. The dough was soft and boasted a chewy texture, with a slight resistance when torn apart.

shio pan malaysia - kefi kohi

Overall, the bread itself had the salt element as it was evenly seasoned, but did not have that signature ‘butter hole’ that’s distinctive of shio pans.


Kefi Kohi

11. Osha Dan Terra

Shah Alam

best shio Pan in klang valley osha dan terra

Located in Shah Alam, Osha dan Terra’s shio pan (RM7.50) fell short of our expectations for a great shio pan. It left something to be desired as the bread roll was overly greasy.

best shio Pan in klang valley osha dan terra

One touch of the bread, and your fingers are covered in slick butter that is reflected in the taste. Moreover, the bread did not possess the distinct pillowy and airy quality that is a typical trait of a good shio pan.


OSHA DAN TERRA

10. Kona Bakehouse

SS 2, Petaling Jaya

best shio pan malaysia- kona bakehouse

Next up on the list is Kona Bakehouse, tucked away in PJ’s well-known SS2 neighbourhood. Unlike Kefi Kohi, Kona Bakehouse’s shio pan (RM6.50) had an even golden colour distribution across the bread, a sign that it’s been baked in a highly controlled temperature.

best shio pan malaysia- kona bakehouse

Appearances aside, the bread itself was soft, but it did not carry that prominent buttery and salty flavour that’s common in a shio pan. Simply put, it tastes like regular bread with a really dense dough.


Kona Bakehouse

9. Smith Bakery & Cafe

Bukit Kiara, KL

best shio pan in klang valley smith

Next on the list is Smith Bakery & Cafe, with their shio pan coming in at RM7 each. Their rolls look and feel like regular bread, possessing a denser bite compared to the other shio pans we’ve tried.

best shio pan klang valley smith

Unfortunately, the shio pan here tasted like a regular bread roll and missed the mark for several criteria on our list. It didn’t possess a crunchy, hard crust, and neither was it salty at all.


Smith Bakery & Cafe – KLGCC Mall

8. Eleven Moon Cafe

SS 19, Subang Jaya

best shio pan malaysia - eleven moon cafe

Subang Jaya’s Eleven Moon Cafe comes in at eighth place on the list with their shio pan for RM7.50.

best shio pan malaysia - eleven moon cafe

Their shio pan is the stock standard of all shio pans and doesn’t disappoint by nailing all the key elements of the roll: buttery, soft, and salty. Perhaps the only shortcoming is that their bread isn’t as light and buttery as most shio pans, and has a drier texture.


Eleven Moon Cafe

7. Shio Artisans

Sri Hartamas, KL

best shio pan klang valley shio artisans

Located on the mezzanine level of Matahari Building next to a wellness centre, Shio Artisans bakes up palm-sized sourdough variations of your typical shio pan. They cost RM6.50 apiece and are worth every penny.

best shio pan klang valley shio artisans

The sourdough rolls had a slightly sour, yeast-like flavour and a slight dense chewiness to the rolls that made them stand out from the rest on this list. The salted butter rolls also had that distinct hollow cavity that’s a hallmark of shio pan, a result achieved after leaving a block of butter to seep and flavour the dough.


Shio Artisans – Sourdough & Coffee

6. Universal Bakehouse

Damansara Kim, Petaling Jaya

best shio pan malaysia - universal bakehouse

Coming in sixth in this list is Universal Bakehouse’s shio pan (RM8). Their bread was also fairly large in size, coming in slightly smaller to Buttersome’s.

best shio pan malaysia - universal bakehouse

What stood out to us was how light and airy the dough was. It felt as if we were biting into a pillow. The bread also had the right amount of butter, without being too overwhelming.


Universal Bakehouse (Damansara Kim)

5. Buttersome Bakery 

Seksyen 17, Petaling Jaya

best shio pan malaysia - buttersome

Entering the top five of this shio pan ranking is Buttersome Bakery’s shio pan (RM6). Located a stone’s throw from Kefi Kohi, this neighbourhood bakery also had the largest-sized shio pan out of all the places that we tried on this list.

best shio pan malaysia - buttersome

Size aside, the bread itself had a highlight crispness to it with a crackling bottom that was generously coated in sesame seeds for some extra crunch. While a tad saltier than we would have liked, the shio pan hit all the right spots, with a strong, satisfying presence of butter, a pillowy texture that was divine, and a nuttiness from the addition of the sesame seeds.


Buttersome Bakery

4. Orito

Sri Hartamas, KL

Orito is situated on the second floor of Sri Hartamas’ Plaza Damas. Their shio pan rang up to RM8 each, and it met all the criteria of what a good shio pan should look and taste like.

best shio pan in klang valley orito

With an even layer of golden crust throughout, the exterior was crunchy. Within, the bread was slightly dense, resulting in a satisfying chew with the dough. The bread had a subtle butter flavour throughout, and was evenly salted in each bite. It was also the saltiest roll we tried on the list.


Orito , Hartamas, KL

3. Adough Atelier

Sri Hartamas, KL

best shio pan klang valley adough atelier

If there was a crazy rich variant of shio pan, Adough Atelier’s shio pan would fit the description, as these bread rolls cost RM10 a piece. Boasting a glossy sheen over its golden crust with a generous sprinkling of coarse sea salt, these salted butter rolls taste as good as they look, too.

best shio pan klang valley adough atelier

After biting through the bread’s crunchy exterior, our teeth met with airy and fluffy bready goodness that made each bite feel like biting into a soft pillow. Taste-wise, the bread was sufficiently salted, and the butter flavour was present.


adough atelier

2. Café Gentle Mess

Taman Desa Aman, KL

best shio pan in klang valley cafe gentle mess

Tucked discreetly on top of a hotel is Café Gentle Mess, better known for their stacked bagel sandwiches. However, they also carry a decent stock of shio pan, too, which receives its own share of praise from patrons.

best shio pan in klang valley cafe gentle mess

As most people would say, never judge a book by its cover. This certainly applies to Café Gentle Mess’ shio pan.

The bread rolls bore the same light, airy quality and salty buttery taste, similar to Adough. For that reason, we crowned it as the runner-up of the list as it was cheaper than Adough Atelier’s, priced at RM7.50 each.


Café Gentle Mess

1. DouDou Bake

Taman Rasa Sayang, Petaling Jaya

best shio pan malaysia- dou dou bake

The number one spot goes to SS4’s DouDou Bake. Their shio pan (RM6) ticked off every box in our checklist, even with its visuals alone. It had a tempting glossy, buttery sheen as part of its golden exterior, and a generous sprinkling of flaky salt on the top.

best shio pan malaysia- dou dou bake

The shio pan was a textural sensation upon first bite. The bread’s crisp exterior was reminiscent of a flaky croissant, and its contents were soft and pillowy, which was complemented by an even distribution of butter and salt.

Given that it has one of the lowest prices, as well as taking taste and texture into consideration, this shio pan tops our list.


Doudou Bake

Best shio pan from bakeries in Klang Valley

Not all shio pans are created equal. Despite their simplicity, it just shows the different methods these bakeries use to achieve the same bread. The next time you’re craving this trendy Japanese bread, you’ll know which spots to pick.

Also read: We Tried 5 Of The Best Hokkien Mee In George Town, Here Are Honest Reviews From A Penang Lang

We Tried 5 Of The Best Hokkien Mee In George Town, Here Are Honest Reviews From A Penang Lang

Cover image adapted from: TheSmartLocal Malaysia

Photography by Brooklyn.

This article was first published on 25th May 2026, and updated on 26th June 2026.

The post We Tried Shio Pan From 12 Local Bakeries In Klang Valley To See Which Shop Has The Best appeared first on TheSmartLocal Malaysia – Travel, Lifestyle, Culture & Language Guide.