Something nice to get your teeth into with Fang-Ju

Three weeks ago I blogged about 'The changing face of Beeston' and what changes I had noticed after an absence of seven weeks. One of my photographs showed the new Johnny & Phil's Healthy Bakery on Chilwell Road, which is owned and managed by Fang-Ju Shen. I had left the shop with a couple of rolls, which were very enjoyable with cheese from the Local not global deli a few doors down.

I paid a return visit last week to see how Fang-Ju is getting along. It's early days, but her rolls are as tasty as they were three weeks ago. As someone who has been making bread, rolls and bun loaf almost every week since 1977 I have become a creature of habit and stick to what I know and like. When I buy bread it is either from Birds or Home Bakery, the latter make especially large baps for their lunchtime roll service, which I buy to fill with watercress. They guard these large rolls carefully, so I ask nicely and, if they can, they will sell me a couple of rolls.

My own rolls are sugar free and made quite small to go with soup, something we have as a meal several times a week, but I do add butter and not nearly often enough I put a filling in the middle, so I was interested to see that the Taiwanese like rolls with toppings baked onto the crust. Fang-Ju had two toppings on offer: sausage & onions with herbs and cheese & tomato, also with herbs. Both were delicious with soup. One of the rolls Fang-Ju is holding is called a 'pineapple roll' because of its cracked top. This roll is lovely and chewy and has a firm bottom, almost like that of a pikelet/crumpet, slightly greasy. It is also sweet. We filled the rolls with cheese and their chewiness meant they took longer to eat and they were bursting with flavour. One roll was filling and I will be going back next week for another couple of 'pineapple rolls'.

Feng-Ju deserves to succeed and be rewarded for her enterprise, so pay her 'healthy bakery' a visit and she will explain the different rolls she makes. She also make desserts and cakes. I took home a slice of 'Yogurt cake' made with a Victoria type fat free sponge. Fang-Ju knows how to make a beautiful moist sponge.

In the midst of elections and Brexit mania, enjoying some of the good food Beeston has to offer is a welcome distraction and Fang-Ju is a welcome addition to our small town's pantheon of great cooks and food-makers. Pay her a visit and discover all that she to offer for yourself, you won't be disappointed.

My final 'slice' of good news about Fang-Ju and her Healthy Bakery is that there a few tables and chairs in the shop, so you can buy and eat on the spot — life doesn't get much better than that when it comes to good rolls!