A Taiwanese bakery chain that specializes in Japanese croissants has expanded its presence in Canada with its first-ever Vancouver location.
Hazukido will officially open its doors on Oct. 29 in Yaletown at 280 Nelson St, in the space that had previously been the first Vancouver outpost of Montreal-based vegan fast-casual chain Copper Branch.
With locations commonly found in malls in and around Taipei, Hazukido has slowly been growing roots in Canada, with shops serving up its signature croissants in Toronto and Montreal. The brand also operates numerous shops and stands in Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Locally, this first B.C. franchise is operated by a Vancouver local and UBC grad who also founded the Coffee Bike business, which has since grown into a national franchise operation. The idea is to expand rapidly in the region; Hazukido Canada already is eying high-profile locations such as Brentwood in Burnaby, as well as destinations like Whistler for future outposts.
What is Hazukido?
The core philosophy of Hazukido is to adhere to the "Shokunin spirit of Japan" which essentially means to dedicate themselves to the perfect execution of a skill, in this case, creating the folds of buttery croissant dough (called lamination) and exciting flavours for fillings and toppings.
"The exclusive folding technique creates a classic honeycomb texture that has a perfectly golden crunch," describes Hazukido's website. "Each croissant spreads the natural buttery aroma and preserves the classic French traditions with generosity. Our croissants are freshly baked on-site daily to ensure the croissants' crispiness and tenderness."
The croissants are not massive, but they make a big impact visually; many feature colourful exterior additions, like the jaunty orange slice atop the Honey Citrus croissant or the enrobed chocolate shell and gold flake on the Hazelnut Chocolate croissant. A bright purple swoosh tops the Taro pudding croissant, while the savoury Butter Garlic's exterior is studded with fragrant bits of garlic.
The company sources its flour from Japan and its butter from France. Croissant options include both savoury and sweet pastries, and they have seasonal specials as well. The menu for Hazukido Canada includes croissants like Golden Cheese, Fresh Strawberry Custard, Salted Egg Yolk, Truffle Crab, Taro Pudding, and Coffee Mascarpone & Chocolate. Plus, Hazukido uses croissant dough as a base to create several other treats, like "Criscuits" (a croissant dough cookie or biscuit), rolls, danish toast, fruit tarts, and "mountain" treats - a sort of croissant muffin bar type treat. They're also doing waffled croissants on a stick, and special treats like mooncakes.
For beverages, Hazukido has an array of coffee and tea drinks, including a series made with yogurt. You can also grab a canned cold brew if you're on the go.
What to expect at the first Hazukido in Vancouver
The bright, airy space has plenty of seating, but if you're taking your goodies to go, Hazukido has elegant perfectly-sized boxes that fit a trio of croissants. For the Vancouver shop, Hazukido is kicking off with an eye-catching selection from the massive rotation of the company's flavours, and the selection will not also change from time to time and include new flavours, but will also always vary location to location.
To begin, Hazukido in Yaletown will have croissants and croissant waffles, and will soon expand to add even more styles of treats once they've passed the initial opening phase.
You can follow @hazukidocanada on Instagram for more info and updates.
V.I.A.'s Forking Awesome got a sneak peek of the new Hazukido. Check out this video:
@forkingawesomevia Don’t sleep on the savoury ones! 🥐🥐 @Hazukido #forkingawesome #vancouverbc #croissants ♬ Yummy - IFA
Find more delicious Vancouver food and drink video stories by following VIA's Forking Awesome Tik Tok account
This article was originally published on Aug. 29, 2022, and has since been updated.
