Our Daily Bread – Missy Bon Bon in Cagayan de Oro

It’s almost nine in the evening on a balmy Saturday, the mall is about to close as everyone, both shoppers and mall employees, is rushing out to go home or elsewhere. but somewhere in the corner of the mall, a recently emerged breadshop is still thriving. and it still does until it closes and calls it a day.

Missy Bon Bon Breadshop started out as a small kiosk inside a mall serving pastries, bread, and their famed gelatos. the goddess of word-of-mouth has been a good deity to them, since a lot of people have been coming back for more of their goodies, even tagging along friends who have not heard of them. and, just like a wildfire, the word spreads like crazy. and before you can even say “this is good”, Missy Bon Bon already has two stores in the city: one in Big R, and the other, much bigger store is located at the corner of Rosario Arcade Drive.

We have got the chance to talk to Henrik Yu, the mastermind behind the already iconic breadshop with a cute logo and a cuter avatar (a winking housewife, see). while having one of their breakfast meals at their establishment’s sun deck – a cozy part of their place where sunlight can beam through their glass walls sans burning your skin up, Henrik Yu is discussing to us why he had though of putting up such a place. Henrik is also one third of the creative geniuses behind Bigby’s Cafe, which has several branches across the archipelago. and this is a good chance for me to know their secret behind the delicious pastries, the sumptuous food, and the cult following of the people.

Basically, he just wants to put up an establishment – and a potential chain – to serve people fresh, natural, and healthy foods.

fresh, natural, and healthy – these three components are a rarity in a food establishments nowadays, and yet they have managed to bring it out to the people. so how is Missy Bon Bon fresh, natural, and healthy? fresh, in a way that they make sure what you eat is made on that day and on the same location (yes, i am sure you are tired of that day old donut that they serve). natural in the way that they do not use over processed ingredients to make it taste right (their brewed coffee is made from coffee beans produced by the Benedictine monks of Bukidnon). and healthy in the manner of not making their food, well, healthy enough for the people. so every time you try to bite a serving of their bread, consider it a guilt-free pleasure.

During the course of our conversation with Henrik, i have not scooped out a single secret. because there is none. but they have, for sure, implied what business should be: good product and good service.
all photos courtesy of Chiq Montes.