Shio Pan Showdown: Universal Bakehouse vs KLCG Bakery vs Verrona Hills

With shio pan dominating Malaysia’s bakery scene lately, it only made sense to spotlight this buttery favourite in the next instalment of my showdown series. Once a niche Japanese-style bread, shio pan is now everywhere across KL and Selangor. After plenty of consideration, I narrowed the shio pan lineup to 3 contenders that almost everyone’s heard of: Universal Bakehouse, KLCG Confectionery & Bakery, and Verrona Hills Bread & Patisserie.

What is shio pan?

Shio pan (塩パン) literally means “salt bread” in Japanese, and it’s loved for good reason. At its best, this unassuming bun has a lightly crisp exterior with a soft, buttery centre that practically melts as you tear into it. Also known as 소금빵 (sogeum-ppang) in Korean — again translating to “salt bread” — shio pan takes the best qualities of several breads I love and brings them together into one simple bun.

What makes a good shio pan?

A good shio pan should taste savoury and lightly buttery, without being overly greasy. The crust needs a slight crunch, especially at the base, while the inside stays soft, warm, and mildly chewy. It’s a simple bread, so balance and texture matter more than anything else.

Why these contenders?

I chose Universal Bakehouse, KLCG Confectionery & Bakery, and Verrona Hills Bread & Patisserie because they’re well-established names in the Klang Valley, known for consistently solid bakes. 

While some of them do serve hot food, their real strengths lie in their bread — shio pan included — which makes for a fairer comparison. I also wanted to cover a range of price points to see how value stacks up across the board.

Important note: All the shio pan tasted for this showdown were heated beforehand and cooled until just warm. If warming wasn’t available on-site, I bought an extra piece to bring home and taste under the same conditions.

Universal Bakehouse

First up is Universal Bakehouse. With two outlets in Damansara Kim and The Campus Ampang, I headed to the latter for this tasting. It felt like a fitting place to start, given Universal Bakehouse’s strong reputation for its breads, from sourdoughs to brownies and everything in between.

Here, shio pan comes in just one version, priced at RM8. No variations, no add-ons — just a straightforward take on the classic.

Visually, it already ticks many of the right boxes. Moderately sized, not overly puffy, and shaped somewhere between an oblong and a diamond. It looks intentional, neat, and very much what you’d expect a “proper” shio pan to look like.

The crust was light and crisp, with sea salt sprinkled generously across the top. Flip it over and you’ll find an equally crunchy base, lightly glossed from melted butter. Tearing into the bread was genuinely satisfying — it flaked slightly but pulled apart easily, revealing a soft interior and a small but sufficient buttery hollow in the centre.

Texture-wise, this is where Universal Bakehouse really shines. The crumb was soft with just enough chew, paired with a crisp crust that holds its structure. The corners, in particular, were noticeably oilier, delivering a more pronounced crunch that’s hard to ignore. Flavour-wise, the salt level was well judged and complemented the butter nicely, though it can edge toward salty if you rush through each bite.

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KLCG Confectionery & Bakery

KLCG Confectionery & Bakery might be best known for its Pasar Seni outlet, especially among commuters, but I went with the Ampang branch for this round of finding the best shio pan. It’s noticeably larger, which usually means a higher turnover — and hopefully, fresher bakes!

KLCG offers two versions of shio pan: the Classic Salt Bread at RM8.90 and a Garlic Cream Cheese variation priced at RM14.90. Tempting as the latter sounds, this showdown is strictly about the original. 

First impressions were immediate — the shio pan here is much plumper and denser than Universal Bakehouse’s. It’s darker in colour, heavier in hand, and noticeably more restrained with the salt sprinkled on top.

Things took an unexpected turn the moment I tore into it. The crust was properly flaky, the base satisfyingly crisp and buttery — but then came a sudden flood of hot butter pouring out from the centre. It was shocking, to say the least. 

The interior cavities were unusually large, visibly holding pools of melted butter, and while that might sound like a good thing, I was not looking to eat bread soaked in butter like a piece of tomahawk steak.

One bite in, and it was simply too oily to enjoy. To keep things fair, I chalked it up as me being unlucky and getting a possible defective batch, so I picked up another piece to taste at home. 

This second shio pan was far more normal with smaller holes, a softer crumb, and none of the excessive butter spill. Compared to Universal Bakehouse’s, it was still noticeably denser and chewier, but flavour-wise, it was spot on — savoury, and well-seasoned, though those sensitive to salt might find it edging a little too far.

Verrona Hills Bread & Patisserie

Last up is Verrona Hills Bread & Patisserie — and also the most wallet-friendly of the three. With multiple outlets across Malaysia, I stopped by their Sunway Velocity branch for this tasting. 

At RM3.90 a piece, it’s hard not to be tempted to buy one, especially when the other contenders sit at noticeably higher price points. Like Universal Bakehouse, Verrona Hills only offers the classic shio pan, or labelled as Japanese salted butter roll. 

Size-wise, it was actually the largest among the three, but it also felt the least true to what most people expect from a shio pan. If shio pan sits somewhere between bread and croissant, this one leans firmly toward bread.

The exterior was smooth, shiny, and glossy — reminiscent of a burger bun. Tearing it apart didn’t give you that light crackle or flake, although the signature butter pockets inside were impressively large. 

Texture-wise, it was soft and pleasant to eat, but more bready than chewy. Flavour was mild and understated, making it easy to enjoy, though it also means it would benefit from something extra, like ham, butter, or even a bit of jam.

That said, a second round in the air fryer — this time at a higher temperature until the crust turns noticeably crisp — does bring it closer to a more familiar shio pan experience. It may not be the most authentic version in this lineup, but at this price point, it’s a convenient and accessible option for a casual fix.

Verdict

Universal Bakehouse takes the crown for the best shio pan by a clear margin, followed by Verrona Hills and KLCG Bakery! Of course, taste is subjective, so I’d love to know — what’s your go-to spot for shio pan?

Note: While not included in this showdown for not being a widely known brand, the best shio pan I’ve ever tasted comes from a home-based bakery in Bangi called Tepong Crust. Seriously, check them out on Instagram and thank me later (not sponsored, promise!).

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