At Standard Bread, the philosophy is disarmingly straightforward: “true excellence lies in simplicity.” And yet, once we stepped foot into their newly opened branch in SM Megamall, everything from the decor and atmosphere down to the menu felt like anything but simple. Long eager queues as soon as the mall opens, a conveyor belt hovering above diners decorated to tell the journey of how wheat is turned into bread, the warm, unmistakable aroma of freshly baked loaves and melting French butter.
For co-owners Alex Yu and Malvin Ang, it’s been a crazy first week. They expressed that the past few days have been equal parts exhilarating and overwhelming.
“We were so surprised,” Alex admits. “Usually, other bread shops do sales around 8:00 PM. But by 6:00 or 7:00 PM, we were already completely sold out. It’s a good problem to have!”
Behind the grand opening buzz and growing hype lies a story rooted in serendipitous encounters, maintaining an uncompromised quality, and a mission to bring a real piece of South Korea straight to the heart of Metro Manila.
How An Anniversary Trip Started a New Business Venture
The story starts as mundane as a vacation to South Korea. It was an anniversary trip Alex went to with his wife last year, during which they visited Standard Bread’s famed Seongsu branch. K-POP fans might already be familiar with the bakery as it went viral for being visited by BLACKPINK’s Jisoo and BTS’ V. Captivated by their bread himself, Alex quietly reached out to the team behind Standard Bread.
When he returned to the Philippines, he brought some loaves home for his partner, Malvin. Wanting to get a genuine review from him, Alex gave the bread to Malvin without mentioning he had already reached out to them. Two weeks passed. During a casual round of golf, Alex finally asked if he had tried the bread he gave to him, worried that the lack of any update or response was a sign that Malvin didn’t like it as much as he did.
Turns out, Malvin hadn’t gotten around to it. They were stored in the freezer the whole time. Recognizing the name of the bakery, his daughter reheated it in the air fryer and they all finally got to try it. Even after sitting in a freezer for two weeks and being revived in an air fryer, the bread was an instant hit.
“I didn’t want him to have any bias,” Alex laughs. “When they loved it even after two weeks, we knew we had something special.”
Bringing a Piece of South Korea to Manila
For Alex and Malvin, opening the first Standard Bread branch in the Philippines was all about recreating the experience from the South Korea branches.
They took sourcing ingredients and their R&D processes extremely seriously. They used imported flour from South Korea, the same kind the original branches use, as well as using 100% premium French butter, real Belgian chocolate, and 100% cacao mass.
This dedication went both ways with Standard Bread’s head baristas, master bakers, chefs, architects and designers, and even their VP of R&D flying to the Philippines on multiple occasions to conduct rigorous blind taste tests on local water and coffee beans, ensuring no ingredient compromised the flavor profile. Even the current group of employees were trained both here in the Philippines and in South Korea in preparation for the opening in SM Megamall.
All of these efforts to bring this vision to life in the Philippines extended more than just wanting to serve Filipinos the same bread BLACKPINK and BTS have eaten. “[Only a fraction] of the [180] million Filipinos will probably get the chance to travel to [South] Korea,” Alex reflects. “We wanted to bring a piece of [South] Korea to those who haven’t or can’t travel there.”
An “Affordable Luxury” Menu
While Standard Bread’s international location in Singapore stuck strictly to the original menu, Alex and Malvin advocated for a broader dining selection.
They developed two new menu items to be debuted at the opening of the first Philippine branch, but are also in the works to be made available in other branches. “Gift[s] to the Filipino people,” the South Korean chefs called it. The Bulgogi Doenjang Orzo Risotto is an interesting take on a risotto, using orzo pasta instead of the standard rice. This mixed with the meaty beef bulgogi and the savory doenjang (which is a Korean fermented soybean paste) was just pure umami. But my personal favorite of the two was the Thick Bacon Kimchi Rice. Besides the fact that I love kimchi, I liked the creaminess that came from the soft-boiled egg and that it all balanced out the very fatty piece of bacon it came with. Gifting a rice dish to your first Philippine branch is just so fitting.
Even still, they simply couldn’t do away with some of their signatures from South Korea. I have seen shakshouka on my feed multiple times and I was so happy to finally be able to try it with their Eggs In Hell. The bread soaks up the sauce from the tomatoes and beans and the yolk from the egg perfectly. In person, the presentation of the Crème Brûlée French Toast is daunting in the sense that you know you and whoever you are going to share it with are in for a good time from the thick slice of brioche with a caramelized crust to the maple syrup and house-made jam they serve it with.
I can’t eat at a bakery without talking about their extensive bread menu. Alex mentioned that his favorite from the loaves from that initial anniversary trip was the Basil Tomato Bread, and I could taste exactly why. The soft pillowy bread mixed with the sun dried tomatoes and basil inside of it made for great bites. Their Chocolate Bread was in essence a chocolate lava cake you could eat with your hands. Inside the bread was a pool of Belgian chocolate you could dip pieces of bread into. One of my favorites from the bread selection by far was their Salt Bread. They weren’t as big as the loaves, but they were just as, if not more, mighty in taste. The custard cream and French butter made the Crème Brûlée Salt Bread a nice sweet and salty treat. But personally, I can’t get over how much I liked the Salt Bread both on its own and with their Black Truffle Spread. And eating all the carbs went well with the Standard Iced Spanner, Standard Iced Mocha, and Berry Jam Milk.
When it came to pricing and positioning, Alex shared that he became quite emotional talking about it during those initial meetings. “We decided to price it so that it’s an affordable luxury. Something premium, but accessible enough for families to enjoy together, especially with Christmas around the corner.”
Sharing More to Come
If ever you get the chance to dine at Standard Bread, you’ll notice pairs of plastic gloves handed out with every loaf order. That isn’t just for cleanliness, but an invitation to interact with the food.
“The concept is all about sharing… bringing back that sense of camaraderie,” Alex says. “You see groups of friends buy two different loaves, put on their gloves, pull the bread apart, and share.”
The team behind Standard Bread SM Megamall is continuously learning what the best ways are to share their vision and products more efficiently and to more people. They’ve started making consistent schedules throughout the day as to when certain loaves will be baked as a way to accommodate customers who are lining up just to see what’s available and those looking for specific items. (Take note: fresh batches of their Chocolate bread will be ready every 6:00PM!)
This act of sharing isn’t even limited to this first branch. Expansion is already on the horizon with another branch in the long awaited opening of SM Nuvali.
Overall, I think Standard Bread’s Philippine debut proves that when sincere craftsmanship meets a little serendipity, the result is well worth standing in line for.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Standard Bread branch brings the exact recipes, ingredients, and dining experience from the original branches from South Korea.
Every detail from importing the same kind of flour and French butter down to the interior design is made so Filipino diners can experience the South Korean-based bakery without having to go there themselves.
One of the main aspects of the dining experience of Standard Bread is being able to share the food with others. Guests are given plastic gloves so that they can comfortably use their hands to pull apart and share the warm, fresh loaves of bread.
The Thick Bacon Kimchi Rice and the Bulgoi Doenjang Orzo Risotto were specifically developed to be debuted at the SM Megamall branch.
While they are Philippine exclusives now, there are plans to offer them in all Standard Bread branches worldwide.
From their selection of loaves, try their Basil Tomato and Chocolate Breads (made with Belgian chocolate).
Aside from the temporarily Philippine exclusives, the signatures from their South Korea branches are the Crème Brûlée French Toast, Eggs in Hell, and Standard Iced Spanner.
The owners of Standard Bread SM Megamall intentionally wanted to position this branch as being an “affordable luxury.” What they mean by this is that they want to maintain using high quality ingredients while not making the prices as accessible as possible.
The prices of the signature loaves range between PHP180 and PHP480. The food range between PHP290 and PHP580. Lastly, their drinks are priced between PHP90 to PHP220.
