New Taiwanese-Style Bakery Nestgram Offers Rainbow-Colored Pastries and Samples Galore

It seems Mainland China will never get tired of its little-island-to-the-south's sweet delights. This is especially the case in Sanlitun where, following the christening of two Taiwanese-style bakeries, Zeroll and Croissant Village, comes yet another, and lo and behold, this one also has a Taiwanese chef.

Located on Sanlitun Beili, Nestgram has been wooing customers with its bright lights and neat decor. The store's name, 巢7堂, however, might need further illumination for those of us who remain in the dark about Far East baking trends. The name actually comes from the seven colors of rainbow, which explains why there are always seven colors of bread on offer, and why all prices end with 7. The colors are the result of locally-raised enzymes that are added to the dough.

The eye-catching and additive-free breads come in various shapes, and each has a small sample for customers to try before they buy. Don’t be fooled by the vivid hues; these pastries all fall on the not-too-sweet side and are more similar to European-style breads as compared to something you might find in your standard Chinese bakery.

That being said, the flavors themselves are certainly not European and include black goji, butterfly pea, durian, red rice, chocolate, milk, and matcha. For people who want to try them all (like us), you also have the option of choosing seven different rolls for a total of RMB 87-117. If the fancy breads are not your thing, then a small croissant (RMB 7) or a stuffed sandwich (RMB 37) might do the trick.

Of the lot, we'd recommend the chocolate and matcha rolls. The former is delightfully heavy on the chocolate and is home to frozen milk inside, whereas the latter has sweet red beans and frozen cream, which smooths out the bitterness of the matcha. We also loved the salty bread buns with sausages or salty minced pork (RMB 27).

Towards the pricier end of the spectrum, Nestgram makes chocolate "bird’s nests" (RMB 227) from Valrhona chocolate, which will certainly put the icing on the cake at special occasions. To wash it all down, there are also a range of beverages on hand such as coffee, milk tea, yogurt, and iced drinks.

Finally, the service here is impeccable, and the staff are forever keen for you to try their samples. Just make sure you leave some room for whatever you buy. We can’t wait to come back to pick a rainbow that will add some color to our next dinner party. 

Nestgram
Mon-Thu 10am-9pm, Fri-Sun 10am-10pm. 28 Sanlitun Beili, Chaoyang District (6416 9799)
巢7堂: 朝阳区三里屯北里28号楼

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Photos: Tracy Wang