Neighborhoods in westside Ann Arbor, Michigan, will now have the chance to taste Asian American pastries at the recently-opened bakery Q Bakehouse & Market.
The business, which opened at 1608 Jackson Ave. in Ann Arbor, serves pastries such as chili crisp scones, brown butter miso sesame cookies, orange five-spice cinnamon rolls, pineapple buns and yuzu pomegranate chiffon cake, according to MLive.
Q Bakehouse & Market also serves small foods including frozen dumplings, as well as coffee, espresso drinks and teas in collaboration with Strider Coffee Shop which operates inside the business, MLive reported.
Owner Rachel Liu Martindale said she combines Asian flavors with Western staples when baking, sharing that everything she sells is Asian-inspired whether through her ingredient choice or baking technique.
“I really want to make an impact in the baked goods that people eat,” said Liu Martindale to MLive. “I want to incorporate things that I love eating and what I ate growing up and letting other people experience it.”
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Liu Martindale explained the bakery’s name with starts with a “Q” to pay homage to the Taiwanese term “QQ” which refers to foods that have a “supply yet springy texture,” the Michigan Daily reported.
Having started the business after graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in materials science and engineering, Liu Martindale said she realized that the joy she felt from cooking surpassed her desire to continue her engineering job, according to the Michigan Daily.
She added that while traditional “Asian parent-approved” careers did not include working as a baker, she found inspiration to keep working on her business from other Asian American bakers like Roy Choi or David Chang, the Michigan Daily noted.
“I think the mindset that keeps me going honestly is the fact that there’s not so much representation of Asian American people in this industry,” said Liu Martindale to the Michigan Daily. “It’s like okay, I need to do this because I want to make sure that there are more people out there who look like me, so that if people are interested in pursuing an alternative career path, they feel more comfortable doing what they want to do.”
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