While they may not have reached viral status here in Kuala Lumpur, Japanese salted butter rolls, or shio pan, have already been making waves in Singapore. Here’s where you can find the best shio pan on the island during your next visit.
Shio pan is a savoury bread roll that originated in Japan. It resembles a smooth croissant and is made similarly to shokupan, with finely milled flour and a baking technique called tangzhong, which gives the bun a soft, fluffy crumb. Ingredients like sugar and eggs are also used. Once baked, the roll is brushed with butter and topped with sea salt, lending it the name “salted bread” in Japanese.
Currently, the hippest place to get shio pan in Singapore is from Shio & Sato. Run by a MasterChef Singapore finalist and a food blogger, the pop-up concept has salted buns in guises such as mushroom truffle and kombu. Butter Town is another popular spot. The bakery has made shio pan its speciality and offers a variety from black sesame mochi to kopi-c (Nanyang-style coffee with sugar and evaporated milk). It even has a shio pan vending machine.
Unsurprisingly, Japan-leaning bakeries in Singapore have shio pan in their lineup. Gokoku Japanese Bakery has them in flavours like condensed milk, red bean, and peanut butter. The shio bread roll is the number one bestseller at Johan Paris. Joining in the act is Bakery 1946. Despite hailing from Korea, the bakery’s salted buns are a crowd favourite, with options ranging from basil and tomato to blueberry.
Bakehouses are also putting their stamp on shio pan in Singapore. Baker’s Bench Bakery makes everything from sourdough, even the salted buns. Sugar Thieves has a box of five flavours such as garlic corn cheese and milk cream. The Lunar Rabbit fills its rolls with sweet, chewy mochi and dusts it with roasted soybean flour. Check them out below.
(Image credit: @sugarthieves.co / Instagram; Butter Town / Facebook)
Where to find the best Japanese salted butter shio pan rolls in Singapore
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The Bukit Pasoh-based Baker’s Bench only makes sourdough bread, including the salted buns. The plain shio pan has a subtle tangy flavour from the starter, while the garlic option is garlic bread in a shio pan shape.
From S$3.50
(Image credit: Baker’s Bench Bakery / Facebook)
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Hailing from Daegu city, Bakery 1946 is putting a Korean spin on shio pan. The salted bun comes with ingredients such as buldak and sausage, red bean, blueberry, basil and tomato, double cheese, and green onion, each almost hefty enough to be a meal on its own. Find them at Suntec City and Bugis Junction.
From S$4
(Image credit: @bakery_1946 / Instagram)
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Butter Town started as a home-based bakery that eventually expanded into a space at Holland Drive Market and CT Hub 2. Their shio pan comes in a variety of flavours including black sesame mochi, mentaiko onion, and kopi-c, while their collaboration with green tea cafe Hvala at Raffles Specialist Centre has exclusives like tsuki matcha cream. If you cannot make it to their outlets, Butter Town has a shio pan ATM at Woodleigh Village Hawker Centre.
From S$7.80
(Image credit: Butter Town / Facebook)
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Since 1961, Gokoku Japanese Bakery has been using local ingredients and techniques to bake Japanese-style bread, going from a sole outlet in Kobe to multiple locations around Singapore. The butter shio pan is one example, which comes in flavours like condensed milk, red bean, and peanut butter. Find them at Great World City, Wisma Atria, Tampines Mall, Nex, Vivocity, Guoco Tower, and more.
From S$2
(Image credit: @breadydelight / Instagram)
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Johan is the namesake bakery of Roland Johan, a French baker who started in Paris in the 1970s before landing in Tokyo in 1983. Despite specialising in bakes from all around the world, the shio bread roll remains the best seller for its buttery and soft texture. Find them at Shaw Centre and Westgate.
S$2.60
(Image credit: @am.eatss / Instagram)
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Salt and sugar are essential when making shio pan, and the two ingredients lend their names to Shio and Sato. The pop-up bakery is a partnership between MasterChef Singapore finalist Genevieve Lee and food blogger Seth Lui, which made its debut in 2024. They are currently at Tom’s Palette’s Bugis outlet until 10 February 2025 offering a set of six shio pan in guises like kombu and mushroom truffle.
From S$10.80
(Image credit: Shio and Sato / Facebook)
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Sugar Thieves is popular for its strawberry watermelon cake, but its shio pan is quickly becoming a crowd favourite too. The bakery only sells it in boxes, and previous flavours include truffle, garlic corn cheese, spring onion, mentaiko, milk cream, and original. They do not offer them regularly, so follow their Instagram page for information on when the salt buns will be available again.
(Image credit: @sugarthieves.co / Instagram)
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Boulangerie and cafe The Lunar Rabbit has introduced shio pan to its lineup. The kinako mochi flavour is filled with sweet, chewy mochi and dusted with roasted soybean flour, and the truffle shio pan contains truffle paste and truffle salt. They are sold individually and in a mixed bundle with the classic sea salt shio pan. Find them at Hamilton Road and Tanjong Katong.
From S$3.70
(Image credit: The Lunar Rabbit Boulangerie / Facebook)
