The Bento Box at El Pan Tokyo is a popular lunch choice. Photo: Supplied.
Down a laneway in Dickson’s new Eat Street precinct, there’s a hole in the wall serving your new fusion brunch obsession.
Neil Neo owns El Pan Tokyo with chef Sidi Liang, and he also owns the neighbouring De Doughnut, which he co-owns with his wife, Amy Huang. The team started out baking bread (hence the name, which translates to ‘the bread’ in Spanish), but quickly realised that the bakery lifestyle didn’t leave much time for anything else. So, they added Tokyo to the name and updated the menu.
The result is a totally delicious Japanese fusion cafe. Neil told Region that their concept was aimed at making Japanese food accessible.
“A lot of Japanese restaurants in Canberra are very fine dining, so we wanted to be more friendly to everyone,” he said.
“People from the offices around us treat us like a canteen, and come here every week for lunch.”
The chilli scramble katsu croissant! Photo: Lucy Ridge.
For an indulgent brunch, I highly recommend the chilli scramble with katsu chicken on a croissant. In lesser hands, it could have been a case of ‘putting a hat on a hat’, but at El Pan Tokyo, it just makes sense. The scramble is creamy, with enough chilli to earn the title, but not enough to make me sweat. The croissant acts as a flaky and buttery base for the crispy chicken. A side of shaved cabbage and sesame dressing adds freshness to the otherwise decadent dish.
While the outdoor bench seating would be very attractive on a sunny day, with umbrellas and an accordion it might be positively Parisian, but a blustery spring morning saw me looking for an indoor seat. There’s a cosy table in El Pan behind the coffee machine (sadly occupied), so we head next door to the pretty-in-pink surrounds of De Doughnut, where Amy will happily allow food from her husband’s neighbouring business.
If you’re looking for a less indulgent meal, daily bento boxes are good value and will leave you satisfied. Gyoza, avocado, rice, and pickles for vegetarians, katsu for meat-eaters. Japanese curries, donburi bowls and sandos round out the mix, with daily specials too. I’ll be back for the fried kimchi breakfast ramen.
It’s nice to see this part of Dickson finally starting to come alive. And Neil is excited about being a part of that change.
“We want to create a really healthy business environment in this part of Dickson. It used to be a bit run-down, but it’s really changing now,” he said.
“Building something from scratch is for life: it will last longer than money.”
The drinks list is also worth a proper look: specialty sodas, milkshakes, matcha lattes, and crushed-ice juices.
Neil Neo and Amy Huang, owners of De Doughnut. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Once you’ve had lunch, take a look at Amy’s doughnut display. These freshly made sweet treats live up to the hype – they’ve become something of a viral sensation! Loaded flavours like Biscoff, cookies and cream, lemon curd or Nutella are irresistible.
Grab a boxful to share with the office – your colleagues will thank you for it!
El Pan Tokyo is located at C22/23 Challis St, Dickson. They are open from Tuesday to Friday, 7:30 am to 2:30 pm, and from 8:30 am to 2 pm on weekends. Follow El Pan Tokyo on Instagram. Follow De Doughnuts on Instagram.
