Palindromes fascinate me.The first time I heard the name ‘Apupa’ was when my friend’s mother mentioned that she had come across a bakery which made and sold very good bread. She being well travelled and an excellent cook herself, her opinions must be taken seriously. The very next day ,I set out in search of this store with the unusual name.
Situated at 7th cross off Bharathi park road, the large sign visible from the road says “a little bliss in every bite APUPA “. The inside is cheery and well lit .The counter is very long and is filled with a vast array of cakes, tarts, croissants, puddings and pies. The counter top contains a selection of rolls and breads. The space behind (the wall) contains nicheswhich are showcase a variety of breads.Long baguettes, generously encrusted multigrain loaves and the crusty circles of sour dough are what caught my eye. Besides that , the store also stocks butter cookies, rusks , small bean like biscuits and many other simple tea time treats which are minimally available these days.
The staff were attentive, friendly and enthusiastic yet polite enough to allow me to view the items on display without any interruptions.This is something that is of utmost importance,in my opinion.When the staff at the front end have been briefed on the products offered it makes an enormous difference to a paying customer ! One staff member (Feroze) spoke about how the delectable bites at Apupa are the result of a team effort comprising of many chefs and helpers who are skilled in their individual area of expertise. Another counter, contained an array of savouries all encased in golden puff pastry.
I was told that the managing partner Mr.Anil Shanmugam was not in the country .While chatting with his Dad,the elder Mr.Shanmugham ,on the phone, he mentioned that he had worked for over 25 years with Mr.Lawrence of the famous JM bakery .The japanese cakes at Apupa are made under the supervision of Mr.Shanmugham. No wonder it carried the familiar taste of the japanese cakes from my childhood.
We picked up a loaf of multigrain bread, some vegetable puffs and of course ,the always in demand (at home) ‘japanese cake’. After browsing through Apupa’s social media pages, I managed to get in touch with Anil. He told me that he and his partners who started this venture are all non-resident Indians who wanted to give the people of Coimbatore a taste of baked goods which are a tad more unusual than what is normally sold here. I did want to taste the cronut featured on their instagram page but it was not in stock. It’s good that such speciality items are made in small batches which helps maintain a certain standard of quality.
Anil goes on to add that the name ‘Apupa’ in Sanskrit means ,cake , bake-house etc. Anil’s family are Keralites. So ‘Apupa’ also means ‘grandfather’ in Malayalam. This is another reason which endeared the name to many of the customers.While it’s not the original intention for the name,Anil is okay with whatever appeals to his customers!
Anil is a pastry chef and consultant in the UK. So he talks about how he brings a different thought process in the way this bake shop is run.For instance, while we are used to usually ordering cakes by weight,at Apupa it is ordered in inches. So the cake could be 600 gms or 800 gms but it is more exact in terms of portion,according to him, because the quantity goes by 6” , 8″ etc. Interesting ! I’d never heard of that before.
Anil also spoke about how they make sure their products are at affordable rates.While they do not make a profit on many items , he feels that it’s important that people of the city expand their knowledge of baked goods and learn authentic tastes.While he would love to buy local produce and support the farming community they are forced to buy strawberries and other fruit from far off lands which sends their costs escalating. So this is a shout out to all our berry/fruit/chocolate producers in and around Coimbatore.Do get in touch with Apupa on their instagram or Facebook page.
The vegetable puffs were delicious and bursting with a tasty filling.The multigrain bread is packed with five different seeds and grains and suits my palate perfectly.I did find the macarons a tad too bright (subtle shades are my personal choice) .The bakers and partners at Apupa are committed to making all their goodies from scratch with no pre-mixes or added preservatives (food colouring being an exception)
Quirky slogans jump off the walls at Apupa and it does seem like they want to ‘Bake the world a better place’ ;one treat at a time !
LOCATION
Apupa
28 Bharathi Park Cross road,
&th cross,Saibaba colony,
Coimbatore-641043
Phone number- 4210707 ,9994491107
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