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Aug 13, 2026
From a Student's Dream to a Japanese Bakery in Prague: The Story Behind Yaki-Pan
Prague Morning
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For Hoan, opening a bakery in Prague was not a sudden business idea. It was a dream that had been taking shape for more than a decade.
After arriving in Prague as a student, Hoan watched members of the Vietnamese community build businesses across the city, most commonly in restaurants, grocery shops and nail salons.
She worked in grocery stores and restaurants herself, gradually gaining experience in the food industry while studying.
But after finishing school, she still was not sure what kind of business she wanted to open.
One thing was clear: she loved baking.
“Its my dream. It’s been my plan for a long time, more than 10 years,” she says.
Rather than opening another coffee shop, she decided to focus on what she knew best. She had visited bakeries around Prague and noticed what she saw as a gap in the city’s food scene: there were few places specialising in Japanese-style baking.
Around six years ago, she decided that she wanted to fill that gap herself.
The result was Yaki-Pan, a small bakery built around Japanese pastries and flavours. Before opening, Hoan spent roughly a year and a half — and much of that time at home — testing recipes and trying to recreate the textures and flavours she associated with Japanese baking.
Getting there was not straightforward.
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Learning to work with Czech ingredients
For Hoan, authenticity was essential. She wanted the pastries at Yaki-Pan to resemble Japanese baked goods as closely as possible, but she quickly discovered that one of the most important ingredients presented a major challenge: flour.
Japanese flour differs significantly from the flour commonly available in the Czech Republic. The differences affect the texture, consistency and ultimately the finished pastry.
“The flour here is not the same as when I learnt,” she says.
Instead of simply following recipes she had learned elsewhere, Hoan had to adapt them to local ingredients. She experimented with different combinations of flour and spent months trying to achieve the texture she was looking for.
Three years ago, she travelled to China to study Japanese baking under professionals. There, she was able to work with Japanese ingredients and gain further experience. Returning to Europe meant starting another process of adjustment.
She considered importing Japanese flour to the Czech Republic, but eventually found it difficult to maintain as a long-term solution. Instead, she continued experimenting with locally available ingredients.
“I needed to test for about two years at my home,” she says.
The process has not necessarily ended with the bakery’s opening. Hoan continues to work on her recipes and ingredients, looking for ways to improve the pastries while staying as close as possible to the style she wants to create.
A warm welcome from Prague
If Hoan was worried that Japanese flavours might be unfamiliar to Prague customers, the first day quickly put those concerns to rest.
When Yaki-Pan opened, she had not prepared significantly more food than usual. Within 30 minutes, the bakery had sold out.
The first two months were particularly busy, especially at weekends. Today, the customer base includes tourists, Japanese residents and visitors who have become regulars.
Japanese customers have also played an important role in validating Hoan’s approach, frequently complimenting her on how closely the pastries resemble those they know from Japan.
Among the most popular items is shio-pan, a Japanese-style bread known for its soft texture and salty flavour. At Yaki-Pan, the vegan version has become one of the bakery’s bestsellers and regularly sells out.
Hoan’s own favourite pastry, meanwhile, changes from day to day.
The bakery’s success has also brought an unexpected question. Some customers have asked why a Vietnamese woman decided to open a Japanese bakery.
For Hoan, the answer is simple. “It’s my dream,” she says. “I put all my energy into my recipes.”
Her background, she suggests, is less important than the work she has put into learning the craft and developing the food.
Building Yaki-Pan’s future
For now, Hoan is focused on the bakery she has already built. Yaki-Pan is run by Hoan and her husband, and her previous experience working in restaurants has helped her manage the busy days herself.
The couple are already thinking about the next stage. They hope to add outdoor seating next year and, eventually, open another location.
But there is no immediate rush to expand.
“Now I want to put all my energy into this one,” Hoan says.
There are also plans to introduce another type of matcha, giving customers more choice alongside the bakery’s existing drinks.
For a business that began as an idea Hoan carried with her for more than 10 years, Yaki-Pan remains very much a work in progress. The recipes continue to evolve, customers continue to discover Japanese-style baking, and Hoan is still searching for the ingredients and techniques that bring her original vision closest to reality.
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