“The Suncake Patisserie is a wonderful book that completely transported me to Taiwan and Japan, immersing me in the rich baking cultures of these countries. ... A heartwarming story that will make your mouth water at the same time!” – Susanne van Leeuwen, editor of Wereldbibliotheek (Netherlands)

An-Chun is a lost young man. He doesn‘t have any clue of what to do after graduting college. That is the reason he applies for a working holiday visa to Japan.

Luckily, he soon finds a part-time job at a century-old dessert shop in Kyoto. There, he falls in love with Emiko, the owner’s daughter. However, their budding romance soon hits a dead end. Heartbroken, he quits the job and flees back to Taiwan. Back home, An-Chun keeps idling until his mother assigns him a duty: to help his great uncle Lin’s business.

Lin runs a traditional Taiwanese pastry shop and struggles with the existential crisis due to the invasion of western-style bakeries in the town. Working alongside Lin, An-Chun gradually learns the spirits behind his stubbornness of keeping the traditional dessert alive. Along the way, he also unveils Lin‘s disappointing first love and its connection with the shop. An-Chun feels an inner urge for the first time in life. Will he be able to rescue the shop from disappearing and relieve Lin of his lifelong regret?

Scented with bittersweet love stories crossing time and cultures along with a lost soul’s quest for life direction, THE SUNCAKE PASTRY SHOP is a delicious coming of age story, also a comforting and savory novel for those who still wander but yearn to find a sense of belonging.