The Melon Bun from Sweetened by M

Sweetened by M is a home-based bakery from a husband and wife team whose travels inspired their baking.  I personally know the sweet couple behind the new venture (having met them during the Mon Sheong summer retreat in 2014) and then saw how their love flourished over the years with milestones like engagement, marriage, and getting their first cars and houses together on social media.

Recently this year, I noticed them sharing picturesque homemade meals and desserts from their own kitchen on their social media.  I was honestly blown away with not just the quality of how the dishes looked (whether it was surf and turf night, steamed fish Chinese style, homemade Peking duck[!], juicy burgers and air fried French fries, a full Korean feast of bibimbap and bulgogi lettuce wraps, or a simple Hong Kong style breakfast with all the works), but how far and wide their culinary skills reached.  There was every cuisine from Chinese to Korean to Japanese to Spanish and more represented in their cooking.  I looked forward every day to seeing what meals they would be sharing (and secretly wished I lived at their home to be able to enjoy such drool-worthy meals too 😋).  I was just so awestruck with the picture-perfect presentation of their meals and the talent they had in making so much different dishes several times a week!

Other than the meals, they made numerous desserts too like egg tarts, banana cake, matcha white chocolate cookies, creme brulee, cupcakes, cookies, cheesecakes, and the list goes on.  I’m personally not a huge sweet tooth though which is why I noticed their main meals more.  ;P

Sweetened by M business card

Thus, I honestly wasn’t surprised at all when Mandy and Des announced that they were starting their own bakery business from home with “Sweetened by M”.  They had the aesthetics down pat and were definitely experienced cooks and bakers already from all the foods they created from scratch.   I was so happy for them and excited to see them succeed.

Further, I was flattered when they reached out to me and asked if I was interested in trying their Melon Buns (or Melon Pans) and in exchange to share the launch of their new business.  I was gladly excited to do so!  After a quick exchange of address and delivery time, I received the paper bag of melon buns on my doorstep the next evening in time for dessert.  Due to COVD-19 restrictions, I appreciated the contactless delivery.  My husband waved to them from the door as we received their homemade goods.  ^_^

Home delivery

As per their own description, the Melon Bun is:

Inspired by our travels to Japan, the melon bun (or “melon pan”) is a popular sweet bun characterized by a crispy shortbread cookie top over a soft and fluffy centre.  The beautiful diamond design on top gave the bun its name as it resembles a melon’s rind.
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The melon bun is best served warm with your favourite ice cream sandwiched inside.  Warm, creamy and delicious! 🤤⁣
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𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦:⁣
𝟷. 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧⁣
𝟸. 𝘗𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 ~𝟻 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝟺𝟶𝟶𝘍⁣
𝟹. 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 – 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘬𝘦!⁣
𝟺. 𝘌𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺!⁣

There were two melon buns inside of the paper bag (with a sweet personalized message and their business card).  Each melon bun was carefully wrapped in a plastic bag with twine.  I popped these into my toaster for about 5 minutes and then readied our tub of ice cream from the refrigerator.

Two melon buns

After heating in the toaster for 5 minutes, it’s ready to eat!

First, I tried the melon bun by itself.  It was thoroughly warm, slightly crispy, and not too sweet.  It tasted soft on the inside but crispy on the top.  It was neatly scored on the top to replicate the diamond design.  It was a nice bun to eat whether for breakfast by itself or with jam.  However, the recommended way to enjoy this is definitely as a dessert with ice cream in the centre!

Melon pan ice cream sandwich

I carefully sliced open the second melon bun in half and scooped some chocolate ice cream into the centre as an ice cream sandwich.  It was definitely a fun treat this way with the sweetness of the cold ice cream contrasting with the warm cookie top.

At the time of their launch, Sweetened by M had a soft opening promotion for the melon buns.  You’ll be excited to follow them on Instagram and to view all of the current selections that they have for ordering:  Loaded Sausage Buns (honestly, these looked AMAZING when Mandy first posted them on her IG.  I am not surprised she added these to the shop!), Daifuku Mochi, Matcha Cheesecake, Black Matcha Cake, and more coming in the line-up.  They are such passionate cooks that you can expect more tasty items to be added soon as well as the assurance that every item is made with care and love.

For ordering and pricing, you can simply send them a Direct Message on Instagram or e-mail them at sweetenedbym@gmail.com.  They deliver to Stouffville, Markham, Richmond Hill, and Scarborough.  Since launching only less than a month ago, they already have had many orders lined up and loyal happy customers as well!

I wish Mandy and Des lots of continued success with their new venture! ^_^  Thank you so much for reaching out to me and providing me with the melon buns to sample!

FTC Disclaimer:  Although Sweetened by M reached out and provided me with a complimentary package, the opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the owners.