Across from Riceholic at Richmond’s Empire Centre and you will see a new mysterious shop coming to the food court.
A Noms Mag community member (jessho) tipped us off to fresh signage for One Bolo, what looks like a pineapple bun spinoff from the popular HK-style cafe One Cafe.
The shop sits in the same mall as One Cafe’s existing food court stall, only about ten steps away.
The new logo reads “Heritage Crafted” with a pineapple bun crown, and the side panel reads “Made in Vancouver by One Cafe.”
Black and white photos of Hong Kong streets, ferries, and double-decker trams hang on the walls, locking in the connection.
For the uninitiated, the bolo bao is one of Hong Kong’s most iconic breakfast items.
It is a sweet bun with a crackled, sugary top crust that bakes into the shape of a pineapple, even though no actual pineapple is involved.
Most HK-style cafes serve a few versions: plain, butter-stuffed, and the savoury bolo yau with a slab of cold butter and a thick slice of luncheon meat or satay beef tucked inside.
One Cafe already has all of these on its menu at the Empire Centre stall, which is what makes a stand-alone bolo bao concept down the hall the curveball part.
There is no menu posted yet, no opening date, and no soft-launch window confirmed.
What we do know is that One Cafe is in expansion mode.
The brand recently opened a stall at Burnaby’s Crystal Mall food court, and another location is going into Richmond’s Lansdowne Centre food court.
Even more interesting, One Cafe has also taken over the unit beside ChaDon at Empire Centre, which looks like a kitchen and takeout-only setup that has yet to open.
That stacks three different One Cafe formats at Empire Centre once everything is live: the original stall, the takeout kitchen, and now One Bolo.
The bolo-bao-only angle puts One Bolo into a specific Richmond category.
For the bolo bao crowd in Richmond, the reigning name is Lido, the longtime cha chaan teng where the bolo yau and the pineapple bun are the items locals send people to.
A specialist concept from a popular operator next to a food court is a different lane, but the comparison is going to happen the moment One Bolo opens.
The bigger picture is the HK-style cafe meta in Vancouver right now.
Whenever a One Cafe or ChaDon location opens, lines stretch around the food court for weeks.
We will update once the gates come up and the menu lands.
One Bolo now joins other upcoming food spots in Richmond like Pho 19, HE MADE, and Unique Bakery Union Square.
For more new and upcoming food spots in Metro Vancouver, take a peek at our tracker here, and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.
Address: Empire Centre, Richmond, BC