An actual friends cafe in Somerville
Pals who love to bake open a shop together
Along-empty storefront in Union Square, Somerville, is now Maprang Bakery & Cafe. The shop quietly opened last year, but is still working on getting the website set up. “Don’t tell them!” owner Pilin Junsangsri whispers through a laugh, gesturing toward a few folks piping pandan filling into cupcakes and whipping up passionfruit mousse behind the bakery counter.
“Them” is an eclectic group of friends who met at a party several years ago, and bonded by sending recipes back and forth, debating how to make them better. “One thing that we found is most desserts tend to be too sweet — at least for us. We love desserts and want to feel good before, during, and after having them,” says Junsangsri. Since they were spending so much time together working on new recipes, the pals thought, why not open a permanent place to hang out and share their creations?
Creating that space, (while working other jobs and studying pastry techniques online) was no easy feat. Junsangsri says it took about a year — with everyone picking up a paintbrush — to transform the vacant former video rental shop into a bright bakery.
At Maprang, they incorporate Southeast Asian flavors like Thai Iced Tea and mango — but also riff on recipes from Basque cheesecake to pain au raisin. Gumnod Nakapandhu — who owned a restaurant years ago in Bangkok, works as manager and head chef. When he moved to Boston, he fulfilled a dream of taking formal culinary classes, and worked at Bamboo Thai
Restaurant in Brookline. While he brings the industry background, Junsangsri, an engineer with both a PhD and an MBA, is the financial backer, and good with a mop. “I’m the one without baking experience, so I clean.”
Neighbors pop in for matcha lattes and melt-in-your-mouth mini mousse cakes, but as their Instagram feed reveals, elaborately decorated custom cakes are a specialty. There is a whole rotation of friends and family that help out in some capacity — from cake decorating to running the register, but they mostly prefer to stay out of the spotlight. The head pastry chef, who asked to not be named, is a former accountant who honed her skills watching YouTube videos. “I just love to bake!” she says, getting back to her piping bag, preferring to let her sugar-dusted treats do the talking.
‘One thing that we found is most desserts tend to be too sweet — at least for us. We love desserts and want to feel good before, during, and after having them.’
PILIN JUNSANGSRI owner of Maprang Bakery & Cafe in Somerville