At Waikīkī’s New Vavin Dessert Bar, Crispy Croissants and Pastries

Photo: Gregg Hoshida

Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Outside, birds chirp in the morning sunlight; inside Vavin Dessert Bar on Saratoga Road, espresso drips into a warmed demitasse as aromas of butter, yeast and flour rise from the freshly baked croissant on your plate.

The tableau in the airy, high-ceilinged café could be mistaken for one on the streets of Paris—like Rue Vivan, which it is named after. Instead, Vavin Dessert Bar opened in Waikīkī a month ago just a stone’s throw from Eggs ’n Things, with little fanfare but a strong showing on Instagram. As a pâtisserie-loving Francophile, I decided the beautiful photos of croissants and desserts would require my immediate attention.

Photo: Gregg Hoshida

I arrive at 7:30 a.m. and take a quick scan of the counter. A multitude of enticements wait in the display case. Pain au chocolate with Valrhona chocolate, twice-baked double pistachio croissants ($8.75), almond croissants, Basque cheesecakes. Fruit tarts and eclairs. As well as a menu of coffee drinks and teas. I learn that owner and pâtissier Jin Ying’s favorite pastry is the tiramisu mille feuille ($11.75). All lure the eyes and taste buds, but in the end I settle on a plain croissant ($5.75).

Ying tells me he started his career working in a boba shop in Manhattan, followed by nine years of on-the-job training at pâtisseries in New York City and Paris. When it was time to strike out on his own, with a vision of fusing the flavors of France, Asia and Hawai‘i, Ying and his wife, Grace, moved to Hawai‘i.

SEE ALSO: New Ocean Side Bakery Brings a Taste of France to Chinatown

How better to test Ying’s croissant game than with the foundational plain version? The initial bite reveals all. Light but with a fluffy interior crumb, my croissant shatters blissfully into its countless buttery folds. This is far from your Costco croissant. It’s made with heavily refined T45 flour and is the result of discipline and hundreds of hours of practice, of sleeping in the café overnight to tend your dough so it’s just right for the morning’s first customers.

Photo: Gregg Hoshida

I’m now inspired to try Vavin’s signature Rainbow Croissant ($6.75). Colorful and Instagrammable, it looks like a croissant but is closer to a profiterole or cream puff. These are filled with a rotating array of fruit custards—today’s is a velvety mango, silky smooth and luxuriant. I understand why it was front and center in the display case. And while it is heavy on the palate for a breakfast item, I can see myself coming back on a lazy summer afternoon to have it with a freshly pulled espresso. Not to mention the rest of the pastry and dessert case, which will require more of my attention.

Photo: Gregg Hoshida

With this initial taste test, Vavin Dessert Bar lives up to my Francophile expectations. It turns out that Vavin was the street Ying lived on when he worked in Paris. Speaking of which, it requires mentioning that in this part of Waikīkī, parking will be a challenge. At 7:30 a.m., metered street parking was readily abundant. The post office across Saratoga Road has metered stalls. My recommendation? Get to Vavin early—popular items are selling out as word gets out.

Bon appétit.

Open daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., 2113 Kalākaua Ave. (next to Eggs ’n Things), (808) 436-9945, @vavindessertbar