A Picture-Perfect Asian Cafe Will Go From Pop-Up to Permanent in the East Village | Eater San Diego

"I read that Rikka Fika, a specialty coffee and bakery pop-up that developed a following in Miramar, will move into a permanent East Village home in the vacant spot next to Lola55 in the IDEA1 building. Co-owners Michelle Jow and Scott Chen—who had intended to open their first storefront in Bird Rock but faced construction delays—told Eater their first East Village pop-up will be held on Saturday, September 16 and that they’ll slowly expand hours as renovations are completed. One of the bakery’s specialties is its show-stopping shokupan (Japanese milk bread), sweetened with honey and baked in square-sided loaf pans; the cafe uses fluffy slices of milk bread for Japanese sandos and will also bake mini loaves and filled buns. Jow and Chen traveled to Korea and Japan to research recipes for more sweet treats they plan to introduce to San Diego, which will join current menu offerings like matcha-yuzu and strawberry cheesecake scones and Basque cheesecakes, along with egg-based dishes and other savory items. With a modern Japanese-meets-Scandinavian design that mirrors the name—"rikka" meaning the beginning of summer and "fika" the Swedish coffee-break tradition—the East Village storefront will also host coffee and dessert omakase experiences featuring pour-over coffee sourced from international roasters." - Candice Woo