Queens, New York
Taking Japan’s everyday bread and making it a New York standard.
Japan’s everyday bread,made in Queens.
In Japan, shokupan is not bread for a special occasion
It is simply part of everyday life
Morning toastWith butter and jam
Egg sandwichesTamago sando
Katsu sandwichesKatsu sando
(mu) Standard asks a simple question
How good can something this ordinary become?
Softness, aroma, gentle sweetness, texture — and the way the bread changes when toasted.
Hisashi Murakami
Founder and chef, (mu) Standard18
the age he began his culinary career2016
moved to New York2026
founded (mu) StandardA path through
Italian cuisineJapanese cuisineSandwichesBread
As Head Chef at a Japanese sandwich shop in Brooklyn, he rediscovered something so familiar in Japan that it is easily overlooked.Shokupan. Japanese milk bread.
What makes a great sandwich
“It’s all in the filling”
A great sandwich is not defined by its filling alone. The bread can change the entire experience.
What the bread brings
- Softness
- Moisture
- Thickness
- Aroma
- Toasted texture
Change the foundation, and you change the sandwich.
Yudane: the Japanese technique behind the softness
Technique used to make an everyday slice better
- 01ScaldPart of the flour is mixed with boiling water.
02MixIt is then incorporated into the dough.- 03HoldThe yudane helps the bread retain moisture.
04BakeA soft, moist, fine-textured crumb — the mark of Japanese shokupan.
Behind this simple process,knowledge refined by generations of bakers.
Hisashi describes shokupan in three words
Vessel. Canvas. Staple.
Eggs. Katsu. Vegetables. Butter. Jam. Fruit. Shokupan doesn’t need to overpower what comes with it — its role is to hold, support, and bring out the best in everything around it.
Simple enough for every day. Carefully made enough to feel special.
Why “(mu)”?
む — 無 — suggests nothingness: an open space without a predetermined form, and so the possibility of what could come next. The name also carries a personal connection to the founder, Murakami.
From Queens to Fifth Avenue
In just a few months
- 2016Hisashi moves to New York, cooking as a head chef and private chef.
- April 2026He launches (mu) Standard independently, baking his ideal Japanese milk bread in Queens.
- Sept 2026An introduction from Davelle Ya leads to the bread being officially selected by Aman New York. Their team tasted it and responded with high praise.
What reached one of Fifth Avenue’s highest levels of luxury hospitality was not a rare ingredient or an elaborate dessert. It was Japan’s everyday bread — everyday food, made exceptionally well.
Japanese shokupan, toasted with Japan’s legendary toaster
BALMUDA The Toaster: an icon of Japan’s premium toaster market
2015
its debut2.5M+
units sold worldwideExperience it at Davelle
Taste it here
- Miyazaki Chicken Nanban Sando
- Classic Japanese PoteSala Sando
- Crispy Potato Croquette Sando
- Classic Japanese Tamago Sando
Every sando is made with (mu) Standard shokupan and toasted to order in the BALMUDA The Toaster Pro — its steam and precise temperature control give a lightly crisp exterior while the inside stays soft and moist.
Take it home · Davelle Ya
- Japanese Milk Bread · 1.5 loaf (daily, while it lasts)
- Today’s sandwich bread, tomorrow morning’s toast at home
- Keeps about 10 days at room temperature: fresh for the first 3, then toast it
Why Davelle Ya chose む (mu) StandardJapanese value is not found only in special things like sushi, wagyu or matcha. It can also be found in how carefully something ordinary is made. After Italian and Japanese kitchens and Japanese sandwiches in New York, Hisashi arrived at the most fundamental element beneath them all: the bread. Baked in Queens from April 2026, it became part of everyday life at Davelle — and within months reached Aman New York.Japanese everyday bread, made well enough to go anywhere. Taking something ordinary and making it with extraordinary care.
Simple enough to eat every day. Distinctive enough to notice from the first bite.
Everyday foodCraftShokupan
Next on the shelfPIETRO →Start with the landWhy Japanese food cares where things come from →Davelle YaBack to the shop →