Garden Bakery

This is the best little bakery! I now live out of state but I whenever I’m back in the area, I make a stop here (or if a friend flies out to see me, I have them bring me a box)! Compared to other places I’ve tried around the US, these are the freshest tastiest, pastries. My mom is from Hong Kong. We used to visit Chinatown every couple weeks when I was little. We went to a lot of the bakeries in that area over the years but the one we always went back to was the Garden Bakery. We called it the «Sister’s Bakery» because it was small and cramped and always the same two ladies behind the counter. They’re definitely full of character and will try to get you to buy a box-​full but they’re always really friendly. Cheap too… a box would only cost about $ 6 – 8 or something around that range! My staple was the pineapple bread… the bun is soft and the topping flaky and crumbly (yum)! Oh, and the warm cocktail bread is to die for! Those two are kept in a warmer and aren’t always visible so make sure to ask! The sponge cake is good too!

I came to San Francisco for a week and my breakfast consists of bread or pastries from a Chinese bakery every morning for the past six or so years.
It’s interesting to know that when I walk in, the lady greeted me in English, and seemed shocked when I spoke to her in fluent Cantonese.
I walked in and saw their 雞仔餅 (chick biscuits). A lot of other places sell it for $ 9, though, they were only selling it for $ 3. Coming from Toronto, I can usually get a bigger pack for $ 3, so i didn’t buy it.
I got the wife biscuit/​cake, almond cookie and the sponge cake. My, oh my, the wife cake is a five star. The pastry was absolutely delicious as it was SOFT, not too rough on the edge, the outermost skin did not come off, it didn’t taste a bit rough. The inside wintermelon paste was not sweet, there was enough filling, absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS. These are sold 2 for $ 1, so cheap!
The sponge cake was pretty good, it had a lot of egg in it which enhanced the taste. However, I would say it’s a little more wet than the sponge cakes I normally eat, because when I put it out for the third day, it started turning a little soggy.
THE ALMOND COOKIES WERE BIGGER THAN MY FACE. Oh my goodness. These were the largest almond cookies I have ever seen! They have walnuts on them and were just MASSIVE. They tasted a little funny though, I’m not sure if the water in San Fran is different, or if the almond was different. It was good, but just a little different from what I normally taste. Did I mention they were MASSIVE?! For just $ 1 each too, what a deal!

Since the Golden Gate Bakery was closed, we found this bakery to try out. When we walked in, the woman behind the counter was asking us what we wanted. I didn’t like that we couldn’t see all the buns she had available as they were in trays behind the counter. We told her we would be back but not before she told us that her buns were good as we could see the place full of (older) people enjoying a bun.
When we went back, I wanted to get a BBQ pork bun and when we ordered it speaking Toishanese, she said here are 3; one for each of you. Since they were a good price, we didn’t refuse and paid for our buns and left. I ate it a few hours late and it tasted fine, nothing spectacular. If I was looking to buy one bun, wouldn’t come here as I’m afraid she would sell me a boxful.
Ok bakery but not as good as the other we found a few days later in Chinatown.

I had wife and husband bun, pineapple bun and something she recommended but i forgot the name. Everything looked so fresh and authentic! People were having tea, bun and talking with each other casually! It reminded me of the old Cantonese lifestyle! This is the best Chinatown i’ve ever been to!

The moon cake with green beans was very good. Tasted like it was made not too long before.
The lady serving us was helpful explaining the ingredients of the different cakes.
There was no waiting time in the middle of a saturday afternoon.
Too bad I could not find taro cakes though, the reason why I originally walked in!

The only bakery that had egg tarts still available at 5 PM on a Sunday. I’ll take it, because it’s better than anything I can get from back home.

Originally came to China town for Golden Gate Bakery but they were closed for vacation. Since we we’re in the area we decided to try something and not waste the trip, but I would’ve definitely passed on this one. I mistaken this bakery for another one that was specializing in pineapple buns. These we’re alright, tasted like any other chinese bread but with a very very faint hint of pineapple which honestly goes away after one bite. Wouldn’t bother coming back here again.

With Golden Gate Bakery closed again for vacation, I decided to try the egg tarts at this bakery! Small bakery packed with patrons, I knew it would be good. Indeed, it was good. It had a nice flaky crust and a nice sweet filling. I would definitely go back.

Pros: excellent Pineapple Custard bun.
Cons: no idea I ordered that because language barrier is enormous here.
Came in asking for an egg custard. Clearly I didn’t know what I was really wanting so I pointed to the tarts. Sensing it was a bun I wanted, she came out with this bun with a yellowish crumbly top. I insisted it was the tart I wanted. But she gave me both after saying «this tart… this bun… custard inside». I got it then. I was worried about that crumbly stuff but walked out with 2 items after paying $ 1.50. Ate the expected egg custard tart first and YUCK. This thing tasted like fluffy scrambled eggs in a flaky crust, not like a dessert at all. No sugar in that tart and the consistency was way too much like jello and not soft. I ate it but it was like eating breakfast again. I then was less excited about that custard bun thing. Well, I was wrong! That was absolutely divine. It tasted like a Boston Crème donut inside and the crumbly yellow stuff was sweet and complimentary to entire «bready» bun! It was so good I went elsewhere yesterday for another «custard bun» only to find out that there is an actual REGULAR custard bun (without crumbly top) and PINEAPPLE custard bun and Coconut custard bun. I realized ONLY then that my custard bun experience was actually a Pineapple custard bun and not regular. Either way, yesterday I got the latter at A&K bakery on Stockton. I will review them now.

This place leaves many childhood memories. My grandpa use to get me an eggtart here everyday afterschool. Whenever i visit my grandparents now and i feel like eating an eggtart, i come here! This is my favorite place to get eggtarts. The boss lady is very nice and always has a smile on her face. It is always filled with grandmas and grandpas drinking their cups of coffee while chatting with one another. The buns here are very soft and delicious. Prices are relatively cheap compared to others. If you want something authentic, or a «gift» for someone from San Francisco Chinatown, you can’t go wrong with this place.

Still my only go to place for cocktail buns and pineapple buns. Always fresh and warm. I can eat those things all day.
Cocktail bun — substantial fillings.
Pineapple bun — crispy thick top crust.

Is it a destination bakery like that never-​open iconic spot on Grant Avenue?
No… but, if you want a true local (capital L) taste, you’ll find it here. From pineapple buns (bolo bao) to chicken tail buns (gai mei bao), this Marty McFly kind of place will take you back in time (
).
In the ’70’s and ’80’s, garment factory and restaurant owners would crowd this tiny spot for a cup of coffee and a random bun for their pre-​work breakfast. The chatter would normally be about family, friends, or work gossip and, if you wanted a Chinatown rumor spread quickly, just put the word out here.
Now, it is mostly neighborhood retirees and your quick bite seekers who stop here. My choices used to be their $ 1.00 for five chicken tail buns (gai mei baos) or their pineapple red bean bun (bo loh dao sa bao), but food prices have definitely increased.
Is it on a par with the Sheng Kee’s or Wheat Field’s (don’t EVEN compare to 85°)? Emphatic no, but it is certainly easy on the wallet.

We stopped here kind of late for bakery hours on a Wednesday. I’m sure the woman behind the counter could of talked me into trying everything and was patient with me not knowing exactly what the pastries were. I ordered some pork buns and egg tarts, buns were very good, the egg tart was a little watery on top but very good as far as egg tarts go. I also ordered a mooncake that I saved for later. The bean paste filling was sweet, slightly nutty and really delicious. The pastry texture was thick and very moist. Would definitely come back to try the wife cake and some pineapple custard cakes next time. The prices were very very reasonable.

There are a lot of Chinese bakeries in SF’s Ctown.
I was on the hunt for a good egg tart.
As my family was getting some Delicious Dim Sum across the street, I peered inside Garden Bakery. First thing I noticed was that there were Chinese grandmas and grandpas sitting on all the tables, just chatting away. I knew that if the locals come here, it must be good.
I went in and got a egg tart for .70 cents.
I bit into my tart and was please. The crust was flaky and buttery. The egg tart was soft and eggy.
I was pleased with my egg tart! :)

Another continuation of dim-​sum hopping in SF Chinatown (4 bakeries in 20 min). This time I tried their wife-​pies. There’s probably a better English marketing term for them, but the literal translation is wife-​pies, and they were super sweet. Super sweet as in lots of sugar canes were used, so it depends on your preference.
I didn’t really like how dirty their cabinet windows looked (where they had all the baked goods). Maybe I’m a bit picky, but many other places kept their windows clean, so the baked goods look a bit more appetizing.

Tried this an add-​on to a egg custard showdown that I conducted with egg custards from 5 other bakeries recently. I’ve gotten food here before, and my sister from out of town requested that I send her certain items. After trying one of their coconut tarts, which was pretty good, I decided to get some egg custards from here.
The crust is very good — flaky, sweet-​ish, and holds up well. The filling was mediocre. Custard had a slightly watery flavor (not as bad as some other places), subtly sweet, slightly eggy. Overall a decent effort.
Less impressed with their BBQ pork bun. A little light on the filling, with an uninspired flavor and texture. Coconut tart was dense and rich with flavor.
My only quibble with this place is that when I asked for a box to take home my stuff (I had ordered 8 coconut tarts and 2 sponge cakes, they kept on trying to put a whole bunch of egg tarts in there. I kept arguing with them to take them out, but they insisted that they had to fill the box. It got confusing after a while, and finally I relented. As it would turn out, I ended up getting more food than I actually paid for, so I guess the hustle was okay in the end.

45 cents for pineapple buns and 70cents for egg tart!
What more can I ask for?! So yummy!!!
If only prices were this low everywhere else in the Bay Area…=(

Wow, I have not written about Garden? This is a no bueno.
Let me tell you the side story of how I know about Garden. My mother’s boss at the time brought back some wife cakes from SF and passed them out. Mother ate it and said it was one of the best tasting wife cakes she EVER had, not too sweet with enough flakiness. Because mother knew I went to SF every so often, it was engraved in my list of things to do is to bring home a dozen (or two) back to LA.
I’ve been here twice, and both times that I have walked in, I was PROBABLY the younger customer. Lots of grandmas and grandpas sit around and chit chat, just like how any eatery place in Los Angeles Chinatown would have it. Placed an order for two dozen wife cakes and told them that I was taking them back home to LA. I had requested to put them in a bag, so it would be easier for me to stash away; instead they said not to worry and gave me the standard pink box, stuffing 30 cakes. The cakes itself were 2 for a dollar, which is a steal, in comparison to every other place in San Francisco AND any place that sells these kind of baked goods in Los Angeles. I believe the server gave me freshly baked wife cakes, since she had probably emptied out two trays just for my order.
Service was great; granted I did take advantage of my Cantonese speaking skills. Love the fact that they have a machine that does the ribbon binding! And probably the greatest of it all? One of the workers asked me, «such a handsome boy, using the wife cakes to get a wife?» If I could give brownie points for that comment, I totally would; five stars will have to settle.

This is my favorite place in Chinatown to get wife cakes. A wife cake is a cookie-​like flaky pastry filled with gelatinous winter melon & sesame. They are only slightly sweet but so soft & buttery. They are my new fave Chinese treat!
The place is much smaller than Eastern Bakery or AA Bakery, but they know their baked goods. The women who work behind the counter are very welcoming & the place is always packed with older Chinese folks.
2 for $ 1…you can’t beat the price!

The Baked BBQ Pork Buns here have meat with an interesting flavor: we suspect that the meat contains some sweet dessert wine. The bread is fluffy with a slightly hard outer skin. While the pieces of meat were big and chunky, there wasn’t enough meat overall in each bun. Given their ridiculously low cost, this didn’t come as a surprise!
This visit was part of a 6-​person BBQ Pork Bun Crawl to a bunch of San Francisco’s most popular bakeries. To read up on other bakeries we visited, check out my Unilocal list:
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