720 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108
Good for: Everyone
Price Range: Inexpensive
Features: Chinese-style bakery, Coffee Crunch Cake
If you were looking for a yummy place to stop in for some delectables after shopping in San Francisco Chinatown, look no more. Eastern Bakery is a little shop that is easily missed but one my family frequents fairly often. A few of the items we usually order are cha siu bows (pork buns – we get the steamed ones here), bak tong go (gelatin-like sweet rice cake), and cocktail buns (don’t know the chinese name – bun with butter, sugar, coconut). Those are pretty standard snacks for a chinese bakery but they are consistently good here and reasonable. But that’s not the reason we specifically come here.
Their Coffee Crunch Cake is delicious!!! It’s light, fluffy, and oh so good. I couldn’t get a good picture because we already bought the last whole cake they currently had and they the signs mixed up. Oh well – you get the idea. The best part is that the cake is covered with hard coffee candies. The strange thing is they seem identical to the candies we get in the Netherlands called Hopjes. Weird, eh? So this wonderful cake is a mix of cultures and palettes, one we have actually been enjoying for over a decade.
So the next time you are walking down Grant Street and start feeling ‘the munchies’ step into this little shop. Keep in mind that it’s very typical in Chinatown for there to only be a semi-line. You kind of just have to step up and shout out your order. The tight space, non-personable workers, and cash-only register are definitely worth the inconvenience though. Oh, and you’ll even be treated to a laminated picture on the wall of Bill Clinton visiting the shop!
4 comments
Oh, I love Eastern Bakery. I haven’t had their coffee crunch cake for a long time. Now I know what I’m gonna pick up next time I’m in Chinatown. By the way, their mooncakes with the wintermelon filling is the best during Moon Festival! So yummy!
A few weeks ago we went to China Town for the first time. I immediately thought of your blog because you are local. I am so happy you shared this post!! We went to the Eastern Bakery and grabbed some amazing sweets! Can’t wait to go back.
Thx.
~Allie
Did you get a slice of the coffee cake or some other yummies? I hope you had some good weather while you were in the city!
The weather was amazing!!! Coming from the East Bay where it can be very hot, we sometimes leave and forget jackets when we head to the city. This day we did remember them but didn’t need them.
I got almond cookies which I am very fond of from my childhood. My husband got some type of coconut cream puff and that was so yummy also! I missed the coffee cake but will definitely grab that one next time. Lots of baked goods! Many not too sweet but amazing quality. Sometimes you want sweets but not too overbearing on the sugar. It was very yummy!
~Allie
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