b. patisserie milk tea tart: At the corner of Divisadero and California in Lower Pacific Heights (San Francisco) is popular bakery b. patisserie, led by a former pastry chef at fine-dining establishments like Gary Danko and Manresa. The sizable shop feels like a luxury in San Francisco, with only a handful of bakeries able to afford real estate to seat multiple families and smaller parties; the line out of the door, with about a 15 minute wait to the counter, signified they're doing just fine. For Chinese New Year, b. patisserie created a special menu of asian favorites like pineapple custard bun, black sesame kouign amann, and an almond jello verrine. At around 2pm on a Sunday, almost all of the specials were no longer available. Of the ones left, I ordered what I felt was the most appealing: a milk tea tart. Technically, the pastry was very well executed, with a short crust that held up texturally to the tart's creamy beige-colored filling. On top were three square jellies, with a yielding soft texture and mild herbal flavor. Overall though, the tart lacked impact largely due to the cream, which tasted more of cream than tea. And at $7, this failure in flavor did not come cheap. Perhaps the other Chinese New Year options would have been better, but given the quality of this pastry, I'm not willing to wait in line to find out. 2.5/5.0

desserts pastry sf chinese milktea bpatisserie milk tea tart 2.5