Golden Gate Bakery Sesame Ball: A dim sum classic, fried glutinous rice balls filled with red bean and tossed in toasted sesame seeds are a rare treat often worth the calories. Instead of choosing the default eggtart at San Francisco Chinatown’s Golden Gate Bakery, I selected their take on the sesame ball, seemingly transmogrified to twice its normal size. Barely fitting in my palm, the ball still had the same thin glutinous rice shell you expect but with double the amount of red bean paste inside. As the red bean paste is... (read more) 2.0/5.0
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Acme Bread Almond Plum Pastry: Sometimes when I have a bad day, I'll stop by the Ferry Building in San Francisco and grab a small snack. On my last trip, I purchased a small almond plum pastry, priced at just a little over $2. Inside were warmed, fresh slices of plum, while the pastry itself was flaky on the outside but comfortingly soft on the inside. Dusted with just a bit of powdered sugar, the pastry was faintly sweet yet distinctly almond-flavored. One of the more perfect little bites I've had this year. 4.5/5.0
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Tartine Manufactory Blood orange sorbet and cardamom soft serve: Tartine Manufactory closes its bakery section, including soft serve, for dinner service, but if you ask nicely, they will serve it (as I found out last night). This swirl of blood orange and cardamom was one of the best things I ate all year, with potently spiced cardamom and sharp citrus. The texture was smooth and consistent. Often, independent flavors in swirled soft serve compete and don’t quite work in harmony, but this unexpected combination was both balanced and even better with one a... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Swensen’s Lychee ice cream: Swensen’s is a historic ice cream shop in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood. Opened in 1948, it now has locations around the world. I don’t find myself in this neighborhood very often, so the last time I was there, I finally got a chance to try it. They offer a bevy of flavors, mostly traditional favorites, but I got a scoop of lychee. Unfortunately, the ice cream had an overly icy, almost clumpy texture, and though it had sizable pieces of lychee throughout, the moisture content of ... (read more) 2.5/5.0
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Saigon Bakery Che Ba Mau: I’ve always been curious about the array of brightly colored pre-made beverages / desserts at Saigon Bakery in the Tenderloin District of SF and decided to finally try one. This one was a pastel mint green color, but others were a muted violet. They are typically covered with saran wrap, even though there is a plastic lid on the cup. The drink itself has an aggressively sweet coconut flavor, and on the bottom is a mix of chewy and soft textures, including green gelatinous strips (similar ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Mr. Holmes Bakehouse California Croissant: Topped with sesame seeds, thin strips of nori, and wasabi powder and filled with smoked salmon, the California Croissant from San Francisco bakery Mr. Holmes is more interesting in concept than in execution. The best bites were ones containing minced ginger, but those were a minority. Overall, while the texture of the croissant itself was satisfying, the salmon was overcooked. The packaging is a bit of an embarrassment of riches, served in a plastic takeout container with packets of soy t... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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