Grand Opening Bakery - Review - Chinatown - San Francisco - The Infatuation
"Every weekend, inside Mr. Jiu’s kitchen, you’ll find baking trays topped with desserts and pastries. Some are traditional French or Italian, like a plain croissant and the pistachio almond ricciarelli. But everything else is tinged with Asian flavors and ingredients. A black sesame guava cheese tart here, chocolate ginger and miso cake there, and reimagined versions of classic Cantonese pastries like a daan taaht turned into a Parisian egg tart. Everything we’ve tried at this Chinatown pop-up has made us repeat customers, happy to brave the steep incline on Sacramento just to wait in the perpetual lines. Grand Opening is open on Saturdays and Sundays only, with online preorders for whole tarts and cakes available for pick-up on Fridays. Food Rundown photo credit: Patrick Wong Parisian Egg Tart A crème brûlée-like take on a traditional Cantonese egg tart. The custard is looser and more velvety than a daan taaht, and it has a caramelized top and sits in a flakey shell. Get a slice on every visit. Black Sesame Guava Tart We love the tartness and earthiness of this dessert. It’s thick like a cheesecake and is topped with sour guava gelée and a squiggle of barely sweet whipped cream. We’d still choose the Parisian egg tart over this if we had to, but this is a very close second. Blueberry Bolo Bao This bun is stuffed so full of fruit and pastry cream that it begins leaking as soon as you touch it. Think of it as a cross between a nearly burst pate a choux and a bolo bao. It's slightly over-sweet, we still suggest trying it, if only for the novelty—you won’t find anywhere else in Chinatown serving pineapple buns like this. photo credit: Patrick Wong Bolo Bao With Ham and Butter A play on bolo yau, subbing in one big pad of butter for a thinner slab plus salty ribbons of ham. It’s savory, sweet, and absolutely delicious. We’ll order this again and again. photo credit: Patrick Wong Black Sesame Tea Cake It delivers where it’s supposed to—it’s moist and tastes strongly of black sesame. Otherwise, compared to everything else on the menu, it’s forgettable. Get it only if you love this flavor." - Patrick Wong
