Daniel B.
Yelp
Family Baking is a relatively new addition to the Atlanta Chinatown mall in Chamblee. This is a small, humble, low-key, and no-frills Chinese mom-and-pop bakery that opened in March 2019. It occupies one of the mall's street-facing storefronts, so you don't have to look hard to find it. The business has received stellar ratings on Yelp. Based on my experience, I wouldn't go as far as rating this place five stars, but we did enjoy the pastries we got from here. Service was nice and speedy too.
This place serves Chinese/Asian pastries and tea beverages including milk tea and milk foam drinks with toppings (just like all the popular bubble tea shops). Like other Asian bakeries and cafes, items are prepared fresh daily for grab-and-go purchase. Unlike other Asian bakeries and cafes, Family Baking doesn't have much to speak of in terms of ambiance and decor. It's all about the product here, at least for now. Also, this business is smaller than the competition in terms of size, staff, and selection.
During our visit, the store was set up with a pastry warmer/heater display case, tables and shelves stocked with individually bagged breads and pastries, and refrigerators partially filled with cakes, other sweet desserts, and canned and bottled beverages.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there was no dedicated seating, inside or outside, nor a restroom for customer use. If you want to eat or drink on-site, you can go to the mall's outdoor garden or take your food and bev to the indoor food court (it's open). There are restrooms at the food court too.
Here are examples of offerings and prices I saw when we visited:
- Heated Display Case -
* Traditional Egg Tarts ($1.70)
* Malaysia BBQ Pastries ($2.00)
- Shelves -
* Loaves of various breads, e.g. White Milk Toast ($3.75)
* Pineapple Pastries ($1.50)
* Honey Toast Bread ($1.50)
* Caterpillar Coffee Bun ($1.60)
* Taro Bun ($1.70)
* Chiffon Cake ($1.20 per slice)
- Tables -
* Vegan Vanilla Butter Cream Bread ($1.60)
* Vegan H.K. Bolo ("pineapple" bun, $1.60)
* Vegan Red Bean Mochi Bun ($1.70)
* Vegan Flossy Hot Dog ($1.80)
* Vegan Red Bean Paste Bread ($1.70)
* Mooncakes in assorted flavors ($2.80)
- Fridges -
* Vegan Black Forest Cake ($3.75)
* Tiramisu Cupcake (in a cup, $4.25)
* Chocolate Mousse Cake ($3.99)
* Assorted roll cakes boxed together, 3-4 flavors per box ($5.49 per box); flavors included coffee walnut, chocolate, charcoal, flossy, pandan, matcha, vanilla, and sesame
* Mango Jelly Mousse Cake ($4.25)
* Cookies Cheese Cake ($4.25)
As you can see, the prices were very affordable and Family Baking had a lot of vegan options. One of tables was almost exclusively all vegan products.
We picked up a few Egg Tarts, a Red Bean Mochi Bun, a Taro Bun, a couple Red Bean Paste Breads, and mooncakes in three flavors: Red Bean Snowy, Chocolate Snowy, and Lotus Snowy. I was a big fan of the Egg Tarts, Red Bean Mochi Bun, and Taro Bun. The Egg Tarts were terrific. I think they're some of the best you're going to find in Atlanta in terms of both taste and texture. The Red Bean Mochi Bun, topped with sesame seeds, was airy, fluffy, and filled with delectable red bean paste paired with fresh, soft, and chewy mochi. The Taro Bun was yummy with a nice balance of springy, appetizing bread and a tasty layer of taro in the middle. The Red Bean Paste Bread was good, but not what I was expecting. Instead of having a substantial red bean paste filling inside, it was a thin layer of red bean paste that was rolled into the bread and baked. I was probably wrongly expecting more of a Red Bean Paste Bun. My wife and mom liked it better than me.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival tomorrow, Family Baking had seven flavors of individually-packaged mooncakes in front of the register. These mooncakes tasted homemade and, while OK, I was a little underwhelmed by them. I've had processed and mass-produced mooncakes that tasted better. I thought the crusts on these were a little too hard and the fillings a bit too dense. I'd be willing to give them another chance.
I'd like to come back and try some of the roll cakes, milk tea, and, based on comments from others, the Malaysia BBQ Pastries and fresh Pineapple Biscuits from the pastry warmer. I hear the latter two are especially delicious.
Note: Family Baking and Rolls Village, next door, are both owned by Jane Chung. At the time of writing this review, the two stores are consolidated into a single space and effectively operate as the same business. We entered the Rolls Village space and Rolls Village was printed at the top of our receipt. I asked Jane and her husband Michael about this and they explained to me what I wrote above. If you look at the storefront signs for Family Baking and Rolls Village, you'll see they both say 5389 E (same suite). I've cross-posted this review and my pictures to the Rolls Village page because Yelp has separate listings for Family Baking and Rolls Village: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rolls-village-chamblee.