Garden Bakery

"Looking for Chinese baked good utopia? Garden Bakery, a tiny cash-only spot in Chinatown, is stocked with every kind imaginable. The pastry selection has a range. Sponge cakes puff up like hot air balloons, the egg tarts show off the flakiest crust, and the pineapple buns are usually still warm when somebody pulls one off a tray and hands it to you across the counter. Whether you’re stopping in for a small snack or filling a box to the brim, you’ll always find the sweet treat you’re craving. And unlike nearby Good Mong Kok, there’s never really a line." - julia chen 1, lani conway, ricky rodriguez, patrick wong

"It’s easy to miss this small cash-only Chinese bakery in Chinatown. But once you spot the mooncake photos taped to the window, you’ll know you’re in the right place. The face-sized pineapple buns are always squishy and fresh, and usually still warm when they’re pulled off the baking trays and packed neatly into pink boxes. The glass case at the front is a gleaming pastry utopia of egg tarts, baked char siu bao, and sponge cakes that puff up like hot air balloons. Swing by for one and sit at a table inside, or just fill up a box with one of everything (a move we’re always down for) and take your treats to-go." - julia chen 1, ricky rodriguez, lani conway

"It’s easy to miss this small cash-only bakery in Chinatown. But once you spot the mooncakes photos taped to the window, you’ll know you’re in the right place. The face-sized pineapple buns are always squishy and fresh, and usually still warm when they’re pulled off the baking trays and packed neatly into pink boxes. The glass case at the front is a gleaming pastry utopia of egg tarts, baked char siu bao, and sponge cakes that puff up like hot air balloons. Swing by for one and sit at a table inside, or just fill up a box with one of everything (a move we’re always down for) and take your treats to-go." - megan zhang, julia chen 1

"It’s easy to miss this small cash-only Chinese bakery in Chinatown. But once you spot the mooncakes photos taped to the window, you’ll know you’re in the right place. The face-sized pineapple buns are always squishy and fresh, and usually still warm when they’re pulled off the baking trays and packed neatly into pink boxes. The glass case at the front is a gleaming pastry utopia of egg tarts, baked char siu bao, and sponge cakes that puff up like hot air balloons. Swing by for one and sit at a table inside, or just fill up a box with one of everything (a move we’re always down for) and take your treats to-go." - Julia Chen

"In case you’re currently in need of a carb-fueled distraction from, well, everything, diving into a bag of pineapple buns from Garden Bakery is a foolproof way to go. Each bolo bao from this bakery in Chinatown is roughly the size of a newborn baby’s face, and will only run you $2.50 for three. And even though I swung by the cash-only bakery at the end of the day, the milk buns were so squishy (and still warm) you’d think they just came out of the oven minutes before. I’ll be sure to bring more cash next time so I can try more of their mooncakes, egg tarts, and BBQ pork buns. - Julia Chen, SF Staff Writer" - Julia Chen 1, Lani Conway