Pan's Cake Banqiao Zhongzheng Store — Restaurant in New Taipei

What a horrible experience! We knew the place would be full of people so we went early arriving at 8:05 and there was already a line of about 15 people. There’s just one cashier with some staff at the back packing. The service can definitely be better (not that I think they care since people would come anyway). Highly recommend to have your order list ready as the cashier has zero tolerance with any questions. My friend asked one of the staff at the back if the individual packed pineapple cake could be sold separately and she said yes. Turned out it was not possible and the cashier was very impatient with us. We wanted to try the sun cake as well and the cashier told us it was sold out. She said we can only get the wife cake so we got it. When we left, we saw the sun cake on the table! Ridiculous! If you want to start your day off in a bad way, then you should come. Worse experience in taipei so far. I always had the impression that Taiwanese were friendly and helpful. Definitely not...

Visiting from Oregon USA, I took the MRT and trekked through the streets and alleys to arrive at this hidden gem of a bakery in Banqiao. Arriving before 9am and not seeing a line, I entered the building to realize that I was not the first customer this morning. I quietly found the back of the line and patiently waited in the queue while pondering what I needed to buy. Their signature fresh pineapple yolk cakes were exquisite. The outer layer was delicate and buttery soft. The pineapple yolk filling was a perfect balance of texture and flavor. Pan's yolk pastry is also worth the try. The full yolk is buttery soft and not oily nor too salty. The bean paste is not overly sweet. I left the store and bought 5 boxes, more than I could carry back to the MRT station. Thank you! Until we meet again....

2023-02-27: this was the second time I tried their pineapple cake with salted egg yolk. I didn't line up both times. I wasn't impressed the first time maybe because the cake was not too fresh (was bought 1.5 months ago by the time I received it). I tried the second time (bought just 2 days prior) and still not impressed at all. What's the big fuss about Pan's Cake? Seriously?!?! I like Chia Te Bakery's 鳳黃酥 way better than Pan's. I couldn't understand why people would line up for hours at Pan's and sometimes even get into a fight for that...

Pineapple cake with salted egg yolk 小潘 鳳凰酥: Just OK, soft crust, some yolk flavor, not enough...