Bake Sum — Restaurant in Oakland

OMG the photos do not do the pastries justice. I finally ordered a Bake Sum box in time with the fabled Ube Conchita. I was blown away by everything in the box.

Joyce and team have perfectly fused Asian flavors and French Viennosserie. I thought some of the pastries (spam croissant and okonmiyaki danish, for instance) would be gimmicky, but fall slightly short of hype like so many other fusion attempts in the Bay Area. This is not the case!!!

Having had Chinoisserie’s (Joyce’s last hustle) pastries in the past, I was worried these pastries would be a bit dry. I was delighted to find that Bake Sum has found its pastry groove. The pastry quality rivals that of Arsicault in SF (my ideal, I know others like Tartine or others better), and the flavors are inventive and well developed. Flaky to the max (perhaps the flakiest I’ve had), but the butter still shines through. A+ on pastry cream too. If I still lived in the Bay Area, I would try to make this a more regular treat.

The Yuzu meringue croissant was bomb, and I’m now intent on going ham on the tart version.

Almond cake was delightful—like a madeleine meets marzipan (and even my marzipan/almond croissant hating partner loved it). Crisp on the outside, oh so moist on the inside.

Mochi bites weren’t as flavorful as Third Culture’s muffins, but they have a lovely crisp on the outside, and I appreciated that they weren’t as cloyingly sweet (which I understand does impact the flavor strength) as Third Culture’s. Also, yay! A Thai tea flavor!

The cookies show up well in photos and the descriptions made them sound inventive (matchadoodle, hojicha chocolate, black sesame), but in reality were the only disappointment of the purchase (and still pretty good). The flavors didn’t shine through, and they were baked too long for my tastes (they were all shortbread texture when I was hoping for a crisp border and chewy center).

It took me a long time to order a box because the price felt steep ($35, more than I’d typically buy in one bakery go), but as they suggest, you can share sum with a friend! And you will NOT be disappointed. With pastries these good, if they opened a regular brick and mortar (vs. the current preorder and pickup a couple days a week), they would deserve lines longer than Tartine’s (especially the non-Mission spin-offs). Get it while you can!!!!

Great covid practices (good signage, masking, hand sanitizer, outdoor pickup).

Best of luck Joyce and team... I’m your...

I have a bad habit of going to BakeSum too late in the day even though I know they always sell out pretty quick! Get there bright and early or pre-order if you're looking to get a good amount of pastries.

We went this past Saturday in hopes of our favorite, the Okonomiyaki Danish. It has a buttery layered pastry with a soft boiled egg in the middle-- heaven! But we were too late. Thankfully, they were making a fresh batch of their Black Sesame and Coconut Ube cookies. Of course we had to get a cookie! I also go for the Coconut Ube, it's not too sweet & coconut pairs so well with Ube. The cookie itself is also slightly crispy on the edges and has a lovely chewy middle.

We also grabbed a Matchamisu! It was our first time trying it and it won't be our last. The perfect amount of matcha is infused into the cream layers while the coffee soaked layers don't overpower the matcha. And, best of all, it's not too sweet!

This past visit was the first time I noticed their day-olds basket. Sadly, it was also empty, but I love businesses that offer this! Rather than toss everything at the end of the day, they package items that are slightly more shelf stable and sell them at a discounted cost.

I always enjoy being greeted by the staffs chorus of "welcome in!" & pink cafe aesthetic, it really just sets such a great tone for my day!

Next time, I'll be sure to get there early so I can finally get my hands on that danish again! (Also they're dog friendly! They have a jar of dog treats by the window for your...

I pre-ordered a box for my daughter’s birthday because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. This is the third bakery that has opened in the same location since I’ve moved into this neighborhood. Even though their text and email communication was great (almost too good) when I stopped to pick it up, no one even acknowledged me when I walked in, even though there were three people behind the counter. Not only was it off-putting but it made me miss the French bakery that was there before, where the nice lady would give me a free croissant because she knew I was expecting. She even had my partner deliver them to me personally when the baby was born. That’s what a neighborhood bakery should do, not clog up the block with gentrifiers. Customer service goes a long way, especially when all you’re doing is hyping up flavors and combinations of pastries that no one‘s even tasted yet. To top it off, I ordered the box simply for the halo- halo bun, which was advertised to be in it. When I opened the box there was no halo-halo bun to be found. I wanted to support on AAPI history month as I am Sountheast Asian myself, but I fear this place is all hype and sadly no halo-halo. Don’t rely on technology, just give good customer service. I threw the entire box away because I didn’t even want to eat it anymore. You know what else left a sour taste? The texts kept...