CA Bakehouse — Restaurant in San Jose

Ordered online for pickup which saved a ton of time, but glad I checked before walking away because they forgot to pack all 6 mochi. As compensation, they included a slice of the honeycomb cake.

Here’s our order list and review of each item (came up to ~$128 total, 24 Jun 2023):

2x Pandan milk bread, $7.25 ea - On the dry side, but the substantial coconut filling makes up for it. Bread sans filing is not sweet, so a good choice for something milder. Also probably keeps the best out of all the items we ordered.

Mochi cakes, $3 ea: 3x guava mochi - Dense and moist as you’d expect for mochi. Guava filling was sweet and only mildly tart. Pleasant crumble/almost crunchy on top. 3x banana mochi - Also dense and moist. Generous nuts on top, with whole banana chunks inside. A little less sweet than the guava.

Choux: $2.75 ea except durian which were $3.25 ea. This is what I regretted ordering so much of. Only the kaya choux came close to being fully filled with the flavored cream. (Maybe depends on the day/who’s filling; was a big disappointment because lots of online reviews/Instagram posts/YouTube vids showed well-domed, full choux, but ours were quite deflated by comparison). The choux pastry itself was stale and the craquelin top had lost all its crunch. May just have to time it better next time since choux is probably best eaten within a few hours after pulling out of the oven and filling. Flavors were a mixed bag: In agreement with other testimonials, the sesame was pleasantly strong, while the hojicha unpleasantly so lol; may have just needed a lower tea-to-fat/sugar ratio unless you enjoy intense, medicinal-level bitterness in your pastries. Durian was well balanced. Ube was on the weak side. Kaya was the weakest, but still pleasant to eat. I also forgot how quickly choux spoils (sour by the next day despite 60deg F room temp storage!) so will definitely order way less/skip these next time. 3x kaya choux 4x black sesame choux 4x hojicha choux 4x ube choux 2x durian choux

Egg tarts: Good lamination in the crust. Creamy and not rubbery filling that was pleasantly not too sweet. 3x durian egg tart, $3.50 ea - Had nice chunks of durian. Folks who actually like durian in our family enjoyed these. 2x kaya egg tart, $3 ea - Tasted the same as the plain but with a fun, vibrant green color. 2x plain egg tart, $2.75 ea - The unsung hero. Next time I’d probably just order a bunch of these and skip the kaya.

Pandan basque cheesecake, $26 - Sadly the only item I photographed. About 8 inches in diameter, so on the small side. Would comfortably feed 8 people, tho I could probably scarf down a quarter in one sitting if paired with a Lactaid pill. ;] Runny/creamy in the middle, which may have been by design, but ours looked more sunken than the photos in online ordering. I personally liked the outer 1-inch ring best: light and fluffy. Whole thing was pleasantly not too sweet. Pandan flavor didn’t come through much here either, so next time I’d probably downgrade to the original for $3 less and pop it into the oven to cook the middle a little longer.

Honeycomb cake slice, comped here but normally $2.75 - Haven’t had these before so not sure if the uber-moist-bordering-on-mushy texture is the norm? As compensation for leaving out $18 worth of product for a $128 order, not sure if this was the best move, but appreciated something better than nothing.

SUMMARY: Would maybe come back for the plain egg tarts, pandan bread, mochi cakes, and plain cheesecake. Would skip the choux unless I can guarantee they’re well-filled and freshly baked (though sadly I don’t know too many places that make this many...

Our visit to CA Bakehouse left us with mixed feelings. We tried a variety of items, including the Pandan Macadamia Cookie, Black Sesame Cookie, Vietnamese Coffee Cookie, Ube Croissant, Pandan Green Waffle, and Pandan Milk Bread W/ Coconut.

The disappointment began as soon as we arrived. A line had formed, and we were unable to enter the bakery to get a closer look at the pastries. Instead, we had to peer through the window to make our selections. This lack of access to the display made the experience less enjoyable, as part of the pleasure in visiting a bakery is being able to appreciate the products up close.

To add to the frustration, attempting to access the online menu through the QR code proved futile. It redirected us to their website, only to be met with a "page not found" error. This made it challenging to explore their offerings and left us feeling a bit disconnected from the bakery's offerings.

The ordering process at the cashier was straightforward, and we appreciated the convenience of paying by credit card. The paperless email receipt was a nice touch, minimizing waste and contributing to an environmentally friendly experience.

As for the food, it fell into the realm of average. The Pandan Green Waffles, while flavorful, were disappointingly soft, and some were even burnt. It seemed like a lack of consistency in preparation. The Pandan Milk Bread W/ Coconut, on the other hand, was on the drier side, which affected its overall appeal.

In summary, CA Bakehouse offers a decent selection of pastries, but the restricted access to the bakery, technical issues with the online menu, and inconsistencies in the quality of some items left us with a less-than-stellar impression. There's room for improvement, and we hope they address these issues to enhance the overall...

INTRO: CA Bakehouse has the most vibrant and colorful pastries that you'll find. Their ube and pandan pastries are not only Instagram-worthy, but they are also super rich in flavor. You can tell that this bakery does not skimp out on their high quality ingredients.

BAKED GOODS: I got their pandan egg tart, pandan croissant, ube croissant, and pandan honeycomb cake. I really enjoy egg tarts but have never tried a pandan one. I was blown away by the combination of the pandan and the creaminess of the egg tart. It was a perfect combination that I didn't know was possible. Of the 2 croissants, I like the pandan one better than the ube one because the ube flavor tasted a bit more faint. Nonetheless, the fillings of the croissants were creamy and definitely unique. The honeycomb cake is traditionally not supposed to have a lot of flavor since it's more of a texture dish, so I was surprised that this cake was able to retain a decent amount of pandan flavor. I was also a huge fan of the texture.

OVERALL: Visit if you're in the area! (Overall 7/10)

PLEASE NOTE: I checked this place out as soon as they opened on Friday morning, and there was already a line. I noticed that a few people skipped the line to pick up their orders that they had placed online. I would recommend placing an online order so you don't have to wait in line, since there will absolutely be a line when you visit, regardless of the opening time!

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