[CLOSED] Bake Code

🇹🇼 TAIWAN

 

UPDATE: CLOSED.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: An updated version of this article (07 December 2023) is available as part of the Historical section of our Substack page. Check that out here:

https://eattheworldla.substack.com/p/bake-code

If someone told you that they were going to fuse "traditional European baking techniques" with Asian pastries, you might wonder like I did... huh? This is how Bake Code describes themselves, originally from Taiwan but spreading throughout the Pacific countries and now with a few places in Los Angeles and Toronto. The end results usually end up being sweeter than you might find in Asian bakeries, possibly more so for the distinctly Asian American sweet tooth.

While "high end bakery boutique" might be a bit of a stretch, the place is great and worth checking out. The open plan gives you the ability to stroll around and check all the options out on your own, take in the smells, and populate a tray with all your selections. Generally it seems easy going here, at least on weekdays, a comfortable environment to grab a coffee or tea and enjoy a few bites.

A bread time table is posted at each location, showing when certain items come out fresh. Wisely, they limit their production of each item since there are so many, which increases the chance an individual piece of bread gets sold and not wasted.

Pork floss is probably most enjoyed in China, known as a breakfast food that improves digestion and nutrient absorption. I cannot independently verify these claims, but the pork floss bun ($2.50, above) here is available if need be. The savory top and sweet bread are a good combination, and the bakery has a good clean bathroom just in case the claims are true.

Some of the many options on display.

Whether it was meant to be the result of that Euro-Asian fusion or not, many of these modern Asian bakeries produce breads that are feather light and very soft, creating pillowy, chewy textures that folks either love or hate. I fall closer to love than hate, but Bake Code in particular seems to have created it better than most. The first round of "Korean-French" patisseries are being left in the dust by places like this and 85°C.

Do not miss the chance to try the walnut sesame bun ($2.90, below) if you enjoy walnuts and black sesame. The flower-like pastry reveals a little bit of its insides on the shelf, but tear it open to see and enjoy lines of their sweet walnut sesame puree. It is dessert for sure and I would not recommend this over a complete balanced breakfast, but they are incredible.

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SAN GABRIEL San Gabriel Valley

140 W. Valley Blvd #101