Seattle Bakery Recommendations – Asian Options

Hood Famous Bakeshop

If you think you can find Hood Famous Bakeshop on Market Street, as the address – 2325 1/2 NW Market Street – indicates, you are wrong.

The humble storefront selling unique Filippino sweets is actually located at the corner of Shilshole and 42th Ave.

Here you will find cheese cakes with exotic flavors such as Ube (purple yam), Pandan, Guava, Mango Calamansi and Vietnamese Coffee.

I’m usually not a big fan of graham-cracker based cheesecakes – I find them too dense and overly sweet. Hood Famous Bakeshop’s cheesecake is an exception. At $6.25 a piece, they are not exactly cheap, but where else in Seattle would you come by such flavors.

Besides cheesecakes, they also carry ube cookies

Calamansi lemon bars, Polvorons – a type of Spanish shortbread cookie – and Marshmallows (Ube, mango, coconut).

Hiroki Specialty Dessert

Conveniently located near one of my favorite sushi restaurants in Seattle, Hiroki has been my go-to Japanese bakery for years.

Everything there is good. I specifically love the Green Tea Tiramisu and they never run out of it – Even if you don’t see it on display, they will have it in the back. The Honey Cheese Mango Bavarian is my colleague’s favorite. In addition to the regular offerings, they also carry seasonal specialty cakes, such as Mont Blanc. Having tried the ones at Angelina in Paris, I would say Hiroki’s Mont Blanc is more to my taste. It is not as sugary as their Parisian counterpart, so you can actually taste the profound chestnut flavor. With that said, the best Mont Blanc I’ve ever had was from Rokkatai in Hokkaido. Oh, how I miss that place!

Weekly Dessert at Kisaku

Speaking of my favorite sushi lunch spot, lately, it had come to my attention that they have an excellent dessert chef on staff. For instance, this matcha dome – with azuki beans and marron glacé inside – is simply divine!

Their dessert changes weekly and is promptly announced on their facebook page.

Fumie’s Gold

Fumie’s Gold is in Bellevue (to the east of Seattle). But one cannot talk about Matcha/Green Tea Tiramisu without mentioning the ones at Fumie’s.

My Japanese friend swears by it. Compared to those at Hiroki, Fumie’s version is less cakey, and imparts an intense matcha flavor. Sadly, also unlike Hiroki, they do not make their matcha tiramisus everyday (even if they do, they will likely sell out by the time you get there). So, the best way to secure one is to call them ahead of time and have one reserved for you 🙂

Regent Bakery

If you’ve played a video game called Portal, you’ve heard of the cake.

A Black Forrest Cake from Regent Bakery in Redmond, that is.

While the chocolate cake – with custard cream filling and bing cherries, decorated with fresh whipping cream and chocolate shavings –  is not a lie, my favorites at Regent are: the Vanilla Sponge Cake, the Hazulnut Truffle Cake, the Napoleon and the Swiss Chocolate Cake.

They do also maintain a store in Seattle on Capitol Hill. But the selection is not as extensive as the store in Redmond.

85°C Bakery Cafe

I came to know 85°C several years ago when I visited Southern California. Their matcha red bean roll and coconut custard roll remind me of the delicious cakes we ate in Taiwan.

So when they finally made it to Seattle – at the Southcenter Mall in Tukwilla to be precise – earlier this year, I was psyched!

Well, I should have known better! – for high expectations (or anticipations in this case) almost always lead to disappointments. First, there was the line, a very long line, at almost any time of the day. And to make it worse, they only let several people in at a time – so be prepared to stand outside whatever the weather elements. When we were finally let into the store, to my surprise, either of the aforementioned rolls were to be found. What a complete waste of time! It is easy to see why  85°C is so successful – a wide selection of baked good at an affordable price. But until they do something about that line, I won’t be back there anytime soon.

Here you have it, some of my favorite Asian bakeries in Seattle. Click here to see my other Seattle Bakery Recommendations.