Tasty Bakery, Kearny Mesa area, San Diego

 Tasty Bakery is a bright, tidy little shop packed with exciting things to try.  The flavor palette is Southeast Asian.  It was very hard to make a decision.  I was there for breakfast, so I excluded the meat bun options.  I came home with a green tea bun, taro-pineapple bun, coconut bun and two cake slices.  The buns were excellent!  They were made with an enriched dough similar to a Mexican pan dulce.  The fillings were generous.  

The two cake slices were pandan and taro.  The colors were vivid!  Asian cakes tend toward a light, creamy texture rather than very sweet.  Both cakes were airy with a fluffy frosting.  I thought the flavors could have been more present.  The pandan cake had a nice aftertaste of pandan.  The taro one didn't have a strong flavor.  Pandan is a very interesting flavor.  It comes from a grass-like plant and tastes like hazelnut/vanilla.  I've cooked with pandan extract and it smells and tastes lovely.  Taro is a root vegetable.  I've never cooked with it.  If it seems odd to use a root vegetable in a dessert, think of a sweet potato pie.  

Tasty Bakery doesn't seem to have a website.  It is located in a small mall with plenty of parking.  The hours are posted on Google maps.  It is closed Tuesdays and open 8:30 AM - 5 PM other days.

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