South Bay: CA Bakehouse

My friends and I have discovered a new hobby during the pandemic: brackets.  This actually started a few years ago when we did a milk tea bracket for my 30th birthday.  We joked about doing brackets for other things, but the idea never really took up until the pandemic boredom set in.  All of a sudden we had a Google spreadsheet with bracket ideas and separate tabs for bracket results.

The first bracket we did during the pandemic was a South Bay banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) bracket.  For those who are curious, our bracket winner ended up being Duc Huong.  No wonder there's always a gigantic line in the morning on the weekends.

But this post isn't about the bracket.  Sorry.  (Maybe if I find the motivation, I'll write a separate post about that.)  No, this post is about the dessert we picked up from CA Bakehouse to go with our banh mi.  Because trying banh mi from nine different places was somehow not going to be enough food in our minds.

Sigh.

Anyway, when we arrived at CA Bakehouse at noon, there were quite a lot of people waiting:

Abby and I got in line while T and CL went to collect more banh mi for our bracket.  

We didn't intend to order a lot.  Okay, that's a lie.  Abby didn't intend to order a lot.  I, on the other hand, wanted to try everything.  Somehow I convinced her to get two ube croissants and two kaya croissants ($3.50 each):

If you're a croissant snob and you're looking for those flaky layers, CA Bakehouse's croissants might not be for you.  They're on the softer, bready side (think Costco croissant), but the colors are no joke.  Just check out this purple:

And this vibrant green:

We also ordered two durian egg tarts ($3 each) and two guava filled mochi cakes ($2.50 each):

The mochi cakes and a thin layer of guava jam at the bottom:

CA Bakehouse offers choux in four flavors and so we got two of each:

There was the kaya ($2.25):

The black sesame ($2.25):

The durian ($3):

And the ube ($2.50):

CA Bakehouse's Basque cheesecakes are limited in quantity and typically require pre-ordering.  I took a chance and simply asked if any were available.  Luckily, we were able to score a pandan one ($25):

The cheesecake was supposed to be the piece de resistance, but all I could focus on was how small it was.  The colors were pretty though:

After sampling everything, we all had the same conclusion: CA Bakehouse is fun.  Fun in their colors, fun in their flavors, and fun in their fusion.  But when it comes down to it, the baked goods themselves are just okay.  The novelty isn't really worth the price tag in my opinion.

This is not to say I wouldn't go back again.  Sometimes you need a little fun in your life.

(The colors also look super fab on Insta.)

CA Bakehouse

979 Story Rd #7066

San Jose, CA 95122

(408) 287-9188

http://www.cabakehouse.com/