Kee Wah Bakery

This is a bakery that became very successful in making wedding cookies in the chinese culture. They became successful in Hong Kong and now we are lucky to have them.
Quality is the word here. Most baked goods are expensive, they are — compared to almost any other chinese bakery out there and they are good. Always soft, always baked daily. Anything older than a day is put aside and sold half off, so you know you always get the best quality.
With an amazing Groupon (inc code sale3) I bought $ 20 worth of bread and egg tarts (paid $ 10 only). All the bread was excellent even the lemon tea $ 2.75.
No comments on sweets, i am all about the breads. Will definitely come back again.

If you’re thinking of getting a wedding cake here, a few things to keep in mind:
— It’s not obvious from their Unilocal page, but they totally do Western wedding cakes.
— We chose Kee Wah versus the other Chinese bakeries because we really wanted their strawberry cake with the crispy layer. But they recommended against it because wedding cakes have to be made a day in advance and the crispy layer would be soggy by the time it was served. We were disappointed but appreciated them telling us that, so we went without it.
— They would not deliver to San Juan Capistrano because it was too far. That is fine — having my cousin pick it up saved us money on a delivery fee — but it meant we could only get single tier cakes. It also meant that my cousin was really stressed out driving it over. It turned out really lovely, though. But if your wedding is in South OC and you want an Asian cake, you should probably just get it in Westminster or Irvine. That was our mistake for planning late.
— If you already know how you want it decorated, bring a full page print out that you can give them for reference. Otherwise, you can look through their book — although I found most of the pictures to be outdated.
— They were willing to do the cake for us with only 2 weeks advance notice. I would recommend giving them 4 weeks’ notice. Unlike American bakeries, I think more than a month would be too much for a place like Kee Wah.
— I went to the Monterey Park location because that’s the one I’m familiar with. The ladies were so nice and they really tried to speak with me in English, but their English wasn’t great. We managed to get by through a combination of broken English and broken Mandarin. If you are well-​versed in Cantonese or Mandarin, you’ll be fine. If you’re English-​only, it’s doable but a little rough. They ended up sending me to the San Gabriel location where the manager was, who does speak English well.
— I get nervous about service in Chinese stores because they sometimes aren’t very nice. This was the opposite. The ladies at the San Gabriel Kee Wah were so sweet and friendly and tried really hard to help me even though I don’t speak Chinese very well.
— The cake was 2 hours late. This was really a problem. The order form clearly says 12 pm pick up, but it ended up not being ready until 2 pm. This was a huge bummer because it meant my cousin missed our entire ceremony. I don’t know what ended up being the reason, but I highly recommend you calling the day before to confirm the time. I didn’t do that and regret it.
— It was $ 338 for a standard cake to feed 160 people (although it was big enough to feed 200 people).

Pineapple buns and more pineapple buns! I’ll be the first to admit that I used to think the pineapple buns here were just okay, but after going to many other bread stores and trying out their pineapple buns, I’ve come to realization that I was wrong, very wrong. Kee Wah probably makes the best pineapple buns out there; they are fluffy, light and topped with a thin crusty layer of sweet topping. They are fairly inexpensive, and fantasic as a light snack or breakfast. The pineapple buns are popular sellers here, so often times you have to go to the bread cart, where they usually have a fresh batch ready for you to grab.
Aside from their pineapple buns, their Kee Wah eggtart is pretty delicious for any egg tart lovers over there. Its decent size and has a very tasteful crust to match the sweet egg interior.
Service has always been decent whenever I come, and there is a $ 10 minimum to use card otherwise they charge a small fee, so bring cash! I’ll always come back here for pineapple buns when I have no idea what to eat for breakfast!

I liked it here. Everything seems pretty fresh. I purchased a loaf of sweet butter bread for about 2.55 pretty substantial price. The loaf came with about 4 slices which were a decent size. The crust had a nice texture to it, while the inside had a nice fluffy, buttery and sweet texture. I didnt buy anything else, but everything else seemed pretty good and it looked fresh. Ill go back again, because everything looks good and its a reasonable price.

Came here for a small birthday cake, I got lucky and was able to find a 4″ one. The cake was good. They also have daily freshly bake pastries. Sometimes I would stop by for some pastries on my way to work. I love having a Cantonese bakery in the neighborhood.

Been going to Kee-​Wah bakeries for years, and they seem to have quality pastries at reasonable prices. This location is no different. I wish they can be more creative in the things they make, as I am getting bored by the variety available. All in all, a good place, and you get the quality food you come to expect from a big name chain.

This is one of my wife’s go to spots for fresh Dan Tat (egg tarts). Gotta go early to get them fresh though. And parking is a nightmare, I suggest parking across the street and walking over.

Open on New Years Day went for some Dan Tan but the filling was ok but the tart cup was wrong it was too sweet like a cookie and not flakey and buttery

Breads are fresh, crews are very friendly.
I tried many of coconut buns that had enough volume of coconut inside.
But the only one unsatisfied point is a long line-​up to counter. I think they should install one more POS for a lot of waiting customers.
Anyhow, I like this place and will go to buy other breads.

Kee Wah Bakery has been here forever!
The prices of course went up, but they have a good choice of baked goods and is pretty consistent.
The parking here sucks on the weekend, so don’t come here. It is not worth it.

Awesome pastries! I came here to buy Moon Cakes to celebrate Autumn Festival. Their Moon Cakes are very pricey!
Mid-​Autumn Festival is held on the 15^th day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. In 2015 it takes place on Sunday, September 27^th.
This location is always busy and finding parking can be a bit challenging. But I like coming here because their pastries are displayed very neatly. I also bought some pastries. I especially love their Dan-​Tat (Chinese egg custard tart). They are $ 1.40 each. They have three different types of Dan-​Tat: the Chinese flakey puffed-​crust, or the shortcrust pastry, and Portuguese custard pastry (more like crème brûlée custard caramelized). My favorite is the flakey puffed-​crust Dan-​Tat.
I want also comment on their service. I bought the wrong Moon Cakes (tin gift box) for my parents. I went back with my dad and tried to exchange the Moon Cakes. The Moon Cakes were still in their original plastic sealed tin can gift package and were never opened. The sale girl didn’t allow us to exchange the Moon Cakes and told us that it is our fault that we bought the wrong items. We were shocked what came out of her mouth! I spent over $ 90.00. To make a long story short, the bakery manager allow us to exchange the Moon Cake only this time. My dad even bought more Moon Cakes before we left the bakery.
*Lesson learned — difficult to exchange items in Chinese own businesses, not customer friendly /​service.
I would like to give them 5 stars because of the unfriendly sales girl saying it’s my fault (not customer friendly)
They have another location in San Gabriel on Valley Blvd.

2.5 stars– I come here every other week to about once a week and have been overcharged/​short-​changed twice. Since they require a minimum of $ 10 for credit card purchases, you will most likely pay with cash and not know if you are short changed or overcharged until you look at your receipt (if they provide you with one).
One time the cashier immediately walked away and I had to call the manager because she short-​changed me. Today, the person helping me furiously punched away at the calculator and somehow overcharged me by $ 3. She didn’t give me a receipt so I asked for one to see how it could have added up to $ 9 something for 5 pieces of baked goods which should have been $ 6 something.
She muttered a mandatory sorry afterward after giving me the appropriate change. Despite feeling ripped off on more than one occasion (it really just takes one bad experience to lose customer loyalty!) I will most likely come back again since my parents love this place– but be extra cautious and conscientious of what I am paying for.
Tips:
–Always ask for a receipt!
–Make sure the receipt is right, too.

They did not have everything I was looking for but that’s probably for the best. Bought enough stuff to satisfy my sweet tooth.

The only items I really like from here are in their heated display case by the cashier:
1. BBQ Pork Pie
2. Curry Pork Pie
3. Banh Pâté So (Round Meat Pies)
The outer pastry shells are flaky and delicious and the meat fillings are seasoned nicely and with a good decent amount. They’re greasy as heck, but when your tummy is rumbling, this’ll satisfy it :) I can pass on the egg tarts. Not a fan of them.
As for the pastries — nah… This five star is just for the meat pasties. Will get pics next time, but other Unilocalers on here have pics of it.
Oh, they also carry Hong Kong Iced Milk Tea. Grande size only for $ 3.00. Nice and refreshing to quench your thirst or when you’re craving some HK Iced Milk tea.

VERDICT: Full variety of baked goods
QUALIFIER: Somewhat small SF store, can get busy and crowded, needs better ventilation, west facing store front traps evening sun but other stores don’t have cooling problems
FOOD: Tends to run low on selection near end of day
SERVICE: Can’t get the egg tarts by yourself

The only pineapple buns are eat are the ones that Kee Wah bakes as they make it with a crispy top! Yum.
Unfortunately, they raised the prices to $ 1 and most other items have increased in prices over the past two years as well.

I got this sponge cake on Sunday for Monday breakfast… After that had that I got food poisoning and intestinal infection. It was horrible, I thought I was going to die!!! Now that I think about it I think I might have eaten some cockroach poop… But I thought it was just vanilla beans… lol FML.
My coworkers also told me they’ve seen ants at this place before… But their eggtarts are pretty food… Eat at your own risk… But I’m avoiding this place forever… Maybe go to the San Gabriel location… Or not.

Decent egg tarts here, they serve both cookie-​based and «so-​pay» layered-​based. I like both but I personally prefer the layered-​based egg tart because it’s requires more skills to make and personally should cost more than the cookie-​based one. They also have good Egg Rolls which beat out the ones you find in the Asian super markets. Again this plaza gets super busy and usually is always packed for parking is a nightmare here. Come super early or before closing to avoid this problem.

More like 3.5 but I’ll round up because of the nice ladies that work here.
Bought a Groupon a while back and came to finally redeem it. I didn’t come at the best time when their freshly baked breads come out but the selection was still decent. They take out fresh bread 4x a day. Forgot the times but they have it posted on a wall near to the back right. Either wait for $ 10, we got around 10 items. Perfect for a quick and simple breakfast. The bread here is not as unique as ones from more upscale and modern bakeries like 85 Degrees. Here, you find the traditional buns you have found throughout your life (if you lived in the SGV) or in HK. You get your pineapple bun, your coconut bun, your raisin bread, red bean bun, etc.
The bread fills the spot but coming over from the bread section and coming to pay you are greeted with a display of egg tarts. Yummy, sweet, golden custard baked to perfection. What makes it better? You can choose from a flake-​y crust or a more solid pie-​like crust. I personally like what I’ve grown up eating which is the flake-​y crust. Buttery and crispy on the outside and tender, jello-​like custard in the middle. It wasn’t hot when I got it so it might’ve been sitting there for a while but it was still great.
Finally, you come here and end up heading to the register and you are greeted by little ladies that emote this feeling of genuinely liking their job and enjoying the customers they meet. They are well-​aware of the Groupons and are tech-​savvy enough to know what it is and how to properly redeem them. They are friendly and super efficiently. The line moves quickly and you are in and out within 5 – 10 minutes (or less).
Every time a Groupon deal comes out, I always pounce on it for Kee Wah but I still think its a great bakery in the SGV for your standard Chinese bread snacks.

Love Kee Wah for so many reasons: the fact that their pineapple bread has been consistent from when I was a little girl to now and that it still sells at about $ 0.80 for one. The fact that they make really good egg tarts (flaky crust and cookie crust) and the price doesn’t discourage one from buying one. The fact that they have set times for fresh bread and you can choose which bread you want from the tray! And they have really good deals that you can score on LivingSocial or Groupon from time to time.
I am a very big fan of Kee Wah’s pineapple bread. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but they all taste the same (each location has the same recipe for that same great taste!). I love the pineapple crust of the bread. I used to only pick that off when I was little and give the white bun to my dad. I’ve come to appreciate the bread and the pineapple crust meshing together, but can’t resist the urge to eat the pineapple crust by itself sometimes. Their other breads are okay, too like the coconut cream one or the pork sung. I especially love their cookie crusted egg tarts. So delicious! Their cakes … I don’t think I’ve ordered from this location.
The biggest factor that I have encountered is the parking. If you come during peak hours on a weekend, you won’t find parking unless you are super lucky. And maybe if you’re that lucky, you’ll encounter all the breads exiting the oven, too! :P