A1 Bakery and Cafe

Was hungry for an eaaarrlly Saturday morning bite. Convent lu located at the Jules and ocean muni stop (get off, walk across the street, and walk back to the bus stop took no more than 5 minutes). Got a curry beef bun, coconut pineapple, and pineapple taro bun. For $ 3.40 and back to getting on my way on the k inbound

Have been ordering their birthday cake here for years because of how spongy and soft they are. Fresh fruits or coconut and custard are the two kinds we
usually order.

Do not get the burgers here. They are sloppy and messy. The burgers look like they just threw everything together and said, «finished». Not good quality. Even the buns they make are questionable. I think I got diarrhea one time because the buns were not fresh. This place is unclean as well. The maintenance of this establishment should be tended to. I am highly unsatisfied with this place. If you like pork buns then please go elsewhere. Bad bad bad.

Love this place! I have been coming here for years love all their buns there! Everything from pork buns, pineapple buns, hot dog buns, pizza buns, coconut bread, egg tart, sesame balls. I always walk out with a happy pink box! Love interacting with Katie and Kenny they are always really nice and get me what I want!

Growing up in the area since the 2^nd grade, this has got to be one of the better Asian bakeries I’ve experienced in the area. With so many people moving into SF, this part of the neighborhood has started booming with new businesses including other bakeries (i.e. King’s Café, etc).
It’s a family run business and the parents are very nice. They welcomed their son into the family a few years back, so you might see him run around sometimes. Though, it’s hard to find parking in the early morning due to busy Asian people running in and out.
My parents enjoy coming here for their coffee. I enjoy coming here for their pastries like a ham & egg bun, pineapple bun, corn & (mayo?) bun, hot dog bun, and much more. These pastries can range 50 cents to $ 2 at most, which I definitely think is worth it. They also showcase other stuff like m&m cookies, lemon cakes, Asian birthday cakes and much more. They used to sell Asian birthday cakes on the spot, but I think due to not many people buying it everything, you must make a pre-​order of a 3 – 7 days in advance depending on the size of the cake. I normally come in and get my food to go and eat at home or something.
Highly recommend coming here, if you’re craving your Asian pastries!

A1 has egg tarts, breads, pies, and ?. in the front display but no buns. they are in a rack to the right in the rear. they also serve breakfast. lunch and who knows at?(hint:
offerings stenciled on front window).
eats: baked chicken bun (1.4)
baked bbq bun (1.4)
–ate both the next morning, fresh tasting, no msg tasted
–dough nice taste, «transparent”-almost melt in mouth.
pricey? quality stuff. worth it!
crumbs:
–friendly service from owner?
–go for the buns here. ask for them or look to the right of the counter.

Place to get some Chinese baked goods. They have the usual Char Siu Bao, Custard Bun, Hotdog Buns and some dessert items to.

Usually, I can get a parking spot right in front… but recently i’ve had to go up half a block or around the corner for parking.
They have a menu for other foods, like Mongolian Beef and other American Made Chinese Food… its very good also. Its definitely for the Price… Worth It.
I usually just come in for some BBQ Pork Buns, Chicken Buns, and or Hot Dog Buns. I also LOVE their Egg Tarts. The Price is also better than other places who seem to have raised their Pork Buns to 1.35, this place is 1.10 and the bottom is NEVER burned or thick at the bottom.

Not the freshest pastries. Very dry sponge cake. Stale wintermelon pastry. There are lots of Chinese bakeries to choose from. This place will not be on my list.

Buns and cake.
Over ten varieties of each. Black bean and pineapple got me through lunch. Sponge cake rewarded me at dessert. Tasty.
Two bucks. Three stars.

Came here to get a last minute birthday cake for my grandma. Picked the mocha cake. 9″ for $ 17.00 didn’t sound outrageous especially since the lady said there’s fruit inside… but low and behold no fruit to be found. When we ate the cake itself it was very dry and the «peach» word icing tasted not like any peaches I’ve had before. The mocha frosting was probably the best part of the whole cake. The bakery itself was deserted. Probably because we came around 5 – 5:30 pm ish but then again because of the gross cake it might be empty for other reasons. The other baked goods in the displays looked tasty but now that I’ve tried a cake, I don’t know if I would ever come back here unless for emergency sweets.

Yep. Should have expected it. Came here, got the pork bun and the chicken pastry. Came out, found a sizable mold colony in my chicken pastry. Asked the dude, said they were on a shelf for two days in what I assume to be non-​temperature controlled conditions.
You guys can take this as an isolated incident but I’m given the sf health folks a ring up…

One of the most foamiest and driest spongecake I’ve ever had. It was okay. Egg tarts were average, with a flaky crust but runny filling :(
Spongecake: $ 0.80
Egg tart: $ 0.70 ea

I come be just for their egg tarts «dan tat» because it had the right flavor and texture. I strongly do not recommend anything else on the menu. The buns are not baked enough to be edible but the owner was nice enough to give me an exchange. I also do not recommend getting their coffee because it taste a bit too watered down. I would recommend Java on Ocean for Coffee. I think the quality of this place has gone down and as not popular as back then.

Curry Beef Bun, Baked, One Dollar!
BBQ Pork Bun, Baked, also One Dollar!
I’ve never seen a baked curry beef bun ever!
The ABC is good.
A1 Bakery and Café, A.B.C, did you get it?
I am sure that they are Chinese.

I only come here for my egg custard tarts cravings.
I don’t know if it’s cause the favor and texture of the tart or cause being here brings me back to days when I was still in elementary school and my dad would always take me here for breakfast. Good food And nostalgia is a good combo.
Anyways, younger days regardless, this place has some good egg custard tarts. Try them. They are just the right kind of soft custard with flakey buttery crust for the tart!
The downside is the first batch of egg custard tarts aren’t out until late 8:30ish. But it’s worth the wait! I’m writing this review to pass the time while I drool in anticipation…

The buns are tasty and cheap, and they’re open early. I definitely don’t go for the ambiance, but it’s a fast and reliable source of food.

Service: ⁴⁄₅
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Wait: ⁵⁄₅
Price: $
Presentation of food: ⁴⁄₅
Presentation of restaurant: ³⁄₅
Overall: ⁴⁄₅
i grew up coming here all the time with thee parentals every morning back in the days. my pops STILL comes here. been years… always get the PINEAPPLE BUN with their awesome hot Milk Tea. i grew up getting their Green Onion bun, and sometimes the Egg Custard. make sure to go in the morning when they’re frrrresh!

food seems like they sell pretty slow because of it’s location. the food is good though, no doubt. I can see that the cakes and such aren’t that fresh anymore haha, but the soft cake is always good. i’m assuming they leave the bad food in the display case just so people get the idea of what’s being sold there.
BEST PLACE TO BUY YOUR WEDDING CAKE! cheap and delicious!
the people who own the place seem like nice people.
the place looks pretty dirty and broken down, but food’s good (so far for w/​e I’ve tried) and also not as pricey as other desserts from other places

May 2011 Update: I think the quality is going downhill. Their pork buns used to be nice and stuffed full of filling. They are being chintzy on the filling now and there’s sometimes fatty and gristly bits in it. The cocktail buns taste really lardy. Not good. My favorite bun currently is probably the ham and green onion bun. I suspect the ham bits are actually bits of chopped up hot dog, but it tastes pretty good.
I agree with the previous reviewers; it is dingy and grotty on the inside but the pork buns are pretty decent, besides which there are not that many bakeries on this side of town. Don’t go here for the décor, or the coffee for that matter, which is basically just colored water.
They recently raised the prices on stuff… a bun will cost you about $ 1 apiece. The pizza bun is a little strange. (i.e. avoid it)
Once I asked for some cookies in the case and the lady there told me not to buy them – they were too old and not good. Ummm, why were they in the case then … I assume to get older and worse?