If you ask us which corner of San Francisco feels the most fun to explore as a family, we always point to Chinatown. It has a way of making you feel like you stepped into another country without ever leaving the city, and that little bit of transportation is exactly what we look for on our days off. Between the smell of roast duck drifting out of restaurant windows and the stacks of dried goods piled up in market stalls, there is always something new to notice, even after several visits.
Why We Keep Coming Back to Chinatown
Eating traditional Chinese food here is only half the fun for us. The other half is bakery hopping, something we never skip when we are in the neighborhood. San Francisco’s Chinatown has more Chinese bakeries packed into a few blocks than most cities have in total, and each one has its own personality, its own regulars, and its own version of the classics. We have been slowly working our way through them, and on this visit, we stopped into AA Bakery & Cafe on Stockton Street, drawn in mostly because it was busy, which is usually a good sign.
You can usually tell a lot about a bakery by how the regulars treat it. Inside, nobody was rushing or staring at their phones; people were just enjoying being there together.
A Warm Welcome, Even in the Rush
The staff was clearly busy when we walked in, but they still managed to be kind and patient with us as we figured out what to order. At the tables around us sat a group of older Chinese customers, most of them sipping tea or coffee and clearly in no hurry to leave. They watched our kids with warm, amused expressions, and at one point, when our younger one picked up a crumb someone else had dropped on the table and popped it straight into his mouth, one of the women gently scolded him not to do that. She did not speak English, but the message came through loud and clear, and so did the affection behind it. Moments like that are exactly why we love bringing our kids into spaces like this instead of only sticking to places designed for tourists.
We also noticed a steady stream of customers picking up whole cakes to go, along with others loading up large boxes of bread and pastries, clearly stocking up for the week. We kept things simple and only ordered what we thought we could finish that day.
What We Ordered
Here is what ended up on our table:
Milk tart: The pastry shell was noticeably thicker and heavier than what we have had at other bakeries in the area, which gave it a satisfying, substantial bite. The filling itself was good, though we found ourselves wishing it leaned a bit more savory or nutty to balance out the sweetness of the crust.
Coconut custard bread: Soft, fragrant, and exactly the kind of bread that disappears from a plate faster than you expect.
Buttercream cake: Light and not overly sweet, the kind of cake that works well as a small treat rather than a heavy dessert.
A castella-style bread: This seems to be a near-universal item at Chinese bakeries in the area, and we wanted to see how this location’s version compared. It held its own.
Between the soft textures and the balance of sweetness, this is exactly the kind of dessert spread that disappears fast when you have young kids and a spouse with a sweet tooth at the table. Ours was gone within minutes.
What We Would Try Next Time
We stuck to pastries this time, but next visit we are planning to order drinks as well. We are genuinely curious whether the coffee here has any distinctive character compared to a standard American cafe, and it is one of those small details that makes returning to a spot like this worthwhile.
If you find yourself wandering through San Francisco’s Chinatown looking for a place to stop for something sweet, AA Bakery & Cafe on Stockton Street is worth adding to the list, especially if you like watching a neighborhood bakery in its natural rhythm rather than a spot dressed up for visitors.
Visit Info
Name: AA Bakery & Cafe (永興餅家)
Address: 1068 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108
Phone: (415) 981-0123
Neighborhood: Chinatown, San Francisco