Longtime downtown denizen Yen Ching has added something new to the menu ... a full-service bakery.
Mike Chou, whose family owns the restaurant, invited BW down for a taste of what the confectionery, appropriately named Yen Ching Bakery, had to offer.
The bakery adjoins the restaurant and with only three small bistro tables, but long rows of baskets where the baked goods will be, it caters to a to-go crowd. We arrived expecting a few pastries, maybe doughnut or two, and were surprised to see tray after tray of sweets, but also savory and spicy treats set before us.
We tasted crispy butter cookies, dainty little egg custard tarts, slices of sushi sandwiches, lovely layered milk bread and tons of buns: barbecued pork filled, spicy bacon, coconut creme, onion and more.
Chou said they already sell their baked goods to a couple of the Asian markets in town and made sure we tasted their two biggest sellers: taro root buns with purple threads running through soft airy bread and sweet dense red bean buns (the milk bread comes in at a close third).
A pastry chef and cake master—both from Los Angeles—are behind the delectable creations, which will be available to the public beginning Thursday, Jan. 7, open seven days 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The bakery (and the restaurant) are located at 305 N. Ninth St.
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Not a fan at all of Yen Ching since they serve overly Americanized crap like every other Chinese restaurant in town. But the owner(s) deserves praise for bringing something unique like this to the area. Good to see a full Asian bakery in town finally, and it's something worth supporting and getting behind. Even if the quality ends up lacking, infusing a little more food culture like this into a city that is often highly devoid of food culture is sorely needed.
Now all Boise needs in the chinese food department is dim sum!
I was told that Wok King on Broadway serves some, but it's done via their menu and not the push-cart-on-Sunday-mornings kind of scenario. And I've seen platters at Costco before. Either way, don't expect much. I choose to wait now until I visit a city with a large Chinese presence.
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