New York City
Everything You Should Order At NYC’s New Vietnamese Bakery, La La Bakeshop
Savory pastry lovers, this one’s for you.
Not every new pop-up, bakery, restaurant, or market can go viral—and we all know that going viral does not always equal good food. And yet, when my coworker sent me an Instagram from La La Bakeshop, a Vietnamese bakery with a line around the block on a weekday, I knew I had to try it. It's been on my list of new-ish places to visit because I'm a big fan of Vietnamese coffee (who doesn’t like condensed milk?) and savory pastries. After scrolling through photos of salty cold foam coffee and taro lava buns, I queued up La La Bakeshop to be the next place I visit for Snack Shop.
Originally from Canada, the bake shop has multiple locations across Ontario and this new spot is their American debut. The owners, Brian Tran and Harry Pham, are known in the Vietnamese Canadian community for all things salty egg yolk and the yellow color of the walls is reminiscent of this special signature ingredient. A self-proclaimed “modern Vietnamese bakery for all,” I was excited to see the balance of both savory and sweet pastries on their menu. From matcha tiramisu to salted egg croissants, I made sure to not eat breakfast before making my way to the East Village to check it out and give it my best rating.
The Snacks
But first, a formal disclaimer: I can only eat so much, and I would have eaten more if I could, but I did my darndest to get the best of the best for this episode. I kept it savory because I strongly believe that this is where La La Bakeshop truly stands out from the rest. Thank you in advance!
Salted Cream Iced Coffee. I could be slightly biased since I’m one of Vietnamese coffee’s biggest fans; I love anything salty sweet, plus, it’s incredibly close to the flavors of my beloved Cuban coffee. Basically, this drink is an iced latte topped with a sea salt cold foam and sprinkled with cocoa powder. It’s their best selling drink, and it’s extremely popular in Vietnam. Not much to say here except that it's delicious!
Salted Egg Lava Bun. A fluffy little milk bun filled with salty egg sauce and topped with pork floss. Read that again. It tastes like a breakfast sandwich in all the right ways—sweet bread, salty inside. If you’re not a fan of pork floss or the feeling of biting into a runny yolk I guess you should skip this one, but also, maybe you should reconsider your preferences.
Butter Garlic Cream Cheese Bun. If you like biscuits, this one’s for you. It’s all the things I love about biscuits but filled with a garlic cream cheese and cut in cute little mini slices for sharing. We have a similar recipe if this description is inspiring you to make this at home, which I highly encourage you to do if you live outside NYC. The dough was a tad dry-ish, but I couldn’t resist eating the whole thing.
Taro Lava Bun. I did not have time to put this one into the final video, however, she is worth mentioning! I had to sample at least one of their sweet pastries, and I was not disappointed. The little purple bun is filled with a house-made taro cream sauce and is the cutest two-bite snack. Thankfully not too sweet and was well-balanced in flavor and texture.
Final Rating
If you couldn’t tell from my facial expressions in my video, I thoroughly enjoyed all of the La La Bakeshop treats. The employee said that they usually sell out of their salty egg pastries on weekends, but when we went on a Monday morning, they were relatively empty. I haven’t seen much social media buzz on this cute spot, so I declare La La Bakeshop to be an underrated Snack Shop. I think they’re doing cool, interesting things with flavors and they have something for everyone, salty and sweet lovers alike (extra points if you like both together).
If you’re reading this and you have a suggestion for a Snack Shop in the city that I must visit and honestly rate (good AND bad suggestions welcome), leave a comment here or on our Snack Shop TikTok video. I love suggestions!
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