L’Elysee Bakery
Honey Nuts and Raisin Tart
Red Bean Bun
Sweet Cream Custard Bun
Taro Bun
Chocolate Crispy Bun
Butter Crispy Bun
Egg Pudding
Taro Cake
Located on South Jones, just off Spring Mountain at the center of Chinatown, L’Elysee Bakery had long been a spot of some intrigue, yet between the combination of frankly rude service, limited selection, and subpar goods it would be hard to fathom a reason to recommend the place to anyone when better exists just down the road.
More cramped than it appears from the outside, an effect of the layout which sees a kitchen tucked behind the counter and several semi-stocked wooden bins laid out on tables with shelves left and right, it was shortly after entering that a woman yelled ‘what you need?’ and explaining I needed to look around the words ‘no pictures’ were next shouted, a few already snapped but enough to make one wonder exactly what they’re trying to hide.
Eventually selecting eight items and taking them home for sampling, the total cost a mere $13.21, suffice it to say that in the phrase “you get what you pay for” is immediately applicable to L’Elysee’s products as opening bites of four buns showed spongy white bread not much different than that from Bunny or Wonder densely packed around minimal amounts of filling, the chocolate iteration tasting only faintly of cocoa with a texture slightly less doughy, but still far from ‘crispy.’
Thoroughly unimpressed by opening bites, the majority finding their way back to the bag and subsequently to the trash, it was onward to a pleasant pudding that offered a good balance of sweet and savory not unlike flan that I pressed and although the taro cake was far more dry than appearances would have suggested the follow-up tart was an unexpected winning bite, the shell reminiscing the buttery flavors of shortbread while the filling was essentially honey-soaked trail mix with salty peanuts helping prevent it from trending too sweet.
TWO STARS: Rude, and clearly more focused on branding their packaging and protecting their property against photography than the actual products on the shelves, there are simply better places to procure Asian pastries than L’Elysee.
RECOMMENDED: Egg Pudding, Honey Nuts and Raisin Tart.
AVOID: Buns are underfilled, Taro cake is dry and flavorless.
TIP: Several whole cakes and loaves of bread ranging from white to taro to cream cheese are offered for those seeking such things.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
