AA Ozzy Bakery

We recently moved to Gilbert from Hawai’i via San Diego, so finding food that reminds me of home is a top priority. I went to Mekong Market to shop and saw a steady stream of people heading towards AA Bakery upon finishing at the registers and decided to check it out for myself. I picked up a package of char siu bao (honey bbq rolls) from the cold case and a few other pastries (I forget what they were exactly). The pastries were very good and I look forward to trying more varieties, but I am really here to talk about the char siu bao. My son LOVES these char siu bao. He eats them for lunch. He eats them for dinner. He even eats them for breakfast. I put them in a ziploc in the freezer and he simply heats them up in the microwave. Quick and delicious! This place will be a regular destination from here on out.

I tried a chocolate banana crepes here. It was a bit tasteless. I guess I am more used to a regular crêpe versus the chocolate flavor one. Service, however, was outstanding. They knew my friend and I were sharing a crêpe… they went out of their ways to split it into a half for us. I’ll come back here to try other things but probably will not order the same crêpe again.

Shared a crêpe ($ 4.50) and had 2 filled pancake pastries ($.75 each). The crêpe tasted a little rubbery, but I did like that it was a chocolate flavored crêpe. It was filled with a decent amount of whipped cream, cake, and banana. The pancakes didn’t taste very fresh. I had a taro and green tea, the filling tasted good but the outer pancake was also a bit rubbery and chewy.
Service was friendly and we did get a free sample of crêpe. Maybe their flaky pastries are better!

WIFE PASTRY — flaky on the outside but hard and crumbly inside. Complained to lady behind the counter to say that pastry is old. All she said was «No. New. No old here.» Well I beg to differ because this kind of pastry should be soft and gooey on the inside. My mom was so pissed that she crushed the pastry she was complaining about in her hand. The lady just walked away with her nose up in the air.
VANILLA COOKIES — the oval kind about 3 – 4 inches long. Tasted ok. Not too sweet but alas lacks «creaminess» I’ve come to expect in these kind of cookies.
I can’t say I recommend them because for the price they charge, I would expect better taste and quality not to mention better customer service.

LOVE this place. Authentic Taiwanese baked goods such as cookies, cakes, tarts, egg custards and more. Rewards program. Custom cakes and catering orders for parties. Who could ask for more?

This cute little store always smells so great with a soft touch of fresh baked goodies. Every time I walk in, the sweet smells make me feel so relaxed with the memory of mama baking at home. I’ve never spent less than $ 20 for each time I visit. I love the dried grape bunch, topped jambon sandwiches, custard filled and red bean filled buns, egg custard, coconut baked buns and so much more.
They do hand out member cards, so be sure to get one. Each time you spend $ 10, you can get a stamp, and you can get a comp product as you have the 10^th stamp. If you want to try something before purchasing them, do not hesitate and ask for a sample piece. You might end up buying a whole lot of the samples you’ve just tried: D

AA Ozzy Bakery used to be called AA WHOLESOME BAKERY. Its Unilocal page states it has moved, but the shop is where it’s always been at– at least it’s at the same location it was when I first reviewed it on August 2011… I couldn’t update my review on that old business page, and so I posted this under Mekong Plaza’s business page. I stumbled onto the loyalty card that I picked up on my last visit here, so this is this review’s final resting place, I hope!
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Some of the pastries I’ve tried over the years at this bakery’s location were good– about a month ago, I tried a purple ball of taro/​yam goodness that is called Spiral Mooncake**. Overheard a Filipina customer exclaim she’s only seen them in China and was coming back later in the day to buy some, so I tried one, and it was d’lish! However, I just googled the recipe to find that it calls for powdered sugar (corn allergy), so I won’t be getting them again. So sad… I also like the taro-​coconut twisted bun (packaged in loose clear bags), but knowing that the moon cake (also in clear bags, but with glue strips on them) has powdered sugar and my accidentally buying two cakes (mung bean and taro) only to find that the machine-​sealed bags they came in had nutritional info on the back that included powdered sugar, I’m hesitant to buy anything from A againAA Ozzy Bakery again. At least my waist and wallet are happy!
I’ve also tried a few «Hone Doe cakes» from AOB’s stand next to the plaza’s main doors, and after the second visit, I won’t go back due to the flies hovering near and ON the fillings’ lids (the one with vanilla custard had flies crawling on them, and either the cook was too busy to swat them away, or she’s used to them (a la street-​style stand cooking!) buzzing about. I didn’t know the stand belonged to AOB until I spotted a few in bags on one of the store’s counters. If you weren’t repelled by my account of seeing flies on the lids, then know that these sell for $ 0.75 each, or 7 for $ 5. (That’s a whopping $ 0.25 discount, y’all!) Fillings are red mung bean, vanilla custard, coconut and raisins, and honey. The cook is constantly cooking them on a rotating «grill» that reminds me of takoyaki burners, but with slightly-​larger «cups,» so you may either buy them already pre-​made and sitting in a table-​top display case, or get them made-​to-​order. If you go for the latter, be ready to wait at least ten minutes, or so for them to cook.
I started out writing this review with three stars, but after all the powdered sugar and Hone Doe cake fails, I had to downgrade to a two. (I feel giving AOB a one-​star review is a bit harsh…) Might be a good idea to move the cake grill away from the main doors to avoid attracting outdoor flies, but then again, maybe the fillings are just too tempting and will eventually attract flies that are inside the plaza, anyway… I’ll make it easy on myself and avoid the flies and the powdered-​sugared pastry products and stay away from this bakeshop altogether. Otherwise, there are some tasty sweets to be had here… Check out the yogurt-​filled pastry, which the shop is sampling out lately– it’s good, with a nice crispy/​flaky exterior, yet pillowy interior. The filling is sweet, yet tart.