Chilling at a Chinese Bakery!

This is it, my dear readers, the last post before I go home for Thanksgiving Break! I leave tomorrow morning and I am sooooo ready for this break; I only had one class today and I could barely focus on it. I think I need some time to relax and indulge in fun things like going to SF and cooking, which are things I can't do here.

I plan to cook and eat a lot this week, so stay tuned for a ton of posts! :)

A couple weeks ago, Andrew decided that we should try one of the places on my "lets try" list, which was Qiang's Bakery, a local Chinese bakery that has very high ratings on Yelp.com. We were both so excited to finally try this place! I don't know much about Chinese pastries and such, and was excited to learn and taste some!
First up, a sesame ball, only $0.50 each! And these aren't small either, they are about the size of a golf ball. Isn't it cute and perfectly round? I love the golden color!

We each took a bite of our own.........THEY WERE SO GOOD! I could have eaten a ton of these! Inside there was red bean paste that wasn't overly sweet encased in a light, mochi-like filling. JUST AMAZING! Andrew really loved these too! :) All the flavors went so well together; it wasn't heavy or cloying sweet at all!

Next up were the pot stickers, because I love pot stickers, haha. :D These are pretty big and full of filling! SO TASTY! Wow, these were full of flavor and luckily the bread part wasn't too heavy at all. Again, a very nice balance of flavors. The filling consists of pork, cabbage, and spices. They tasted very homemade, which is really comforting. I really loved these! Andrew liked them too, but he ended up giving his to me since I loved it so much. He is a sweetie! :)

Andrew was really curious about the meat-filled pastries, so we got one for each of us to try. The round one on the right was his chicken pastry, and the long one was my bbq pork pastry. Sadly, these were a let-down. Both pastries were WAY too flakey and tasted as though they had been sitting out for too long. They were heavy and full of butter too. The meat was scant, especially in the chicken one. It was minced and almost flavorless. The bbq pork fared better, but not by much. Andrew and I were disappointed by these, but at least we know what not to order!

Many years ago, my father took my sister and I to a Korean-owned Japanese restaurant in the downtown of my hometown. I remember the meal as being okay, but for some reason the little egg custard tarts they served us as dessert have always stuck in my mind. They were so rich and sweet, but not overpoweringly so. When Andrew and I saw these egg custard tarts at the bakery, I knew we had to get one!

This one was good, and kind of light too. The egg custard part of it was very eggy, but it wasn't off-putting since I like eggs. I really enjoyed this tart and would like to get it again! :)

Qiang's Bakery was definitely a hit with us; we ended up buying more pot stickers and sesame balls to much on! :D It was a delightful and very cheap lunch! Thank you hun! Can't wait to go back! :D

Qiang's Bakery

707 E March Ln

Stockton, CA 95207

(209) 478-7088

Momofraise says: Forgo the heavy, buttery pastries and stick with pot stickers, sesame balls, and egg custard tarts! Your tummy will thank you. ;) Also, this place is very cheap, so your wallet will thank you too!

By the way, I was able to chat with Andrew today, as he is in the Philippines with his family, and he was telling me all about the amazing food he has been eating!!! It's awesome! So many different kinds of fruit and seafood! I love hearing all about the food and seeing the pictures! His mom bought durians, he told me, and I really wish I could try one! :)