Asian Pastries Go Mainstream (At Least In So Cal)

June is the month of graduations, and this year I had 3 close relatives graduating from college. One of my cousins, Eric, was graduating from UC Irvine. I’ve known Eric since he was a six month old baby, so it was no surprise that I chose to attend his graduation. On the day of celebration, I took an early flight (waking up at 4:30AM) to get down to Orange County. Eric picked me up at the airport, which was a surprise since his parents had offered to come get me.

When we got to Eric’s apartment, it was explained to me that my aunt was at 85C, Irvine’s new Taiwanese bakery (recently reviewed and highlighted by the LA Times). The reason for my aunt’s delay is that it’s always packed, and it seems there’s always a line at 85C. The LA Times describes it as:

It’s always a wild scene at 85C, a coffee shop, bakery and patisserie in Irvine. From morning through evening, hundreds of customers of every age and walk of life pour through its doors heaping their trays high with a fantastical array of baked goods and the sea salt lattes that helped to popularize this Taiwanese cafe.

That day was of course no exception for lines at 85C and my aunt eventually made it back to Eric’s apartment with bags of baked treasures. Most of her selections were typical of what you’d expect from a Chinese bakery. Pastries that included a mix of sweet and salty tastes, the expected concoctions including nut pastes, pudding, taro root, and even some with meat fillings. I only got to sample the pastries that my aunt brought and they were really good, but I’m not sure how often I’d want to stand in a long line to get one.

In addition to the pastries, apparently the other hit at 85C are the drinks. The LA Times article describes their salted latte and where their name comes from:

To get the full effect of 85C’s salted latte, newcomers discover it’s important to sip directly from the cup, not through a straw. The salt isn’t present throughout the subtly sweet coffee; it’s in the milky foam. Unique as it is, 85C isn’t gimmicky. (Its name is a reference to the ideal temperature — in degrees Celsius — at which to serve coffee). For the lattes and other espresso-based drinks, the shop uses premium Antigua Arabica, the Guatemalan beans reserved for high-end coffee vendors.

The LA Times also credits 85C with helping to bring Asian bakeries into the mainstream, at a time that Asian food is gaining popularity in the U.S. Getting to read the article made my mouth water remembering those treats my aunt picked up. Now all I have to do is wait for an 85C to open up in Northern California.