I gotta give this place 5 stars. Whenever I'm in the city, I always gotta pick up a Chinese fruit cake. Why? Because it's the only cake place I can afford off season (Off season= When its not a holiday, birthday, going-away cake, Jewish holiday, or being nice to your co-workers etc.). There are 2 kinds of Chinese fruit cake filling: 1) mixed fruit [pineapple, canned peaches (sounds gross, but it works!), strawberry, and other unknown fruits] 2) All strawberry Every single Chinese bakery in San Francisco has these two options, same price for either choice. What's great about Sunset Bakery though, is the PRICE. I've been to many many many bakeries... And one would think they're all the same--but they're not. I've been a long patron of Victor's Bakery for the past 20 years http://www.yelp.com/biz/victors-bakery-san-francisco but the cake prices shot up $5 thus making it out of my price range for OFF SEASON (and IN SEASON!). Sunset's price for a large cake was $19. $17 for a medium, AND wait for it... The middle aged Chinese woman spoke English*! She also has character. She is super nice and extremely chatty which is great, because after many Chinese establishment visits in SF... Well, needless to say it's like finding a diamond on top of a great big foggy hill. Oh that's SF! Let's just hope they keep the prices low and affordable so I can buy my cake every month during off season. *enough for you to understand! read more

I wanted a soft, Chinese-styled birthday cake and I got it! My boyfriend ordered the mixed fruit cake, and it was delicious. Fluffy, light, and not too sweet - just the way I like it! The only detail I was not as impressed with was that the fruits did not seem fresh. I'm guessing some of it was canned :( However, at this price point, I'm not complaining. There are occasions that call for a light cake like the ones Sunset offers and times when heavier American cakes make sense. When I want that airy, light cake that doesn't make you feel too guilty eating 2 slices of, I'll definitely come back to Sunset. read more

I am so happy and so grateful for the nice people here. It was my first time ordering a cake and I had absolutely no idea what to ask. The pleasant woman I spoke with put me at ease and walked me through all the different options: -sizes and approximately how many people they would serve -cake types -decorations (basic ones vs fancy optional extras) -handling and storage I picked up the cake a few days later and it was perfect! Perfectly fresh, perfectly light with a hint of sweetness, and the perfect amount for our occasion. I couldn't be more happy. read more

The fruits cakes here are basically the definition of, well, fruits cakes. Now, I'm talking about fruits cake, not to be confused with fruitcake, the nasty log of dried fruit and nuts and candied crap people give as awful presents around Christmas time. The cake here is fluffy light white sponge cake layered with cream and fruit. It's never too sweet, which is somewhat dangerous because it gives you the feeling that you can eat the whole cake by yourself. (Tried, I have). People love this cake. Case in point, my two friends who are a couple would, without fail, always ask me to get a birthday cake for each other's "surprise" party every year. Three years and six cakes later, neither of them appear to be showing any signs of birthday fruits cake fatigue. And frankly, NEITHER AM I. tl;dr: Amazing fruits cake for cheap. read more

I recently got married and yelp helped me find my perfect wedding cake. Never having been here, I stopped by with my then fiance for a tasting. He doesn't like cake but devoured the strawberry cake slice. So I took a few samples home for the family and everyone loved it. And the best part? The price. Wedding anything is overpriced, let alone cake. My cake was very very affordable, delicious and beautiful. I ordered a few dozen coconut (?) rolls in case I needed more but it turned out beautiful. The people here are super friendly, patient and helpful. They were very easy to work with and very helpful. I'm very pleased and highly recommend their cakes for birthdays, weddings, anything! Thank you Sunset Bakery (and yelpers)! read more

My wife and I recently ordered our wedding cake from this bakery. The cake came out beautiful and tasted incredible. The prices are really cheap for a wedding cake. You will not find better value anywhere.. Not in SF or even the United States for something so good for such a great price. read more

7X7 SF's The Big Eat 2012 List (100 Things You Must Eat in San Fran) names a Chinese bakery in the Mission for stellar coconut buns - also known as cocktail buns. I beg to differ. Having trekked all the way to the Mission to try the supposed delight, I was underwhelmed. The standard for all cocktail buns, instead, should be those from Sunset Bakery. I've been a patron (though in my formative elementary school years, it was my parents who were patrons because they had money) of Sunset Bakery for going on twenty years. Their pastries' tastes have stayed the same for all those years. They haven't reduced the size or quality of their items and yet the price feels like highway robbery. It's not the same price as that of the late 1980s (yes I just dated myself) but you have to account for inflation. Their cocktail bun is warm and the filling is gooey with coconut, sesame seed goodness. The ratio of gooey filling to bread is just right: 50/50. The warm buns that sell out the fastest in the morning are....Pshaw like I'm going to post them and let them disappear even faster. When I came here at 12 pm one day, they had already sold out of my favorite items. Just take my word that everything is good and try not to buy the cocktail buns, BBQ pork buns, green onion & ham twist, or black bean bun before I get here at 2 pm ok? ;-) Parking gets difficult on Saturdays and Sundays due to the crowds in the 9th and Irving area. You'll have to resign yourself to metered parking. And no credit cards. read more

For our wedding, we wanted a cake that all of our guest would enjoy and still be reasonably priced. My sister in law had used Sunset Bakery for her wedding and everyone really liked it so we decided to go with them also. Placed an order with them 2 months prior to our wedding and gave them the design/supplies I wanted on the cake. On the day of the wedding, they arrived early to set up the cake. It tasted and looked great! We had about 270 guests so we ordered a 5-tier strawberry sponge cake. read more

Sunset Bakery - 5-tier strawberry sponge cake for about 270 guests - Bakeries Near Me - San Francisco, California

Came here during finals week for an egg tart...and ended up buying a slice of strawberry cake, bbq pork bun, pineapple bun, cream bun, and the egg tart. All that for about $6. Their buns are so yummy! I would eat their bread the same day to make sure the bread stays chewy and soft...thinking about it makes me hungry. 1. Strawberry cake: not too sweet with pretty fresh strawberries, the cake itself is a little dry on the top later but moist on the bottom layer probably because of the strawberries. Cream is not too sweet, but the cake itself is sweet so it all worked out pretty well overall ($2.25 per slice) 2. Cream bun: was gonna save half for later but ended up eating the whole thing...bread is so good! They put some coconut flakes on top of the bread and cream in between. I had to scrape a lil bit of cream out when eating it but it was really good, couldn't stop eating it. Good with coffee if you have some. 3. Pineapple bun: the top layer crust is flaky, sweet, and buttery. The bread is very soft and delicious, pretty much like any of their breads. More like cantonese style than taiwanese style pineapple bun. 4. BBQ pork bun: Kept heated and was warm when I got mine. The BBQ pork is pretty good, not too much fatty meat, quite tasty. The only thing I think I didn't like as much is the sweetness of the bun, would prefer it to be less sweet because the BBQ pork is already kinda sweet. 5. Egg tart: came here for this but was least impressed by it. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, just did not stand out compare to their other buns. Definitely will come back for more if i'm in the inner sunset! read more

I've had (on several occasions) their regular egg tarts, their huge egg tart "cake," hot dog buns, green onion bread, bbq pork bun, regular white/sponge cake with fruit filling, and pineapple bun. Needless to say, I've sampled a little bit of everything from them. Their egg tarts are always delicious and the crust is always done right. I prefer mine a little more toasted, but that's just my own personal taste. Their hot dog buns, green onion bread, bbq pork bun, and pineapple bun are very authentic. I grew up in Hong Kong and go back almost every year, so imagine my delight when I found a place in the US that did it right! They use the same ingredients and techniques that they do in Hong Kong, and the quality never falters. I've also ordered a regular white/sponge cake from them, and it's pretty much perfect. The cake is soft yet firm, and the flavour is subtle. The icing/cream is very light unlike most American cakes, but that's what a Chinese cake is supposed to be like! They also use fresh fruit unlike some other bakeries (I saw them cutting the fruit in the kitchen), so that is a definite plus for your money. There is a bit of seating inside the shop and newspapers to read if you're planning to stay, but there's quite a few parks and the botanical garden nearby which makes the location great for getting a snack with friends. In case anyone didn't know, they bake their stuff fresh daily and never serve anything that was baked the day before, and so you know you're getting your money's worth! Highly recommended for anyone that's looking to try traditional Hong Kong baked goods without having to actually go to Hong Kong. read more

this is the best place to get pineapple buns!! i'm a big fan of asian pastries and when it comes to pineapple buns i'm a stickler about the right chewiness on the inside and the texture of the crust on top. THIS PLACE HAS IT DOWN. when i bite into the pineapple bun, the dough is sooo chewy and soft. i wonder how they do it, it really must be the yeast they use or something. i'd ask them to give me the recipe, but they'd probably ban me from the place. but seriously, best pineapple buns everrr, the top crust is the perfect crunch, but doesnt taste like it's been sitting out for too long. and of course the pricing is very reasonable here. every time i'm in the area i buy an entire box. i think the only place that comes close to Sunset Bakery are the bakeries in chinatown, but who likes going there... read more

Best fresh strawberry cake! Spongey-moist cake & sweet (but not too sweet) creamy icing. I bought a large sheet for my son's baptism back in 1998! Over the years, I haven't been here since I moved to the East Bay. But, I will soon be back! Oh, yes-- I will be back! read more

Your definition of a REAL Chinese bakery!!! I LOOOOOVVEEE this bakery because 1) it's a family owned bakery (I think) 2) it's really authentic 3) Their pineapple buns and pork buns are sooooo yummmmmy 4) It's soooo cheap!!! Pineapple buns = $0.60, Pork Buns $1 now (I think) 5) They have mini fruit tarts that are realllly tasty! not too sweet, the custard is just perfect 6) That's where all the chinese eldery go to hang out in the mornings... so you know it's gotta be good! read more

Mmm... Stumbled upon this place while checking out my friend's new apartment in the Sunset. I was really craving a pineapple bun, and the first bakery I walked past didn't have any. When I popped into Sunset Bakery, I didn't see any behind the counter, but thank goodness I asked the friendly staff, otherwise I would not have discovered the fresh batch they were keeping in the back! The bun was fresh, chewy, and moist. My only complaint was the crust, as I prefer a crispy, flakier layer. I'll definitely drop by again the next time I visit my friend. Also, after reading all the Yelp reviews, I'll also have to try the strawberry sponge cake. read more

Sometimes I don't like eating high end upscale cakes. Sometimes I don't like spending $4 on a cupcake. Sometimes I like good old spongie, cheap, Chinese cake. We got a birthday cake from Sunset Bakery. It was round, white whipped frosting, sponge cake, and fruit filling with the words Happy Birthday on it. It was $16. Fantastic. They also have some cute pastries. Their coconut maroons are amazing. 3 for $1. What a deal! Highly recommend this place for office birthdays or simple birthdays or when you want good ol Chinese sponge cake. read more

Got a strawberry cake here today and it was delicious! My coworker has always talked about how great it is here, and really is! Nothing fancy about this bakery tho..it looks just like a typical chinese bakery. The cake here is really fresh. I think the strawberry cake is what they are actually known for. We went in today, and asked them if they had any fresh cakes made because we hadn't ordered one in advanced. And they did! They were really friendly and quick about putting the writing on and boxing it up quickly too. The cake was perfect - so fluffy and light and not too sweet at all. It's a whipped cream frosting and not the heavy butter cream and its filled with fresh sweet strawberries. Parking here is pretty bad though. I feel sorry for the house that's next to this place, because there is a constant flow of people just quickly parking there so they can run into the bakery to get a cake. I should know, I sat in the other driveway I blocked so we can pick up our cake! This place is also cash only - we actually had to make a run to the ATM (which is only a block away) so we could pay for the cake. Prices here are very reasonable - $16 for the 8 inch, or $18 for 9 inch for the strawberry cake. I def, will be coming here to get my Chinese cakes from now on. Next time I hope to try some of their baked goods and other pastries. read more

My feeling on Sunset Bakery are based on the one item I've had, the two times I've had it, and the ease of each transaction. I was in charge of office birthday celebrations (read: I had to get cake) for a bit while my boss was on vacation. Two co-workers in a row requested a cake without super-sweet, heavy frosting and with fresh fruit. I turned to Yelp to help me out, and everyone was right - the white cake with whipped cream frosting and fresh strawberries is GOOD. While I have an healthy sweet tooth, I don't like the typical, grocery-store-cake frosting, so this was a great change. The cake was moist, the frosting was just sweet enough, and the berries were fresh and tasty. Both transactions were super easy and the cakes are inexpensive. $18 for a 9" inch cake that fed 15-16 people ain't bad. Cash only though, beware. I didn't have any trouble relaying my desired writing for the top either. I'd definitely like to go back sometime and try some other stuff! read more

Usually come here for their Baked BBQ Pork Bun. It's $1.30 a piece now but so worth it. The BBQ pork filling inside is just amazing. Good size too for a piece of bread. Another yummy thing to get here is the pineapple bread/bun. The top of the dough is covered with a sweet crust that just leaves us in awe because I attempted to make it before and it is not easy. Theirs has a great consistency and looks appealing in all ways. $0.70 a piece. Must try! read more

I only tried their strawberry cake. It was good! The cake was fluffy and the cream was light. I would come back. This will be my second place for Chinese cake. read more

This bakery never disappoints me! My family and I always get our cakes here whether it's for a birthday or holiday. Sunset bakery always has cake already made and ready to go. Which I think is a great option. All you have to do is pick up your cake and pay ! And get writing on it if you wish ! :D read more

Sunset Bakery - Mixed fruit birthday cake. - Bakeries Near Me - San Francisco, California

My family has been buying birthday cakes from here for almost 20 years it seems. Sunset bakery is known for its perfect execution of the birthday cake. With a fluffy frosting that isn't too sweet and its light, spongy layers of cake, you just can't go wrong. They have mocha flavored cakes, vanilla cakes w strawberries, and vanilla cakes w mixed fruit. I usually opt for the strawberry. I'm generally not huge on sweets (and I don't really like frosting....) but I can definitely devour a good two pieces in one go. I'd highly recommend their cakes for those that want something simple and not too overwhelming. read more

Sunset Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - San Francisco, California

Hate it when you buy a bbq pork bun and the bread feels stale and you have to dig deep only to find a few measly pieces of pork with barely any flavor? Well let me tell you, Sunset Bakery does it right! Their pork buns are fresh, dense and filled with flavorful chunks of bbq pork. Be careful it is addictive! read more

Simply the best Chinese bakery around. I always come here to get my mom's birthday cake. They make the best sponge cake here, light and fluffy. You can't go wrong with the Strawberry sponge cake. Light real cream frosting and filling and very fresh strawberries. read more

the strawberry cakes are the best here. I always pick one up for bday parties...my best friend loves them here and that's my gift to her each year...and compared to other cakes, they are cheap for light and fluffy cake, light frosting and sweet strawberries...can't beat that. I've had some of the other baos here but the strawberry cakes is what keeps me coming back... read more

Went to buy a chestnut cake because I am a big fan of chestnut cake. A small one around 5 inch to 6 inch. It was $6.50 if I did not remember wrong. Cake itself was dry, the chestnut itself was okay. I was expecting it could be smashed chestnut but it was diced chestnut mixed with cream. When you cut the cake, I found out they gave too less cream between the cakes which makes the whole cake dryer. Even they had good whipped cream on top, it ended up feeling so dry. I gotta admit I have my ideal chestnut cake and I probably using it to compare with the chestnut cake in sunset bakery. But it was just okay. I ended up bought another cake in wholefood and it has more moist in the cake than this chestnut cake in sunset bakery. well enough said. read more

Pineapple bun heaven! Sunset bakery is right by my bf's place, so whenever we are craving pineapple buns we stop here! The buns are a great deal, very large, soft, and fluffy! We have also gotten their egg tarts, which are also delicious and fresh every time. The people here are very friendly and often give us extra buns as well. I have brought these buns to my preceptorship in the ICU, and they were a big hit among the doctors, nurses, and staff! I will be returning soon for more! read more

I ordered a strawberry sponge cake for my daughter's 4th birthday and their decorated with a Hello Kitty picture, which was cute. The cake is delicious and inexpensive. So the following year, we ordered the same cake for my daughter's 5th birthday party and it was also a hit. Their pineapple buns, pork buns, tuna buns, hot dog buns and egg/ham buns are good. I've eaten almost all the buns. I've frequented this bakery since I was a kid. My mom use to buy us a slice of strawberry or chocolate cake if we got A's in our report card. That was 15 years ago! Needless to say, I love this bakery and now my daughter loves it too. read more

I never liked Chinese sponge cakes until my cousin introduced me to the cakes from Sunset Bakery. I've had plenty of Chinese cakes before but nothing like the ones made at Sunset Bakery. The ladies who work behind the counter are friendly too. These cakes are perfect for those who like light, airy cakes with fluffy whipped cream and fruit. They aren't overly sweet, which is perfect for me and my family. You can't go wrong with strawberry or mixed fruit, and what a steal at $18 per 8" cake. read more

If you're going to purchase a cake at Sunset Bakery, DO NOT purchase their pre-made from their refrigerator.... they are NOT made fresh daily!!! It's now the second time we've purchased the strawberry sponge cake and it's BAD!!! The strawberries were brown and the rotten strawberries fermented the cake. I'm wondering how long it sat in the refrigerator as there's no date labeled. This is the only bakery where you'll experience the aroma of stinky cake! It's really embarrassing for me because it was purchased for a birthday celebration.... no cake after the birthday dinner and total let-down!!!!!!!!!!! read more

This review is about Sunset Bakery's pork buns. Excellent! Can we give Sunset Bakery 10 stars? I've been eating SF pork buns (chao xiao bao) since I was in diapers, and my family and I have tried pork buns from every restaurant possible. These are the * best * pork buns ever! Time to put the "Which Bay Area restaurant / bakery has the best Chinese BBQ pork buns?" discussion to rest because Sunset Bakery is FTW. The buck stops here. Stick a fork in it, it's done. This place is LEGIT. The large BBQ pork buns are $1.00 each. The pork buns are absolute perfection. Perfectly baked, sweet bread with a generous heaping of deliciously marinated Chinese BBQ nestled inside the bun. The outside is a golden brown, soft and sweet. The buns are freshly baked. I once came in and asked for 2 dozen pork buns and they said they'd make and bake it fresh for me right then and there. Of course I waited for 20 minutes, but TOTALLY worht the wait. Also, the pork buns are HUGE. Forget those little pork buns that are $.60, $.80, or even $1.10. These pork buns, especially out of the oven when they're all fluffy and warm, are like... the size of my face! Granted I'm not a huge giant of a person, but these pork buns are bigger than my palm. You get the bang for your buck AND there isn't any sacrifice on taste, quantity or quality. As for their cakes-- DELICIOUS. If you like Chinese sponge cake, you can get that same texture and consistency here in its cakes. I seriously would have my wedding cake done here. The frosting isn't heavy (light as air) and I feel like the cake is soft like a pillow. MmmMmMMm.... Cash only! Call in if you're going to order by the dozen. read more

My sister got a cake from this famed "Sunset Bakery" and it was delicious--definitely warranting a review on yelp. Very fluffy but still firm and light filling, fresh chinese cake, drooool. It was beautifully decorated too. Upon seeing the picture of the storefront, I realize--I've been to this bakery countless times during highschool (pre-yelp period). They have lots of other goodies as well, slices of cake, asian pastries like dan-tat, cocktail bun, pineapple etc. Always fresh and they have fast service. I love the convienence of this place (which is probably why I went to this bakery the most during hs and even college) its like at the intersection of all these bus lines: 43, 44, N-Judah! Nice little bakery. read more

Ok ok I've actually come here recently and tried a few of their pastries. Second time having the strawberry cake, and it was somehow less delicious.. Less fresh maybe. The macaroon was meh. Had the fruit tarts, and they were pretty good, a perfect little sweet snack with tea. Their tea apparently takes like 15 mins to make so they were not super eager about me ordering that. So I went home and made my own tea. read more

Chinese Cake! Well... this is more like the last resort when it's someone's birthday in the family and we need a cake. It's pretty much the local Chinese bakery for my house so I'll head on over here in the morning if I need to pick up Pork Buns and Egg Custards to feed a group of people for breakfast. This place is pretty standard. I haven't come across anything wrong with it or getting stale food. Oh yeah, having Cold Vitasoy is always a plus. read more

Came to pick up a birthday cake for a friend. It's cash only and I had no cash, so I had to sprint to the Bank of America 1.5 blocks away while hoping my sketchily parked car wouldn't be ticketed. About that: parking is difficult but you can get your goods fast, so sketchy/illegal parking works if you are just going in and and out. Customer service is fast and friendly, and to pick up cakes you just need the phone number and the type of cake. The cake was $31.50 total. It was a mixed fruit tart cake. and it ended being pretty darn tasty. read more

I always pass this bakery every day, but I never have any temptations to try it until one day my friend came to my other friend's house where we had a study group and he brought 5 BBQ Pork buns from this bakery. I looked at it and decided to eat it half and half with my other friend. After I tried the other half, I took my other half from my friend because I LOVE it so much! The bun was so moist and tasty! I will definitely drop by to buy more buns sometimes soon! read more

Usually Strawberry cake here is off the chain. Strawberries are sweet, frosting is light, creamy, and sweet (but not too sweet), and cake is moist and light. I usually hate cake, but get fat on this one. They sell it by the slice if you don't want to eat the whole thing. Their gai mei bao (Cocktail bun) is good, as is the baw law bao (pineapple bun), as already stated. Never had a daan tat here cause' I am too busy eating cake. read more

My favorite Chinese bakery, hands down! My family has been coming here for years. My favorite: freshly baked pineapple buns. Perfectly crispy topping & soft bread. I also really love their cakes, cocktail buns, pork buns, and pretty much everything else they sell. I wish I could have some right now.. read more

My family has been getting birthdats cakes here for a good 10+ years now and we dont plan on stopping anytime soon. Their cakes are soft and light and not too sweet. What I really liked was the service. One year, I had to order my daughter's birthday cake last minute. I was hoping they had a blank cake ready that I coud just purchase then and there. The woman working behind the counter said they didnt but if i could wait 20mins, they'll have a new cake for me. I waited about 10mins and they had everything all ready, decorations and writing included. I was pleasantly surprised! The price is also very cheap. read more

Love your cakes! It was a winner for my girlfriends birthday party at the office. I highly recommend this bakery for the lightest and freshest "healthy" cakes read more

One of my family friends bought some CREAM PUFFS here that taste almost exactly like the overly priced ones at Beard Papas on Mission St that so many people love....but I hate cus of the price prob for the nice packaging and hype. But the cream puffs here are CHEAPER so I'm going to go here much more often for these. At first, I thought it was mainly an Asian cake bakery that I barely tried but I'll be going more often for the puffs. I havent tried a cake from here yet, only from their competitor across the st (J&J Bakery) so I cant comment on those. read more