After stopping by the (market formerly known as) Super88 for veggies and healthy things, I can never resist stopping in to Yi Soon and stocking up on oh-so-bad for you pastries and buns, which I'm sure are filled with shortening and trans-fats, but are oh so tasty :) I mostly go for the savory buns, but the sweet ones are good too (in that understated, slightly-sweet but more fluffy than sweet style of Asian pastries) I like the coconut tarts, though they're on the verge of too sweet for me... The cakes in the fridge cases are quite generic, I generally go for the pastries near the walls. I do keep my eyes open, though, because a couple times I've had issues with freshness- but that's usually easy to spot. (Excess moisture in the packaging when it's already in the store is a pretty good sign that it will be moldy at home within a day, I've found) They also have moon cakes around the autumn festival, which are nicer than the ultra-preservatively ones that you get in supermarkets, and less oily than the ones in some of the other bakeries. read more

Yi Song looks very enticing. The cakes are oh-so-pretty and there are all sorts of random goodies along cleaning looking, brightly lit shelves. I was excited to try the green tea cake and "wife cakes," and highly intrigued by the taro something. [Aside: wife cakes = flaky shell pastry filled with sugared melon goodness] The green tea cake had a fluffy-ish texture, which was nice but it's not nearly green tea-y for my preference. The wife cakes were decent - the shell was loose and flaky and the filling was moist albeit not sweet enough. To be fair though, I am uber picky when it comes to wife cakes so I am probably judging them a little harshly on that. As for the taro something... I still don't know what it is exactly. I fail as a Chinese person and could only understand from the Chinese only sign that it was supposed to be taro ____. Aside from the funky purple layer of something (too bland to tell) outside and the vaguely purplish stuff inside, it doesn't remind me of taro at all. [Hello bland bland bland]. Taste wise, Yi Soon is definitely second string to the Chinatown bakeries (well except Bao Bao because that place reeeeaks even more than North Station). Value wise, Yi Soon is pretty cheap by American bakery standards, but somewhat overpriced compared to the Chinatown ones. I will probably come back to Yi Soon because going to Chinatown from my borderline boonie apt is just sooooo far, but I am not expecting to fall madly in love. I did like the lady as the counter though - she seemed a little confused as to if she should speak to me in English or Chinese and was really cute, in a she kind of reminds me of my grandma sort of way. read more

First and foremost, CASH ONLY! Yi Soon bakery is the most convenient place for your asian pastry fix in Allston/Brighton. While you might not like everything, there is something for everyone. Hands down, the best items imo are the red bean buns, the date/goji bread, and the taro bun. Though I haven't yet had an occasion to try one of the large cakes, they are spectacular to look at. read more

Yi Soon Bakery is the place I go to to get my fix of Chinese/Taiwanese pastries. Unlike the Chinatown bakeries, I find that there are more variety here in terms of goods. I have not seen such a variety of pastries, cakes, cookies, sandwiches, and baked goods elsewhere [you can prove me wrong]. Moreover, I love how everything is so cute and packaged nicely and in good portions! As for prices go, I think they are decent. The baked goods are not too expensive, and not too cheap either. I don't see anything above $5 (besides the whole cakes). Everything I have gotten there so far has been quite tasty. My favorite is the mochi red bean bun and the regular red bean bun. Moreover, I like the cake with the strawberry jam and the health cake. I got the honey cake today for $1.50 and enjoyed eating the first few bites (not later when I felt like all I was eating butter). I still need to try more of their goods, but overall, I approve! read more

Bread from this Taiwanese bakery used to be cheaper and made of higher quality. I remember the taro loaf used to be stuffed with taro and its no longer the case even though the price has gone up. Ive tried just about every single bread and they still come up with new ones from time to time. This place would get 5 stars IF they lower the price. I mean com'on... $1.25 for 1 bread?... I can get 12 cheese bagels for $3.50 at Costco!!! For similar items, check out the bakery at Kam Man in Quincy. Its almost as good. read more

The cake slices i purchased during my first visit were beyond stale. Few weeks later, I purchased a cake on display. I should've known when the worker didn't give me the cake from the display but gave me a cake from the back - the cake was even further beyond stale. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me.. you can't be fooled again." - W. Bush read more

I should give this place another chance. The first time I went there I made the mistake of getting a piece of cake. I know. What the hell is wrong with me? What happened in my life that made me the type of person who would get a piece of cake at a chinese bakery? I think it's probably that my mom and dad never let me get a puppy. Anyway, the cake was gross. Next time, red bean bun all the way. read more

RED BEAN MOCHI BUN. I'm serious. I've had a couple other things from here, but I can never pass up getting a red bean mochi bun. I've even stocked up on these to bring home to LAS VEGAS cos I thought the fam would enjoy them, and enjoy they did. Boyfriend even stocks up on these when he comes to visit to bring home to HIS fam. You get where I'm going here. I love that they completely seal their buns for freshness. If anyone has any insider tips on how they make those crazy spirals on their bun tops, please enlighten me! The last time we went, I was devastated when there were no buns to be found where the red bean mochi sign was. I asked if there would be more later in the day cos we would so go back after dinner if there would be, and the lady miraculously pulled out a huge tray of red bean mochi buns that were bagged but not yet sealed cos they were still warm. O.M.G. I devoured one the second we stepped out the door, and it was downright the most heavenly bun I've ever had in my life. Sighhh. I almost wish I had never experienced a red bean mochi bun fresh out of the oven cos no matter how good the ones I have in the future are, they will never be the same. :c read more

Yummy tiger cakes! Their full cakes look gorgeous too, and I wish my birthday were sooner! The service was a little dry, the cashier seemed impatient but well-meaning. I'd definitely stop in again to try other things. read more

Yeah, it's the random half-Taiwanese side of me that loves me some buns. Taro, peanut, pork floss - all of it makes me soooo happy. The bread is baked nice and fluffy, and the fillings are all pretty much perfect. Sometimes the egg tarts can be a little soggy because they're not fresh, but that's all dependent on lucky timing, I guess. I always stop by when grocery shopping (awesome for breakfast or snack attacks!), since 88 market's bakery is pretty abysmal. Bring cash, as they don't take cards when it comes time to pay for all those yummy treats. Now if someone could just tell me where to get a good bowl of five spice beef noodles... read more

After several more visits to Yi Soon and some mooncake tasting around chinatown, I've found that not only does Yi Soon have better mooncakes, with fluffier pastry and smooth lotus paste, like buttah, but they also have much more interesting flavors, on par with the freaky stuff you can get imported. In the end, the creamiest and tastiest to me is still the plain lotus seed paste (and if I'm in the mood for it, the black bean has a coarseness to it that can also be pleasant), but it's nice to be able to buy pumpkin and green tea, and even nicer that they sell mini mooncakes. They even carry shanghai style mooncakes, which have less sweet fillings and a flaky pastry crust. Of course it carries products rich with cheese and dairy that you may not find in chinatown, like creme caramel cake, cheese tarts and cream puffs, but even in the regular buns, there is a pretty stark separation from Yi Soon and the chinatown bakeries, which are largely the same. Both have soft bread dough, but Yi Soon's has more butter, which makes it more brioche-y, and much more fragrant. Right when you open the individually packaged buns, you will be struck with the incredibly strong smell of condensed milk and butter. This is definitely different from the relatively plain bread doughs in the chinatown buns, and I usually prefer Yi Soon's, but sometimes I find myself really enjoying the more standard bread. The added flavor in the dough does put the coconut bun above anything I've had in Chinatown. Just wow. read more

I like this place's cake. Less sweet and a lot of fruit on the top. I love sweets but usually I don't want to eat American cake because too sweet. This was the first cake in Boston, I even thought about I want to eat some more after i finished a piece. read more

We go here for the almond cookies and taro bread. The baked goods are unbelievably affordable. Bring cash because they do not take credit cards. The green tea cake, well just tastes like a cake. It's really green, which I think that they dye to make it look that way. I've had the most amazing green tea cake when I was Manhattan, so i have to compare my green tea cakes to that. My bf and I purchased a black forest cake to take for Easter dinner. It looks absolutely beautiful, but really lacked in taste. The worst part about the pricey cake was that it wasn't even fresh. It was probably made like 5 days prior. read more

Me and my boyfriend accidentally discovered this place. We were walking by, and he suggested we go in. So I go in, and for me, it was like a bakery heaven because I have a weakness for baked goods, especially Japanese (I know this place isn't Japanese, but the texture and flavor of the breads are very similar). So I'm freaking out, because I very much appreciate these kind of places. It's one of the things that I miss most about Japan--the bakeries. And everything was sooo cheap! I bought four items, and it came out to $6.55. Almost everything on the wall on the right side of the store is about $1.75 or so. I'm not sure what the girl below me was looking at, because almost half the wall was less than $2. The cakes I imagine were more--I don't know--I didn't really care, I was just grabbing stuff left and right. I got the hot dog and cheese roll (great), the mochi/red bean roll (yummy), the curry roll (haven't eaten it yet), and the pudding/flan cake in the glass case by the register. The last one was the only one that was just ok, but the cake part was very good. The pudding part was a little strange though; it didn't taste much like caramel. Cash only! Don't forget!! I don't know how much people would appreciate this place unless they've been to a bakery over in Asia (Asian baked goods have a much lighter texture compared the stuff over here). But my boyfriend's American and he loved the hot dog roll, so I guess it'll depend on what you like. The red bean roll is very Asian, but overall, they have lots of stuff that you'd probably like. They also had rolled up cakes in strawberry, coffee, and green tea that looked really good. read more

Deliciously light fresh cakes. Bring cash for smaller purchases. Prices are really reasonable.

Wow, better than the ones in chinatown. Cash Only. Great quality, good prices. Worth a special trip. Egg custard pie - such a tender flaky crust & yummy sweet custard - $1 Glutinous Rice Zhong Zhu - marinated hunk of pork, salty soy-sauced egg, and shitake mushrooms. Huge, yummy - even the picky kids ate it up. - $3 Red-bean Pastry w/ Salted Egg Yolk - nice & yummy, better than most of the moon-cakes around Chinese New Year's in chinatown & Super88 - $2 Chocolate & Cream Sponge Cake - soft soft cake sandwiched together with fluffy white icing, topped with chocolate. So good. - $2 Soft White Bread Loaf, thinly sliced - Tastes like brioche. buttery & soft slices. - $3 read more

I stop by when I'm in the area - my go-to items are the Swiss rolls, almond cookies, egg custard tarts, and anything filled with red bean paste. The cake is especially light - I'd like to try one of their bigger cakes sometime. The prices are quite reasonable too. It's just a take out place - no seating. read more

I was REALLY craving Asian desserts so I decided to drop by here. I ordered the CHOCOLATE SANTA! It looked so intricate...laced with sweet cocoa goodness, that I HAD to order it. Especially with its beautiful price tag of $2.50. It tasted AWESOME too. I would definitely come here for my Asian bakery cravings in the future. read more

cheap and yummy. definitely get something with dried pork. the buns with the little hot dogs are another one of my favorites. all of the breads and rolls are a little bit sweet, fluffy, and have perfect "q" texture. the cakes are good too, light and airy with different types of chiffon and a little bit of frosting in between. everything you could want from a good chinese bakery. read more

Why yes, I am a fan (when I'm in the neighborhood)! I like how there are sweet, nice girls working there that as soon as you come in, they greet you, and eventually ask if you need help looking for something or explain what's in a certain pastry. I recently had they egg and ham bun, and that was delicious. In comparison to other bakeries that has a ham and egg bun (i.e. Eldo's in Chinatown), this one wins by far because 1) They use fresh egg. You can see the whites and yolk in the bun, whereas Eldo it's already scrambled and (tastes) like it's been mixed with too much milk. 2. The ham was fresh, and cut nicely, packed (and not overpacked) with a fair amount of filling for the bun, complementing the egg and vice versa. I'm a fan, and I love how this place makes new buns or knows how to step their game up by redecorating the look of their product. I really like how there's a thin layer around some of their buns, which adds color and flavoring. One of the best Taiwanese spots I've ever been to! read more

This is one of those places where you think it's sooooo cheap.. up until you walk out the door with 10X as much as you wanted to buy in the first place. I don't even deal with any of their refrigerated goodies (although I did pick up a coffee cake slice - my mom's is better.. heh), so I can't speak about that.. but everything else.. hmm.. total carb shock awesomeness. I've loved everything that I've ever purchased from here (minus the aforementioned coffee cake.. although that was a strong like). My favorites being their sweet potato bun (note.. make sure to dab your mouth with a napkin after every bite.. lest your mouth be covered with brown "stuff") and well.. anything with red bean. The only reason I've been away for a little while is because I have no cash (credit cardz debt 4 lyfe).. but I'll be back soon, my dear Yi Soon! read more

For those of you, like myself, who can't venture down to Chinatown all the time, yet crave a yummy pastry, Yi Soon definitely hits the spot. They have a huge variety of buns and other sweets that I really wanted to try, but I decided to be safe and go with a coconut bun (or two). I was slightly disappointed that it was packaged (and therefore not warm), but it was still delicious!! And since there are still visions of a warm, steamy coconut bun floating around in my head, I am sure I could just pop these babies into the microwave or oven and it'd come out like those delicious Chinatown ones... And only $1 for a huge, delicious coconut bun?? Amazing! My waistline is not going to thank me... read more

This place really is awesome. Everything is beautiful and well crafted. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the objective quality seemed very high to me, and the prices are more than reasonable. So why I am giving two stars? Coz I don't like this stuff. And I don't need permission to make my own decisions, that's my prerogative. I don't really like any Chinese or Japanese baked goods. I've tried them several times. I guess I find some taro and red bean pastries OK. They don't seem like the greatest ideas in the world-- I'd take chocolate cake 100 times out of 100--but they are slightly pleasurable. The stuff I ordered from Yi Soon was excellently done and hardly pleasurable at all for me. I wish Clear Flour would take over Yi Soon. Then I could get a rich, buttery, decadent chocolate croissant, and bread that I know what to do with. The city of Allston should use its eminent domain power to make it happen. read more

A very attractively presented -- everything looks really good, but the taste is so-so. I did try the coconut bun and that was quite tasty. The pumpkin bean cake was virtually flavorless, however. Regarding their so-called low prices, I have to disagree with everyone else who seems to have reviewed it. You couldn't get a thing for under $2.50. So, average swanky bakery prices. read more

Absolutely loved the items my boyfriend and I picked up in this bakery! We were hungry, but didn't want a sit down meal. After buying bubble tea next door, and walking up and down the street several times, we finally decided to try the bakery. We were not disappointed! Prices are awesome. Very low, so you can buy multiple goodies and not feel like you're going nuts. We bought an eclectic mix- cake, 2 food items, and wife's bread. The wife's bread was fantastic. I may go back just to buy more of that! The service was fine. My only complaint (and thus subtracting 1 star) is that the place is cash only. I hate cash only. I usually don't have enough money on me and it's a pain to realize it's cash only and have to track down an ATM, especially if you're not from the area. So, remember to bring enough cash for a few treats and you'll love this place! read more

I get bread and pastry when ever I passby Allston for years now. Over all, I think Yi Soon's fruit cakes are the best around. The flavor are not too sweet which is prefered by Asian taste. The loaf of bread are fresh and tasty as well. Their bread pastry, such as Pork Bread, pineapple bread, scallions bread are tasty but smaller compare to the bakeries in Chinatown, what a pitty, I need to eat two for breakfast vursis one from Chinatown. And do remember, CASH ONLY!!!! read more

The only Chinese Bakery store that I go to. The prices are great, the place is clean (very clean compared to all other asian bakeries), the staff is very helpful, and best of all the pastries are delicious. They use high quality ingredients and bake everything fresh. It's hard to find authentic tasting Chinese baked goods that are made with high quality ingredients. Note that Taiwanese baked goods are different from thestandard fare that you find in Chinatown that are distinctly Chinese. Also, definitely check out the mooncakes. They are FANtastic. read more

I find myself going out of my way just to buy some of these tasty sweet treats. My favorite is the coconut bun ($1) followed by the coconut tart ($1.75), which is sort of like a macaroon baked into a delicious mini tart crust. I've also sampled the orange cake ($1.25) and the caramel pudding cake ($2.00). Both were good, but I wasn't particularly impressed. The cake was a bit more airy than I anticipated and it didn't exacty taste fresh. I did like the fruit tart ($2) though. What I didn't like was the coconut cream bun ($1). It's basically a coconut bun with tuns of butter in the center. I don't mind eating something that's bad for my waistline. But when it's so blatantly bad, I just can't get myself to do it. Besides why all that solid butter when the plain coconut bun tastes just fine? The place is so cheap that I recommend trying a few things during a single visit. The premises are bright, clean and the staff is friendly and always willing to give advice. Just beware that if you get here in the later evening, many treats are sold out. read more

Cheap. Delicious. Clean. Bright. Reaaaaally close to my house. cash only!?!? ughhhh. oh well. I always eat the scallion bun and it's only 90 cents so whatever. I used to eat these in jersey, and these are extra black pepper-y and it LOVED it. I literally lived off them for 2 days straight after discovering it a few months ago. Can't believe I didn't check it out sooner, I've been living practically next door for years. There's a few places in Chinatown that have more variety that I like, but this place definitely kicks ass when it comes to being full of light, clean, and generally just white people friendly. :) and infusions next door doesn't hurt. they should just knock that wall down and join wonderful forces. read more

I pick up little pastries from this bakery at least once a week. Everything is really tasty and light. I am a big fan of the cheese pastry that you can find in the fridge, but all of the little breads in the fridge are good! This bakery is our go-to place for cakes for birthdays and different celebrations. The green tea cake is amazing and so is the chocolate cake. However, they are a little bit on the pricey side. But still we get them because they are that good. The green tea cake has red bean as the filling and the chocolate cake has some sort of fruit jelly. They don't really do a good job with writing messages on the cake however so you may just want to forgo read more

Great cakes. Light, airy, amazingly tasty yet inexpensive. Except 2 cakes had eggshells in them. Hmm. Takes cash only which is a hassle but have some banks and ATMs in walking distance. The service is horrible. What they lack in communication skills they make up in attitude. read more

Authentic Asian bakery making quite delicious cakes and pastries. Haven't gotten bread from here before though. read more

Yi Soon Bakery - 8" Green Tea cake with red beans scattered within - Bakeries Near Me - Allston, Massachusetts

Yum. Good and solid but not consistently crave-worthy for me. I like: Egg tart Red bean and mochi bun I like that they're open until 10 on Friday nights. I wish they were open later than that but hey, for Boston that's pretty good! read more

I can't wait to try the breads from this bakery....I bought the Pineapple Bun and the Red Bean Mochi Bun. They were about $1.35/one. No seating area and difficult to find parking. read more

Was in search of a good bakery for august mooncakes and saw some helpful photos from Yi Soon so I booked it over there this weekend to check it out. If that's what you're also looking for.. make sure it's actually august moon festival season. Not all bakeries carry them year round and Yi Soon definitely does not. I was slightly disappointed, but plan to come back again next year to check it out. And because I was already in a pastry shop (who can ever leave one empty handed), I ended up getting one of their taro claw buns and the red bean mochi bun. The bread of both was slightly dry but not too bad because it wasn't dense. The taro bun could have used a little more taro and same for the red bean mochi bun. Otherwise, the flavors of those fillings were on point. Not too sweet. Flavorful. And pretty. I keep teetering between the 3 and 4.. but ultimately, because there are some other options in Chinatown, I decided to stay with the 3. Oh - and they're cash only (or at least I didn't buy enough for them to accept credit if they do). read more

Love this Chinese bakery. My friend and I always stop by when we are around. I love the egg tarts and taro buns!!! read more

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Wasn't sure what to expect from this bakery especially with some of the reviews about the cake. Hence I didn't try the cake, but did try the buns and bread. 1. Red bean bread - delicious - could do with more red bean, but very light, red bean as it should taste 2. Red bean bun - authentic, again could do with more red bean, but I really like how their red bean is finely mashed and not too sweet, but definitely all red bean 3. Taro bun - impressed by the soft bread and light taro filling. The taro wasn't dyed purple (aka I think they genuinely mashed taro up and used it rather than make it look purple to make it look like taro) 4. Red bean mochi bun - I like the red bean one better, but this was an interesting twist. Not for everyone, but worth trying and quite delicious too Plus is that the buns are really cheap. You could get a red bean bun at paris baguette no doubt, but you would pay twice the price for a bun of similar quality. Would definitely visit again to try the other pastries read more

People need to be careful. They tend to add extra charge to the final bill which is far more than what you actually ordered. Therefore, it would be good to double check your order. read more

I am one of those people who "cringe at the thought of chocolate cake." That's why I prefer Asian desserts - love pinkberry and it's knock offs. I love mochi. I love Asian cakes and cookies - they are generally lighter and much less sweet. That said, this place was a disappointment. I stopped by this place last night as a result of rave reviews posted here. First off, I do want to give kudos to the place because it was extremely clean, unlike many of the dingy Chinatown places. The girl behind the counter was extremely nice and helpful. I purchased : a taro bun, a violet taro bun, a pineapple bun, and a scallion bun. Unfortunately, the buns were all basically hamburger buns injected with filling. It was disappointing, to say the least. The flour was way over processed. It didn't seem very "high quality" to me. The worst was pineapple cream bun, because it was filled with a sour tasting cream that had a grainy texture. How the hell can a pineapple & dairy (cream cheese?) filling be grainy? It wasn't very pleasant. Or flavorful. Except for the sour taste. Next up was the taro filled bun. Again, picture a hamburger bun filled with (not very tasty or flavorful) taro cream. At least it wasn't sour. But the filling was still somewhat grainy. Now the scallion bun that I got was somewhat interesting. I got the savory one since my western palate cannot tolerate scallions combined with sugar. I really liked the topping. The bun could have used more of it, but the scallion, garlic, and cheese combo was yummy. It also would have been alot more yummy not on a hamburger bun like substance. The thing that I actually did like was the violet taro bun. It has a gem-like purple hue to it as they wrap the bun in a layer of (mochi?). I'm actually not sure. The taro cream filling and bun are actually the same as the plain taro cream bun, but the wrapping really makes a difference. It changes the texture and makes it a whole lot more fun to eat. If they sold the purple stuff separately, I would go out of my way home to purchase it almost daily. But, as it is wrapped around a hamburger bun, I don't think that I will be back any time soon. read more

This seems to be a nice bakery in my opinion, but I have little experience with the baked goods they were selling and thus not much basis for comparison. Nevertheless, the premises themselves were neat and tidy with numerous arrays of tasty-looking treats, the prices were reasonable to cheap, and most importantly everything was really delicious. Our bun was light and airy, and the tiger cake was moist. Can't wait to go back next time I need a cheap treat. read more