ABC Bakery (South Land Park)

food: 4/5
experience: 2/5
overall: 3/5

One of the most well-known Chinese bakeries in Sacramento is tucked in a little corner behind Bel Air supermarket, off a busy street at the edge of South Land Park. That bakery is ABC bakery. Get here early because they sell out quick. Yes, there is a large Asian population in the South Land Park/Greenhaven neighborhood.

Their most popular products, of course, are the baked buns - specifically the BBQ pork. A thick, doughy roll with delicious filling.


The rolls are nice and fluffy, slightly sweet, just as a bao should be; and they put a decent amount of filling in them. The BBQ pork is surprisingly sweet. Other rolls are chicken (see below), curry chicken/curry beef, hot dog, pineapple, taro, and a cocktail bun.

The one-dollar (!) steamed options are the BBQ pork (above), plus chicken and egg custard.


Chicken tastes like a typical dumpling/wonton type filling but this egg custard tastes like straight pudding. Delicious. I'd never had egg custard before and it's quite a treat. Then they have the more "expensive" steamed options, the big steam bun ($2.25) and the sweet rice steamed bun ($2.25). The mantou bun is your best bet if you're just looking for the dough part.

Another popular item would be their steamed dumplings. Wrapped in rice cake paper, each has a singular shrimp inside. Simple yet they make tasty snacks.


Get there early, these two-bite treats sell out fast. Similar to the shrimp dumplings are the pork siu mai. Just another typical dumpling filled with pork mince meat.


They have a pastry case full of goodies but I have to tell you, I peeked in their window after closing when the place was empty and these were still sitting out waiting for the next day to arrive. I would avoid them because who knows how old they are. There was a bunch of them out too, not just a couple, so they're probably really old.

The reasons I stopped coming to this place were 1) they sell out of all the good stuff by noon or earlier, 2) there is a definite language barrier, and 3) they can get a little short with you sometimes, especially if you speak English.

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