On a recent trip to Maryland and Virginia, I was bowled over by the treats in Asian bakeries there. This made me want to see what I could find in the Twin Cities. Luckily, I discovered Zao Bakery + Cafe in St. Paul. The light-filled cafe with wooden beams and hanging vines was so enticing that I sat down for some piping hot congee with ginger chicken for lunch and got most of the buns to-go.
Zao’s bakery case includes red bean steam buns, taro twists, and many other delights. If you are uninitiated to the standard offerings at Asian bakeries, check out this field guide or this video on 14 buns you need to try at a Chinese bakery.
Responding by email, owner and baker William Ratsamy said the cafe is a family bakery in every sense. “Everything from the recipes (my mom's culinary experience) to the ingredients (from my brother's grocery store) to the design of the space (my architectural background) came from within our family.”
Ratsamy’s recommendations for a first visit are to try “a sesame ball, char siu pork bun, congee and our homemade soymilk. This would fill up your tray nicely. This includes something fried, something baked, something from our kitchen, and a homemade drink that you really can't get anywhere else.”
I can vouch for the slightly, but not-too sweet homemade soy milk which I tried after my congee along with a coconut cream bun. This is a soft milk bread shaped like an oval, sliced down the middle and filled with buttery whipped cream, then dusted with coconut flakes. In other words, a bun of dreams.
Which Bun to Choose?
Zao’s offerings include the popular Ham Sui Gok, a fried dumpling with a pork and mushroom filling. (Roseanne Pereira)
Ratsamy says Zao’s best-sellers are the Spicy Chicken Curry Bun (that has a curry filling), the Pork Steam Bun (minced pork, an egg, and Chinese sausage surrounded by soft white bread), Sesame Balls (chewy, crunchy, nutty, sweet), and Ham Sui Gok (a glutinous fried dumpling).
Many of the baked goods in the case are easy grab-and-go items for a picnic, and for this purpose, Ratsamy’s top recommendation is the hot dog flower bun. It’s a hot dog wrapped in milk bread and arranged into a flower shape before baking. The result is an easy, pull-apart, soft treat that’s pleasing for both adults and kids. (You pull off the “petals”!) My picnic pick? A wilder-looking pork floss bun, topped with a huge mound of pork floss. To each their own.
