I liked this bag even more than the first.
I'm not sure where Cafe Dolci gets the asian baked goods from, but it is somewhere local, likely in Chinatown? The offerings change daily, but usually include some kind of filled cocktail buns, massive steamed buns, and ... something with hotdogs, be it a bun or other pastry.
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Ham & Egg Bun. |
First up for me from this section was a breakfast item, a ham & egg bun, asian style on a cocktail bun.
It was a nice, soft, fluffy, clearly fresh bun. The fillings however let me down.
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Ham & Egg Bun: Inside. |
Inside was half a fried egg, and two thin slices of mediocre ham. The egg was extremely greasy.
No cheese, no condiments. And obviously, not served warm.
Since these are not made to order, they are never warm, and I am not sure if mustard or something is ever offered. It felt a bit plain to me, but I brought it home, warmed it, added condiments, and enjoyed it, but the egg really was far too greasy for my taste.
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Hot Dog Bun. |
Now, this was an item I'd pick! Little secret: I LOVE HOT DOGS!
The hot dog was inside similar soft fluffy bread as the ham & egg bun, and again, no condiments, and served room temp.
I brought it home, heated it up, and got my favorite honey mustard and ketchup ready.
It was ... ok. The bun was so soft and fluffy, lightly sweet. That part I really liked. The hot dog however was a bit below average. I'm not sure if it was beef, turkey, or a mix of something. Definitely not a hot dog I'd ever want on its own. Dunked in my ketchup-mustard mix, and with the soft sweet bread though, it was satisfying.
***.
I was thrilled, thrilled to see a bun in my bag. I hoped it was the bbq pork bun that everyone raves about.
It ... was not, more on this soon, but, I adored it.
The bun itself was soft, fluffy, slightly sweet, just a perfect home for the ridiculous goodness that lay inside ...
I cut it in half to reveal ... well, not a bbq pork bun as I had hoped. "This must be the Deluxe Chicken Bun!", I thought.
At first glance, "deluxe" meant chicken thigh, hunks of mushroom, and ... hard boiled egg.
All was flavorful, and I liked the chew to the meaty mushroom and flavorful dark meat chicken. The hard boiled egg was a bit odd, but I know that is a thing.
But this bun had much, much more to it ...
I adored this, devoured in seconds, even though it was quite a heafty item.
****+, and I'd gladly get this again. I'd love to try the bbq pork bun still, but, wow, this was good.
Cafe Docli always has a large selection of bagels (at least 8 kinds), available with butter, jam, cream cheese, peanut butter, etc, or as breakfast sandwiches with egg, ham, sausage, and the like.
They toast them to order, perfectly, load them with goodies, and just really, serve some ridiculous good bagels. Yes, simple bagels can be ridiculously good!
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Cheese Bagel with Cream Cheese. $4.25. |
The bagel lineup the first day I visited included plain, sesame, "really seedy", jalapeño, cinnamon, and cheese, but it was clear that they normally have 2 other varieties as well given the empty slots in the display.
If I were picking a bagel, I likely would have gone for the "really seedy" or perhaps cinnamon to save for breakfast, but alas, the merchant selected the cheese bagel.
It was an above average bagel, nice chew to it, a good crust. Generous amount of cheese baked into it.
Bagels are available simply with butter for $3.75, or with other spreads like peanut butter & jam or nutella, or filled with egg, cheese, bacon, ham, sausage, etc. For my mystery bag, she added cream cheese, a rather odd pairing in my mind for a cheese bagel ... but then again, I've never had a cheese bagels besides when turning it into pizza bagels. She added a generous amount of cream cheese.
Overall, a good bagel, but, not what I would order, and pricey (I think? I don't order bagels out so maybe I just don't know if this is the going rate?), normally $4.25.
***+.
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Blueberry Bagel with Nutella. |
The next time, I got this. I was pleased to see a blueberry bagel, but a bit weirded out when I saw what was inside ...
It was a strange combo. I do like Nutella, and I love blueberry bagels, but I haven't ever put them together, and, well, I see why. I like my blueberry bagel just toasted with butter (and a sprinkle of sugar!), or perhaps fruity or plain cream cheese, but nutella?? It muddled the lovely blueberry flavor.
I liked the bagel though, perfect chew. ***+ for the bagel itself.
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Nutella Bagel: Inside. |
I'll give Cafe Dolci credit though, it was *loaded* with Nutella, and melty Nutella really is delicious. Just, uh, not what I wanted with my blueberry bagel! ***+ for generous, melty Nutella.
*** for the overall item, was less good than the individual parts. I didn't see these on the menu, but likely about the same price as cream cheese bagel, ~$4.25?
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Everything Bagel with Ham, Egg, and Cheese. $6.75. |
I was pretty thrilled to get an everything bagel, and the bagel was everything I wanted it to be (pun intended!). Perfect chew, good flavor from the seeds and garlic. Yes, yes, yes.
****+ for the bagel itself.
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Ham, Egg, and Cheese Bagel: Inside. |
Inside was a very thick slab of decent enough ham, a fried egg, and plenty of melty cheese. Kudos to Cafe Dolci for cheese on *both* sides, and it was perfectly melty.
The ham was an entirely different kind of ham than the cocktail bun version, much thicker, not deli meat style. It was good, not remarkable as I prefer smokier, more flavorful ham, but, it was fine. I suspect this is a product Cafe Dolci gets to make the breakfast bagels themselves, rather than the asian buns that perhaps come with the ham in them.
The fried egg was good, not as greasy as before, not rubbery, very satisfying with the cheese. There was plenty of salt and pepper too, really well seasoned. Definitely better fillings than the cocktail buns.
Overall though, the bagel and melty cheese alone made this insanely delicious and satisfying.
Normally $6.75, so a great item to wind up in my bag!
****.
Other
The rest of the pastry case offers a few muffins (they look like Costco!), croissants (MASSIVE!), and loaf cakes, depending on the day. I was glad I didn't ever get a muffin, as they just didn't look great.
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Croissant. |
The first time, I got a croissant. A MASSIVE croissant. As in, comically large, actually.
It was a bready style croissant, light and airy, rather than a flaky french croissant. It had a buttery essence to it, but not in the decadent flaky way, it was more like a ... brioche? Buttery but not flaky, hard to describe, but this was the case.
It was too massive to really imagine just eating alongside a coffee as a morning pastry, and likely could be great to use for a sandwich, although, it was so large that it was even too large to really think of for a sandwich.
*** for the style it was, ** as a croissant though.
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Butter Cake. |
Well, this one was totally lost on me.
I'm not one for pound cakes, and certainly would never, ever pick this. It was dense, I guess it was buttery, but, it tasted kinda generic, stale, and like it should have come out of a plastic wrapper. And cake without frosting ... just, why?
I can't really fairly evaluate this, as it just isn't an item I ever want.
*.
Drinks
Cafe Dolci *is* a "cafe" after all, and although I didn't see people getting them, as it was afternoon, they offer a standard lineup of coffee, tea, and espresso drinks, along with Vietnamese iced coffee, keeping in theme.
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Fresh Squeezed Lemonade. |
The lemonade was the first real lemonade I've had in many, many years. I just don't really ever go for lemonade. It was good though, very tart, and loaded with hunks of lemon. Quality fresh squeezed juice, and, a totally random addition to my bag!
***+ for what it was, but I wouldn't get another.
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