The Jelly Donut

Update Reviews, 2025

Another day, another box of donuts from The Jelly Donut, another happy Julie.

Strawberry Old Fashioned.

I've had this one many times before, so I was happy to see it remaining in the box when I arrived to snag my donut.  As always, nicely crisp exterior, soft inside, and remarkably flavorful fruity icing that isn't too sweet or cloying.  Just a really enjoyable donut. 4/5.

Blueberry Raised.

Another one I've had before.  It was again very good - light and fluffy raised donut, very fresh tasting, not greasy, light fruity glaze.  4/5.

Update Reviews, 2023-2024

If you mention The Jelly Donut to someone, chances are, if they have visited, that they'll immediately tell you about how friendly the store owners are, how they always get a few extra donut holes thrown in their bag, and even launch into stories about forgetting to have cash (they don't take cards) and getting their donuts for free, trusted to come back and pay another time.  Everyone seems to have stories of kindness on the owner's parts, and, of adoring the donuts.  The donuts are also ridiculously well priced, regular donuts are still only $1.25, crullers are $1.75, bars or jelly filled are $2, filled bars are $2.25, and fritters or cinnamonr olls are $2.50.  $13 for a dozen.

I didn't have any donuts from The Jelly Donut for 5 years, but rediscovered them when we started back up a donut rotation in my office in 2023, and one member of the rotation brought in their goods several times.

May 2023 

Incredible Donuts.

The Jelly Donut offers all the classic styles of donuts: raised, cake, filled, old fashioned, plus specialities like fritters, cinnamon rolls, and french crullers.  One thing that sets them apart from other donut shops is the variety of toppings they offer, e.g. not just basic sugar/glazed/iced, and variety of fillings for the signature jelly donuts.  They don't go in the trendy direction, or decadent, no ube/taro/pandan, no donuts with candy all over them, etc, but, offer up some unique, generally fruity, options.

My co-worker brought in a box loaded with goodies, of all different styles.  I still can't get over how incredibly good these donuts all were.  And yes, I tried many.  I enjoyed the filled donuts, really liked the fritters, and loved the old fashioned and crullers.

Filled Donuts.

The filled donuts are obviously their namesakes, but don't just expect standard berry goo inside.  Yes, they do have raspberry filled, but they also fill them with custard, lemon, apple pie, pineapple, mango, guava, and more.  Filled donuts are available glazed or sugar coated as well, and all are very, very generously filled, the donuts are sliced in half and filled, rather than just injected, so they are loaded.

I tried a little of the lemon filled one, just to try it as I don't generally care for lemon desserts, and enjoyed it more than most, not too tangy.  ***+.

Apple Pie Filling!

Next I went for the apple pie donut.  

This one was loaded full of apple pie filling, with nicely diced apples, well spiced, a little goo.  The apples still had a bit of bite to them, which I liked.  A great donut for "have your pie and donut too".  Wonderful warmed up with a bit of vanilla ice cream stuffed inside as well.  It was very good, but not as exceptional as some of the others.  ***+.   My 6th overall pick of the day.

Pineapple Filled.

Next I went for another fruity one, that I think was pineapple filled?  Super fruity and sweet, and quality filling.  Light fluffy donut.  Unique, and quite tasty, albeit a sweet choice, particularly with the glaze.  ****.  My 3rd pick of the day.

Boston Cream.

Chocolate glazed and bavarian cream filled was next, known in my world as "Boston Cream", and this was an excellent version.  Very rich, smooth, creamy, vanilla pudding inside, light fluffy donut, quality darker chocolate glaze.  I'm not wild about Boston Cream donuts in general, but this pudding inside was definitely top notch.  ***+.  Fifth pick overall.

Strawberry Glazed Old Fashioned.

Moving on to old fashioned donuts, again, Jelly Donut offers a slew of glazes on them.  I took a hunk of the pink topped one as it looked the most novel, and immediately went back for the rest.  Wow, this was a fantastic donut!

The base was far above average for a old fashioned.  I loved the texture, moist inside, but crisp outside.  Loved it.  Even without the glaze, this would be a **** for me, maybe more.  But that glaze?  What a flavor powerhouse!  It was so intensely fruity.  Truly wonderful.  It took this donut into near perfect ***** territory, but I'll stick with ****+ for now.  But, great texture, fantastic glaze, one of the best old fashioned donuts I've had.  My favorite of the day.

Strawberry Glazed Old Fashioned.

When it was donut day again a few weeks later, I immediately went straight for the raspberry glazed old fashioned again (as there were no filled donuts nor fritters available).  I again loved it.  Such a great crust/slightly crisp edge, very fruity (and very sweet!) generous glaze.  This is the perfect donut to have alongside a black coffee, and even better if you dunk it in.  Love it.  ****+.

Maple Glazed Old Fashioned.

After the success of the strawberry glazed old fashioned, I went back for another, this time, maple glazed.  The base was equally good, and the maple flavor was more standard, very sweet.  A good old fashioned, for sure, but I wasn't as in to the sweet maple glaze.  ***+.  Probably my least favorite of the bunch I tried, but it was still a perfectly good donut.

Vanilla Glazed Cruller.

A slightly rare style of donut around SF, The Jelly Donut specializes in French crullers as well.  Like most of the styles of donuts, The Jelly Donut offers up a variety of glazes for these, such as chocolate, maple, regular, vanilla, etc.  This one was vanilla glazed, rather than just regular glazed.

The donut base was light and airy, slightly eggy, quality pâte à choux.  The glaze was sweet and was somewhat more vanilla-like than the regular glazed donuts.  A really nice lighter offering, and given the plethora of donuts I was sampling, I appreciated the less dense donut.  My forth pick overall. ***+.

The fact that The Jelly Donut makes such excellent raised donuts, and old fashioned, AND crullers is really notable, as they are a made with different techniques, and they seem to have mastered them all.

Crumbed Apple Fritter.

Like most donut shops, the fritters are massive - this is less than half of one.  Easily 4x the size of a regular donut.  And like most donut shops, The Jelly Donut offers a glazed version, but also, a sugar coated one, and this, the crumbed fritter.  I've never seen that before.

It was an excellent fritter.  Very moist, doughy, good cinnamon flavor, chunks of apple.  The crumb coating was actually great - it made it not as sweet as a standard glazed fritter, and reminded me a bit of a crumble topped apple pie.  Definitely a winning fritter.  ****.  My second pick of the day.

Glazed Apple Fritter.

I didn't try it originally, but when there were still so many donuts left midway through the day ... I couldn't resist trying the more common glazed fritter too.

It was much like the crumb coated one, moist inside, little bits of apple, good cinnamon flavor, lightly crisp outside, but, coated in lots of glaze, which made it even crispier, and considerably sweeter.  I found that I preferred the crumbed one as it was less sweet, but once I warmed this up and served with vanilla ice cream to tamper the sweetness, I enjoyed it nearly as much.  ***+, tied for 3rd place.

January 2024

A few months later, the Jelly Donut was back on the rotation.

Assorted Donuts.

There were no crullers nor old fashioneds in this mix, but we had plenty of raised and filled, along with some cake donuts.  I of course tried several.

I first tried a bite crumbled cake donut right on top here, after someone else cut into it, and was impressed with how moist it was.  Next time, I'll try more of a cake donut ... ***+.

Strawberry Iced Cake.

And by next time, I mean .... about 4 hours later.  I don't generally go for cake donuts, but I did try a bit of the strawberry iced one, after remembering how much I liked the strawberry iced old fashioned, and seeing these still untouched.  The icing was thick, sweet, fruity and enjoyable.  The cake base was better than most, quite moist, but it did remind me that I just generally don't prefer cake donuts.  ***.

Mango Filled.

For my first donut though, I went right for the filled one that someone else had cut in half.  I remembered how glorious Jelly Donut's filled donuts were before, and this one looked like it was going to have an interesting filling.

This was just as glorious as I wanted it to be.  The donut itself was lofty, light, airy, not too fried nor greasy tasting.  Excellent raised donut, well glazed.  The donut itself was far above average, ****.

But the filling.  <3.  I believe this was the mango filled.  It had plenty of filling (even if it doesn't look that way here).  It was sweet, fruity, and tropical.  Fantastic.  I'd love to just buy this filling to use as a spread on toast even.  So good.  ***** filling.

Overall, one of the best I've had from Jelly Donut, ****+.

Classic Raspberry Jelly Filled Glazed.

After the joy of the mango filled, I went for the more standard jelly donut that you'll find at donut shops everywhere: raspberry jelly filled.

To be honest, it was quite a letdown.  The donut seemed less lofty, although it was still very fresh tasting and well glazed.  The raspberry jelly filling was fairly average.  Sweet, fruity, not totally goo-like, but, not particularly special at all.  If I hadn't just had the previous donut, I'd say it was a very good filled jelly donut, but after the previous, it really was just a downgrade.

***+, because it still was a touch above generic donut shop average.

Blueberry Iced Raised.

Another great fluffy raised donut.  Sweet fruity icing.  I didn't necessarily taste much blueberry, but, it was very good. ****.

Apple Pie Filled.

I was late to the office on this donut day, and thus, the only filled donut left was the apple pie one.  I hadn't loved it before, but, it was still a donut from The Jelly Donut, and it was still a filled one, so I snagged it not too unhappily.

I still wasn't in love with the apple filling - I appreciated that the apples weren't mushy, and the spicing was too aggressive, but, compared to other filled flavors from The Jelly Donut, or compared to actual apple pie with slices or bigger hunks of apple, it just didn't measure up.  Fine, nothing wrong with it, but it certainly didn't shine.

The donut however did.  Again, just so fresh, so lofty, great glaze.  I adore these base donuts!  **** donut, *** filling, ***+ overall.

October 2024

Another week, another round of donuts, and as always I was thrilled to see they came from The Jelly Donut.

Mango Filled.

The first one I grabbed was a raised, glazed, split in half, mango compote filled one.  I remembered this from a previous encounter, and it was my top pick.

The donut itself was wonderful - nicely lofty, soft, very fresh, well glazed, not too sweet.  It was filled with plenty of the mango filling, the technique of cutting it in half to fill it meant great distribution.  And the filling was just as good as I remember, fruity, sweet but not cloying, just really flavorful and unique to have in a donut.  Truly a great donut, and one I'll gladly get again and again.  ****+.

Raspberry Jelly Filled.

Later, when there were more still left, I went for a more classic red jelly filled donut.  This time, a powdered sugar coated raised donut, injected with the jelly rather than cut in half.  I'm not sure why they choose to do some via injection, and others cut in half?  Maybe due to the thickness of the filling?

Anyway, this was also a good donut, the same fresh, lofty, nice base.  I think I do like the light glaze coating more than the powdered sugar, but that might have been a bit too sweet with the sweeter red jelly in this one.  The jelly was a smooth style, no seeds or bits of berries.  Sweeter than the mango filling, very classic jelly taste, I think raspberry?  It was good, but a bit more average of an overall donut.  ***+.

Butterfinger Topped Cake w/ Vanilla Glaze.

And when there were still more donuts left ... time to experiment a bit.  I had no idea which kind this was, but it looked potentially seasonally appropriate, as it was October, and the candy (butterfinger?) topping seemed Halloween inspired perhaps.  I also wondered if there might be any pumpkin spicing going on.

I think it was just a regular cake donut base, and I was again pleased with how good of a cake donut it was, as cake donuts aren't usually what I go for.  It was very soft and moist, and had a nice flavor to it, just some light spicing of some kind.  It was well coated in white (vanilla?) glaze that wasn't too sweet, a thicker style than what is used on regular raised glazed donuts.  Yay for bits of candy on top, although they really weren't needed.

Overall, a very nice cake donut, although I think I would have preferred it without the butterfinger.  ***+ ... maybe ****.

Peanut Topped Cake with Vanilla Glaze.

And finally, a took a hunk of a similar cake donut with the same vanilla glaze, this time covered with bits of chopped peanut.  I liked the crunch, and the peanut flavor was strong, but I actually again thought I'd probably prefer it without the topping.  ***.

Original Review, May 2017

Donuts are a big part of my life.  I have them at least once a week, usually more often.  It isn't that I seek out donuts though, donuts just seem to find me.  Particularly on Fridays.  When my office has donuts all over the place, and I can't help but have one.  Or two.  Or bring one home to waffle the next day.  It is a hard life.

Like one Friday, when I already had a full breakfast, and a co-worker sent out a message to our group chat: "Donuts on my desk!"  She called me out by name, knowing I'm a donut girl, which prompted a popup on my computer and my phone.  "They are from The Jelly Donut on 24th street," she continued.

I was delighted and sad at the same time.  I had never had a donut from The Jelly Donut before, but, it has certainly been on my radar for quite a while.  My understanding, not from visiting myself, is that The Jelly Donut is a total hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop, cash only, no-frills place.  They are known for throwing in some free donuts if you get a dozen, or free donut holes if you just get a donut or two.  Generally well regarded, and I was eager to try the donuts.  Except I was just not hungry at all.

Box-O Donuts.

I took my time making my way over to the box of donuts, sorta hoping that they'd all be gone, sorta hoping that I'd magically gain an appetite.  And by took my time, I mean that I finished the meeting I was in, and then arrived at the box of donuts about 6 minutes after the initial donut message went out.  For me, this is restraint.

Three of the donuts had been cut in half, and maybe one or two were missing, but, the box was still mostly full, with an assortment of donuts, including two large filled, glazed bars (one maple, one chocolate), two glazed old fashioned (again, one maple, one chocolate), a couple cake donuts (crumb, maple glazed with sprinkles), raised (chocolate glazed), a glazed buttermilk bar, and, a namesake jelly donut.

I had no choice but to try something.

Glazed Buttermilk Bar (half).

I opted for the glazed buttermilk bar, which had already been cut in half.  The chunk was still the size of a regular full size donut (which you can see better in the above photo), so it must have been quite massive in its full form.

I tried a few bites then, but saved the rest for after lunch.  It held up fine*.

It was a good buttermilk bar.  The glaze was thick and sweet, and I liked how it soaked into the donut.  The exterior was crispy just like I like, and inside it was nicely moist.  It didn't taste too fried or oily.

There was nothing earth shattering about this donut, but, it was a well executed classic.  I did wish for more buttermilk tang however.  ***+.

*Note: buttermilk bars, and cake donuts in general, don't tend to hold up well past a few hours.  These really need to be consumed fresh.

Boston Cream Bar.

I walked by the donut box a while later, and there were still donuts remaining, including the massive Boston Cream bar, Ojan's favorite.  I had to get it for him, and, of course, try a bite myself on my way to deliver it.

The donut was a raised fluffy donut, light and airy.  The filling was vanilla custard, quite creamy, and it was well filled.  Good chocolate coating on top, although some of it broke off where the donut made contact with the maple sprinkle donut in the box.

Again, nothing earth shattering, but, well made and obviously fresh.  ***.

Maple Glazed Bar. 

I have one co-worker, who really loves donuts, but was not coming in to the office until lunch time.  He was sad to be missing out, so  I suggested that I save one for him, and picked the maple glazed for him.

It had lost nearly all its glaze though, from being against the edge of the box.  The Jelly Donut really could work on their boxing skills so as not to have all the donuts touching each other/the box and losing their toppings!  I used a knife to scoop all the glaze off the box and back onto the donut.  It didn't look very pretty, but hey, he got his glaze.

I didn't try this donut, but, he said it was great.

Jelly Donut.

I walked by the donut box again, after lunch.  (Hmm, maybe I do seek out donuts?)  There were still 3 full donuts left, including the jelly donut.  I don't understand how this was possible.  My co-workers clearly have more restraint than I.  There weren't that many donuts to begin with!

I still had most of my chunk of buttermilk bar waiting at my desk.  And I had carrot cake and a fun Filipino dessert at lunch already.  I surely didn't need more sweets.  But ... I knew that it would waffle great in the morning, so if I didn't manage to eat it during the day, I could save it for waffling purposes.  (Seriously, try waffling your leftover donuts, I promise, it is transformational!  My favorite waffled donut to date was a waffled jelly donut, so I knew this would work well.)

But of course I tried it fresh, for evaluation purposes.

Like the Boston Cream Bar, it was a fluffy, light, airy, raised donut.  It was not too fried.  The glaze on top was sweet and good, but it only covered the very top.

The best part was the filling though.  Sweet raspberry jelly.  Lots of it.  It was gooey and very flavorful.  I really liked the jelly.

Overall, a very good donut, but I actually prefer sugar coated jelly donuts over glazed.  ***+.

Leftover Jelly Donut Panini!

I did save the rest of the donut until the next morning.  I took a bite of it then, day old, and, as expected it had gotten a bit stale.  So I turned on my handy Cuisinart Griller to waffle it ...

I realized once it was already heated up that I had the panini plates rather than the waffle iron plates in my Griddler.  Whoops.  I rarely use the panini plates, so I didn't even think to check.

Never one to back down from a crazy experiment, I just panini'ed it instead, and it was great too.  You'll be able to read all about that too, soon ...

Hayden Valley

Hayden Valley is an actual place.  In Yosemite.  But it is also the namesake of Hayden Valley Foods, a snack foods maker focused around making snack mixes, gummy candies, yogurt or chocolate covered confections, and as I focused, covered pretzels.  And no, they aren't located in Hayden Valley, they are based in Ohio, so I'm not sure why the name is what it is.

"Quality: Experience the difference with Hayden Valley Foods. We pride ourselves on delivering covered pretzels that stand out in taste and quality. Dive into a snack experience where excellence is a constant, and every bite is a testament to our commitment to quality.  Indulge in pretzels that celebrate the purity of ingredients. With no artificial preservatives, colors, or high-fructose corn syrup, Hayden Valley Foods pretzels represent a commitment to clean and wholesome snacking. Every bite is a step away from artificiality, welcoming you to a realm of natural goodness."

I don't generally get excited by eating plain pretzels, but, add seasoning and make them part of a snack mix, or coat them in sweet flavored coatings, and I'm all in.  But at the same time, I'm really opinionated on the base pretzel.  I care less about the shape (rods, nuggets, twists, all good), but more about the pretzel taste, although it is hard for me to pinpoint.  I hate Rold Gold, if that helps, and often really like gluten-free pretzels.

But anyway, this is about Hayden Valley Foods, and their lineup.  They pretzels in a variety of sizes (mini, twists, etc) and coatings (blueberry, strawberry, raspberry or plain yogurt, milk or dark chocolate, all sorts of seasonal specials like pumpkin spice or red/green holiday drizzles), and packaging (mini cups, bags, bulk).  They have also done collaborations with well known brands like Cinnabon.  I had the regular retail bags, purchased on Amazon.  I tried 3 different flavors and enjoyed them all, although every single flavor arrived melted.

Salted Caramel

"Savor the delightful interplay of savory salt and sweet caramel, making each pretzel a masterpiece of taste."

I started with the salted caramel.  So trendy a few years back.  And so often poorly done.

But, wow, they *nailed* the salt level on these.  I'm always annoyed by "salted caramel" items that are just caramel, minimal salt.  These brought the salt, aggressively, in a way that made the overall flavor just really pop.  The caramel was also good, very sweet, perhaps a bit too sweet if you ate more than a few at a time (which, isn't necessarily a bad thing!).  They really delivered on the salted caramel aspects of these.

The pieces were well coated, although you can see that they did arrive melted from Amazon.com, so that slightly detracted from the eating experience as I had to pry them apart, and I did want even more coating.  Fairly standard crunchy fresh enough pretzels inside.  I can't pinpoint anything wrong with them, but they weren't the type of pretzel that really draws me in (I still don't quite know what it is about some packaged pretzels that I like, because some I really do, but most I don't).

Overall, good, salty and sweet, and I gleefully finished off my bag.  3.5/5.

Milk Chocolate.

"Indulge in the classic elegance with our Milk Chocolate covered pretzels. Experience the smooth and creamy milk chocolate that lovingly envelops each pretzel, delivering a timeless taste of indulgence in every bite."

Next up, milk chocolate.

The milk chocolate fared even worse in the mail (note to self: don't order coated products from Amazon in the summer?), the entire bag was melted into a single big glob.  But that issue aside, they were decent pretzels.  Again, well coated, fresh pretzel within, and the milk chocolate had good chocolate flavor and was reasonably creamy.

Not remarkable, but, good.  Higher 3/5.

Pumpkin Spice (Seasonal).

My final flavor was the seasonal pumpkin spice.  Another trendy flavor, another one that can often be poorly done.  And for me, one that I frequently really dislike, as the "pumpkin spices" are usually too strong for my liking, given that I dislike nutmeg and clove.

They were another mass of melted together pretzels.  But again, decent pretzel base, well coated, creamy coating.  The spicing was distinctly "pumpkin spice" and it wasn't subtle.  I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't like it much.  Just too strong overall for my taste, although it wasn't necessarily too much nutmeg or clove, just, very strong pumpkin spices.  I still finished my bag, but I wouldn't get another. 3/5, due to preferences.

Tarts de Feybesse

Ooph.

That about sums up how I feel about Tarts de Feybesse.  And I feel bad about it, but ... wow, this place let me down.  I went in with fairly low expectations, given just how mixed online reviews were, but even so, ooph.  This just isn't going to be a positive review.

But let's back up.  Tarts de Feybesse is a newish bakery in Oakland, with a great pedigree - the pastry chef was a James Beard semifinalist of Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.  She was on Top Chef.  Some of their creations went viral pretty quickly on Instagram due to the quasi-realistic nature of the fruit entremets.  And yet reviews ... paint a very mixed picture, particularly for the price.  Still, I love baked goods, so I was excited to try them nonetheless.

I didn't actually venture to Oakland myself to seek these potentially mediocre items out, but instead was treated to a popup event at my office.  They brought 8 items with them (3 pastries, 4 entremet, 1 other).  I used restraint and selected only 4 items, which still felt a bit greedy, but truly I would have liked to try any and all of them ... or so I thought.  But one by one, I was let down.

Viennoiseries

The lineup starts with some classic viennoiseries.  These don't seem particularly noteworthy, just the basics, besides the savory ham and cheese "escargot", which sadly they didn't have with them at the popup.  People on Yelp/Google reviews do seem slightly more positive on these items than the more elaborate pastries, so I did select one to try.

Pain au Chocolat. $6.50.

"Laminated pastry with dark chocolate batons."

I went for a pain au chocolat, despite it looking a bit over baked and quite dark. The outside shattered nicely, which was a good sign, but it did taste burnt on the outside.

Pain au Chocolat: Inside.

I was let down pretty much immediately though when I cut it in half.  The single baton of chocolate was a meager filling.  The lamination was mediocre. The flavor of the pastry was average, not particularly rich nor buttery.  The chocolate seemed to be fine quality at least?

A very average pastry, as in, hotel buffet quality, but not what I'd expect from a French style bakery, even one in the US. Low 3/5.

Apple Chausson. $6.50.

"Apple compote baked in puff pastry."

I feel regret that I didn't try the apple chausson, but I was trying to be reasonable and only take one item from each category, and this was my second choice of viennoiseries, so I moved on.

Pistachio Eclair. $8.50.

"Choux puffs filled with pastry cream."

I also skipped the pistachio eclair, despite loving pistachio, as I don't generally care for choux pastry, and again, was trying to be reasonable and not take everything.  I'm still so curious about that pistachio filling though ...

Trompe L'oeil

The main attraction, or at least what gets all the Instagram and media buzz, is their signature lineup of Trompe L'oeil, basically quasi-realistic fruit shaped entremet.  Since these were the most appealing and interesting, I selected two to try.

Mango. $15.

"Almond financier base, Manila mango compote, white chocolate mousse and chocolate shell."

This looked stunning.  Not quite realistic, but, stunning nonetheless.  I was worried about style over substance, but I had hope, just given how nice it really did look.  This is their best selling and most popular dessert, for a reason.  It did indeed draw me in.

But I was let down the moment I dug in.

Mango: Inside.

Where to start.

I guess, the shell.  The shell was painted white chocolate.  I read reviews that commented on how waxy it was, and how it just tasted like candymelts, but I didn't quite believe them.  I assumed they were white chocolate snobs.  I love white chocolate, and don't have particularly high standards for it.  But ... indeed, this was really waxy, fake sweet, and not enjoyable.  It is rare that dislike white chocolate this much.  This was exactly the kind of white chocolate that makes people think they don't like white chocolate.

Then, the base.  A dense, wet, possible almond or coconut joconde? (A: almond financier). It was the type of cake that you take a bite and think, "Eww, this must be gluten-free".  But I don't think it was.  It just wasn't pleasant, like soggy dense sawdust compressed together.

Above that was the mango layer.  Surely it would be ok?  Sadly, no.  The mango was sour, not ripe, again, just not enjoyable.  The surrounding white part seemed to a fairly flavorless panna cotta.

I was shocked by how much I disliked all these elements, even though I knew reviews warned me, I still didn't really expect it to be this not tasty.  I'll give a generous 2/5, because it was pretty, and the cream was fine?

Raspberry. $12.

I wanted to try the raspberry too, but that was my third pick out of the trompe l'oeil, and I only went with two.

Lemon. 

"Lemon curd, lemon mousse, white chocolate."

The lemon was the most realistic looking of the bunch.

Vanilla Bean.

The vanilla bean item was hands down the least attractive item in the lineup.  And perhaps the most boring, after all, people literally call things "vanilla" to mean plain or boring.  I think it was supposed to resemble a vanilla bean.  Maybe?  This was my second pick of items though because I know how stunning a really good vanilla bean item can be, and know how easy to overlook it can be.  I dug in to my, uh, log.

Vanilla Bean: Inside.

It had the same very low quality waxy white chocolate shell as the mango.  And it had cream filling.  And ... that was it?  Where was the vanilla bean?  I didn't taste any vanilla bean, I simply tasted crappy white chocolate/wax.  This was perhaps even worse than the mango, as it was hard to extract even just the cream to eat. 1.5/5.

Other

The bakery also has a few other assorted items, like a basque cheesecake, classic Opera cake, and breads.  They only brought one other item with them, which I gleefully snatched up.

Riz au Lait. $10. 

"Creamy Tahitian vanilla bean rice pudding, French style."

Although it really didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the menu, as a pudding lover, I was thrilled to see the kinda random riz au lait on the menu.  It came in fairly average jar, a bit of a surprise given the visual appeal of other items.

The pudding was ... ok.  It did have ok vanilla bean flavor, unlike, well, the vanilla bean pastry itself.  I'm not sure what French style means exactly.  It wasn't too sweet.  The rice though was ... pulverized.  Tiny bits of rice, and very soft ones at that.  So it ate more like a mush than a rice pudding.  Is that French style?  I have no idea, but it is not a style I like it turns out.

I didn't particularly like this, but it was the best of the 4 items I tried by far in that I didn't actively find it to be poorly made, just I guess a different style. Or maybe it was poorly executed and not supposed to be mush. Id unno.  Low 2/5 and I struggled to want to finish it.

Sterns Bakery, NYC

Sterns is a kosher bakery in the New York City area.  It is a family run bakery, started in Hungary, but moved to the United States in 1949.

The bakery makes sliced breads and challah, buns, bagels, and pita, plus tons of cakes (roll cakes, bundts, layer cakes, babka cakes), all the pastries (donuts, danishes, muffins, cupcakes, cookies, rugelach), and cheesecakes.

In addition to the bakery fresh items, they have several more stable product lines: Pastry To Go is boxed family sized individually wrapped smaller (1 ounce) snack cakes (akin to Little Debbie/Drake's, etc), Munchbreak is individually wrapped convenience store style boxes of slightly bigger (3 ounce) items, and Fresh To Go is the larger (5-6 ounce), clamshell packaged pastries.  It is one of the Fresh To Go items that I tried.

Fresh To Go Packaging.

"In 2012, Stern's unveiled the Pastry to Go product line, a revolutionary moment in the cake industry. Individually wrapped for convenience, these pastries became a clean and delicious go-to snack, bringing taste and tradition into the hands of consumers."

I tried a Fresh To Go item, which is the style of something you'd find in a convenience store that is sorta trying to look like it has fresh bakery items.  This product line has muffins, danishes, turnovers, and a few desserts (classic black and white cookies, napoleon)

They make all your standard muffins: chocolate chip, corn, blueberry, plus some very dessert-like ones such as cappuccino, chocolate cream cheese, or cappuccino cream cheese.  All are 4", 5 ounce muffins, although they make minis too.

Blueberry Muffin.

"A 4” vanilla-based blueberry muffin that is crisp on the outside and moist on the inside."

The blueberry muffin is definitely a cake masquerading as a breakfast item style, sweet, vanilla cake base.  It was fairly moist, didn't taste overly full of chemicals or processing.  Fairly average.  It had some big blueberries in it, well distributed and not clumped together, but not nearly as many as I'd hope to see.  A tiny bit of streusel on top that I liked, but again, not as much as I'd want.  It was "fine".  3/5

They consider this 2.5 servings, and like many muffins, it was ~600 calories if you ate the whole thing.

The Golden Duck Co

Update Review, 2025

A few years ago I reviewed the Singapore salted egg crab seaweed tempura (zomg, <3) and the chilli crab version of the same (strangely, not as great), and the salted egg yolk potato ridges chips (good, but not as good as the seaweed tempura) from Golden Duck.  I somehow got my hands on another bag of my favorites.  And yes, ZOMG is still my review.  Adore these things!

Singapore Salted Egg Crab Seaweed Tempura.

"Dangerously Addictive Seaweed Snack. Spiked with bits of crabmeat, crab stick, chilli flakes and dried coriander."

It had been several years since I last had these.

I forgot just how delicious they are.  I mean, I like seaweed, I like tempura, I adore salted egg, I adore crab, and yeah, I adore Singapore, so it makes sense that I'd really enjoy these, but, yeah, wow, they are pretty much perfect.  And they really are made from just what you'd expect: fried seaweed, salted egg yolk, salted egg powder, and crab meat (yes, real crab meat), then all the stuff that makes them even more delicious: margarine, sugar, MSG, chilli, and curry leaves.  Yup, all the good stuff, and it adds up to awesomeness.

Incredible crunch factor.  Slightly different size pieces, some folded over in a way that makes them even more crunchy and enjoyable.  All very well coated on one side with the salted egg and crab.  Umami notes super strong.  

Nothing I'd change about these.  4.5/5.

Original Review, June 2021

Snacks.  Chips.  Some of my favorite things, as, well, I'm a bit of a snack-o-holic, a condition that developed late in my adulthood (really, I wasn't snacker growing up, nor in college, nor grad school ... I'm really not sure when it happened), and has gotten more extreme during 15 months of pandemic living at home.  I mean, what else is there to do but eat interesting snacks?

Particularly when the snacks come from aboard, bringing a glimpse into my past life of frequent traveling.  I visited Singapore twice, the last time right as the pandemic was breaking out, and absolutely adored it.  The cleanliness, the ridiculously hot weather, and, the food.  Oh the food.  Singapore is such an ultimate foodie city, for all budgets.  I adored it.  And yet, I didn't really write reviews for any of the glorious treats I had there.  I actually was doing an experiment, made a conscious decision NOT to take photos, not to take notes, not to blog, and just really, truly, enjoy my experience there.

It was Singapore that I really developed a love for salted egg yolk products, although I'd had them before in Sydney (like the salted egg yolk pork floss bun at Begong Black).  But salted egg was practically everywhere in Singapore, on chips, fries, or fish skins as the common bar snack of choice, or on popcorn (like Pop-Smile sweet egg yolk popcorn although that is from Taiwan).   But it is on potato chips that I most love it, particularly when spicy (like the glorious Shi Le Po spicy salted egg potato chips I reviewed before).

Which leads me to another salted egg product manufacturer: The Golden Duck.

"Asia's best flavours : packed, sealed, delivered."

Now this is a motto I can get behind, particularly as, well, they did indeed deliver to me, in New Hampshire of all places, while I was sadly not traveling due to the pandemic.

The Golden Duck is based in Singapore, and only sells salted egg products: fish skins, seaweed tempura, or chips.

Seaweed Tempura

The product line I was most excited for: seaweed tempura.  I like seaweed, I like tempura, and this sounded about 1000x better than a potato chip.  Seaweed tempura chips are available in several varieties, I tried two.

Single Serve Bag.

"Dangerously Addictive Seaweed Snacks."

Um, yeah.  "Dangerously addictive" does not even begin to describe these.  This single serve bag is barely a single serve.  You can scarf this down in ... 5 seconds.  Literally.  It took all I could to do not to devour the bag in under a minute, lick it clean, and grab another.

To be fair though, these bags really aren't very full ...

While I loved the sound of the Chilli Crab version, I couldn't resist starting classic with salted egg.

 Singapore Salted Egg Crab Seaweed Tempura

"The pleasing graininess of our famous salted-egg yolks balances perfectly with  light, tempura-battered roasted seaweed, created and prepared with all the magic of our kitchens.

This journey is an ocean of flavours – the sweetness of real crab (yes, real crab meat), slightly smoky seaweed, and the rich umami of a salted Egg finish. Mmm.."

So what do you get when you coat seaweed in tempura batter made with salted egg yolk and crabmeat (yes, real crab meat), add in curry leaves and dried chilli, and fry it?  DELICIOUSNESS.

Seriously, ZOMG SO GOOD.  It is hard to calm down enough to write this review.

The manufacturer says they have the following "flavor notes":

• Rich and creamy - an umami bomb
• Underlying notes of the sea
• Roasted seaweed
• A hint of spice

The pieces were so, so crispy.  Greasy, so greasy, but in all the right ways.  The crunch factor, the "this is horrible for me factor", both sky high.  Flavor through the roof.  Yes, umami bombs, as promised.  Yes, "underlying notes of the sea" from the seaweed.

I also loved the assortment of (all large) pieces, some folded over for even more goodness.

<3.  Just a pure delight to eat.  No more needs to be said.  Incredible.  

4/5.

Singapore Chili Crab Seaweed Tempura.

"Chilli Crab on Seaweed Tempura Crisps."

"It’s all a question of balance – between the sweetness of crab meat, the warm spiciness of the chilli and the smokiness of roast seaweed. 

Crunch through the crisp tempura coating and an incredible mix of flavour explodes on your tongue."

Next up, the chili crab version.  Here the manufacturer promises:

• Sweet, salty, mildly spicy - like a girl you once knew
• Underlying notes of the sea - real crab meat!
• Roasted seaweed
• Mellow tomato base notes

I thought that I would adore these, but, it turned out, they had too much "funk" for me.  Or something.  Maybe I didn't like the tomato base?  There was just something actually off putting in the aftertaste in particular that didn't do it for me.  I never found myself wanting a handful.

I used them crushed up on top of salads for a little seasoning/crunch, and they worked fine like that, but I wouldn't get again.

2.5/5.

Potato Chips

"How do you get to potato chip heaven?

Start with real ingredients, naturally. We use salted-egg yolks cured to the hue of a golden sunset. We then systematically slice each potato to get the perfect ridged cut - the rhythmic rise and fall of every groove holding on to the richest bits of the taste you love.

Each crunch is a satisfying explosion of flavours - the graininess of real salted eggs, a hint of curry leaves, and a dab of spice. Truly divine."

If seaweed isn't your thing, you can go for the less "scary" potato chip option.  

Salted Egg Yolk Potato Ridges.

"We use salted-egg yolks cured to the hue of a golden sunset. We then systematically slice each potato to get the perfect ridged cut - the rhythmic rise and fall of every groove holding on to the richest bits of the taste you love.

Each crunch is a satisfying explosion of flavours - the graininess of real salted eggs, a hint of curry leaves and a dab of spice."

The chips certainly didn't really look like your average potato chip however.  I'm sure they still a bit intimidating to some.  Good sized chips, nice ridges, and very well coated in seasoning.  Not too greasy. Little bits of curry leaves found mixed throughout.

The manufacturer promised the following "flavor notes":

• Rich, yet light - like Prince William as a baby
• Fragrant curry leaves
• Medium saltiness, lightly sweet
• A hint of spice!

Um.  I don't know about the Price William part.  I can agree that they were medium salty and lightly sweet, and just a hint of spicing/heat when you got a curry leaf.  But mostly, they were just a really decent strong salted egg flavor.  

If you like potato chips, particularly ridged chips, and you like salted egg yolk, these are a solid choice.  Nothing particularly remarkable, but well coated, no question.

3/5.