Saint Germain Bakery

Saint Germain Bakery is well known for their bread, cakes and pastries. However, last Wednesday when I went there to buy their coffee flavoured jelly roll cake, the girl gave me what would be considered to be sold as a day or 2 days old cake for sale at half the price.
I was so disappointed when I got home to find the jelly roll was quite dry on the first layer. The cake wasn’t freshly baked. They must have been sitting there in the display case for how many days. The bakery was far from my home so I couldn’t return them. Real disappointing.
Better check your cakes and pastries before you take them home.

One of the best bakeries in the city for Chinese cakes which are lightly and less sugary then round eye (white peoples) desserts
I bought the mango cake and worth every penny

We were shopping inside the mall and decided to pick up some bread when I got caught up with the beautiful display of mouth watering cakes and other treats!
I bought some macarons, mango and strawberry mousse cake. They were about to close so there was a line up because of the 20% discount. The staff seemed unhappy and pissed so service was kinda bad.
As we walk back to the parking, I started eating the macarons and had a big frown. The lemon was just ok but the hazelnut and chocolate flavour didn’t taste good at all. And just because I have tried most of the authentic french macarons downtown and in other countries that I was truly disappointed!
I thought that the mango and strawberry mousse will make up for everything so I immediately ate them when we got home. Sadly, it wasn’t that good either! If you are not picky and just craving for sweets in general, then I guess they’re not too bad to have. But if you have a demanding palate like myself, just DONT!
Both food and service: 2.5

Service here is really not adequate and waiting in line is going to be a 15 – 20 minutes affair… However, the pastries were really delicious and personally worth the wait. The egg tarts here are very eggy and buttery with a not that flaky crust. Their BBQ pork buns are filled moderately with delicious BBQ. The coconut bun (literal translation of chicken tail bun) was a great balance of sweet coconut and soft bread. Their version of wheat bread had a majorly soft middle with thin crusts and small bits of nuts, which was really different.

Terrible service. Would not return just because of how poor the service is. Cashier was first inattentive, then rude. Based on previous reviews, this seems like a common theme.
Pastries were decent. Got a small cake which had a pleasant texture and was quite cute.
But overall, completely overshadowed by the terrible customer service.

I agree with the previous posts about their service. Their service is terrible. The staff there are all serving with snobby attitude because they think their bakery is well-​known. The high ratings are for their cakes but not their service. I don’t need to go back because there are other bakeries in Richmond that have good cakes as well.

I came to Aberdeen Mall to have tea with a girlfriend and we did some browsing in the mall. This was one of the stores that we visited. Warning that they are cash or debit only at the moment, however, most things are so cheap that you don’t really need a card. I bought a pack of banana rolls for snack and some sticky taro balls which cost me less than $ 5 total. Customer service was decent.

Servers have a tendency to throw your money back at you after they’ve finished with you. Coconut tarts were okay but I’ve had better at New Town and elsewhere

Love the Pai Bao and Pineapple Buns. That is all I buy here! :)

Man, I LOVE this place! My eyes just light up like… like…an adult in a bakery.
I usually pick up an assorted box of treats… such as the favourite mango mousse, strawberry lychee, lemon berry tower, lemon cheezecake, egg tarts, tiramisu, and the almond coffee tort to name a few favourites. Beautifully presented. Tastes amazing! HEAVEN in A box!
I love the fact that they don’t overdo the sugar. I despise foods that have majority sugar and tastes way too sweet, like most store-​bought-​off-​the-​shelf crap.
Like French or Japanese desserts, the Chinese desserts are the perfect sweetness. SOOO GOOD!
The staff at this little kiosk are so nice and helpful. It’s a shame the bakery doesn’t have an outdoor sit-​down patio with coffee/​tea served to enjoy the pastries on the spot. I have to wander upstairs for the milk-​tea and run into Beard Papa… that’s another heavenly experience.

CHINESE FOOD CRAWL IN RICHMOND, BC: Strawberry-​lychee mousse cake
Little-​known secret: The Chinese are avid cake-​lovers and incredible cake-​makers. Yes, while the French and Japanese duke it out over who are the world’s best pastry chefs (the West says France, but the world’s highest number of Michelin-​starred restaurants in Kyoto says Japan), we have been borrowing secrets from both, mixing them with our own ancient baking traditions and producing moist, creamy, smooth cakes that send you to Buddhist heaven.
Case in point: The strawberry-​lychee mousse cake at Saint Germain. No one does mousse like us. Do you like velvety textures that melt in your mouth and taste sweet without sending you into diabetic shock? Do you like when your mousse is mixed with fruit so fresh you half expect to bite into some of the earth that it grew from? Well, that’s what you’ll find in this cake. And speaking of cake, the actual cake-​cake part is a soft, vanilla concoction guaranteed to permanently disassociate «bland» from this flavor. Top it off with a fan-​shaped shell of pink lychee essence, and you’ve got the perfect slice of cake.

After a Coconut Cream Bun, BBQ Pork Bun and Butter Bun, I conclude that they are just all right.
The breads are baked quite well — soft and sweet. The «cream» custard used in most of their buns are ALL THE SAME! I found that quite disappointing?
The prices are very reasonable. Most of it is under $ 2. The ones I bought were $ 1.50 or so.
Service is quite snappy. I was trying to browse when this lady seemed so keen on helping me. So, I let her start by getting me a BBQ Pork Bun. Then, I couldn’t decide between the Coconut Cream Bun or Coconut Danish. I took a few moments to think about it, but she had moved on to someone else. When I’d decided, I looked up to an impatient sneer on the same lady’s face. Is there a browsing time limit that I’m not aware of?
I think I’ll try binoculars next time. That way, I can browse from afar and approach the counter only when I have decided. Tsk.

Chinese bakeries are all over Vancouver /​Richmond, but few offer the kind of variety that Saint Germain happens to showcase. In addition to the traditional Chinese baked goods, there is a robust selection of western style treats, much more than the average Chinese bakery. Most of it is offered at a reasonable price and everything I’ve had so far has been surprisingly fresh and delectable.
It isn’t a fancy spot, this Saint Germain is just a small storefront located inside Aberdeen. The counter is spacious and the goods on display look beautiful. Customer service is pretty good and the selection is surprisingly decent for a mall location. The crowds can get pretty hefty on the weekends, but the staff has done well to keep the line going, making the wait (if any) bearable every time.
In terms of Chinese goods, there is a lot to appreciate. Their custard cream buns are wonderful when fresh out of the oven, the bread is soft and even, and the custard is sweet with just a little bit of tart. Large egg tarts for 99 cents? Consider me sold. The egg custard is sweet and smooth, with the edges just flakey enough for a lovely bite. Not feeling the buns /​pastries? Shoot for sack of their $ 3.99 almond cookies. The packaging is perfect for gift giving and the cookies themselves are best enjoyed with a nice spot of tea.
Then there are the additional western items I don’t see too often that have impressed me so, such as the vanilla bean crème brûlée ($ 4), lemon berry tower ($ 4), almond coffee torte ($ 4), or a killer tiramisu ($ 3). The orange chocolate pyramid ($ 4) is as gorgeous as it tastes, with a smooth layer of chocolate and the citrusy burst after taste of the orange. Another pretty treat is the apple caramel dome, which just looks like a $ 4 edible pair of boobs. Worse atrocities have been committed, I’ll let this one slide.
In the end, I like everything Saint Germain has to offer. in order to enjoy a quality dessert /​treat, it has to look the part too. From presentation to execution, this place has it all and is worth a visit for any sweets /​pastry lover.

This rating strictly for the macarons, as I’ve been a bit on a binge lately! Definitely would rank this as Thierry-​like, and better than Thomas Haan.
For the price, it’s better, and so’s the smaller size: half-​price, half the size, for just $ 1.05. Only 2 flavours available at 3pm on a Sunday, the coffee & strawberry, which was just a tad too sweet. But the coffee was just perfect.
I liked the chewy texture!

My favorite Chinese Bakery.
Their cakes not only look pretty, but are always fresh and taste divine! I can never walk by without buying something. An assortment of their individual sized cakes (not too sweet with a soft and moist texture) are great as hostess gifts. My favorites are the tiramisu, almond coffe torte, strawberry shortcake and mango mousse.
I ordered an assortment of cookies as wedding favors from their Oakridge bakery and received an additional discount for buying bulk. We got walnut, cowboy, almond puff, pumpkin seed tuile, and almond tuile and they were a hit with our guests. I didn’t even have to dress up the package because each packet of cookies comes with a small red bow on top – sweet! That’s one less thing to worry about during wedding planning. ladies. If I went to someone else’s wedding and saw a huge bag of cookies with a bow on top, I’d be giddy, too.
Take it from me, you can’t go wrong with any item you choose here.

My go-​to place for Chinese bakery items! This place smells so yummy! They are pretty consistent for some standby items like pineapple buns, egg tarts, sponge cake and the sweet buns. Most items are around $ 1 each. I love their pineapple buns — great texture, moist with a great topping! The sponge cake here is quite dense and buttery — I liked it but it tasted a little different than the other sponge cakes I’ve had. The egg tarts are delicious when they are fresh, unfortunately they didn’t taste that great a day after a flight home to Winnipeg. :-(I like the specials like 6 small pineapple buns for $ 2.80.
They open at 10 am but many of the items don’t roll out until a bit past 11 am. Staff are fast and efficient because it’s quite busy here so don’t think too long about what you want to pick behind the counter. LOL.
Located on the main level of Aberdeen Mall so you get free parking while you pick up the goodies!

I love the cakes here so much! I’m sad that I only had a chance for one visit.
Til next time.

HEAVENLY!
I was determined to hit up the best asian bakeries in Vancouver, and Saint Germain was definitely on my hot list. The smell wafting from this place is unmistakable and irresistible, but with such reasonable prices, you needn’t worry about indulging (well, your wallet won’t mind but I can’t say the same about the waistline!).
I was literally giddy staring at the many rows of cakes, petite fours, buns, cupcakes, and bread slices. It took quite awhile but I finally decided on a few «standards»: an egg tart (my measuring stick for any respectable asian bakery), a raisin twist, a mango cheesecake, blueberry cake, sponge cupcake (also an asian staple), and a slice of mango swiss roll (I would’ve preferred lemon but had the hardest time finding lemon in the city!).
The breakdown:
— The raisin twist is good, and slightly sticky since it’s brushed with a sugary glaze. I could do without the glaze since the raisins sweeten the bread enough anyway, but a little extra sugar never hurts, right?
— the egg tart is good, not great. I wish the pastry crust was flakier and more layered as opposed to the standard pie style that Saint Germain presents. Still, the custard itself is sufficiently sweet with a nice custard consistency.
— the mango cheesecake is typical japanese/​chinese style, fluffy, not overly sweet, perfectly heavenly.
— the mango swiss roll has more cream than fruity flavouring, and overall I was a bit disappointed with this one.
— the sponge cupcake is fantastic — moist, dense, and just a touch sweet.
— the blueberry cake was probably my least favourite — a bit soggy and too dense for my liking. not bad, but the weakest of the bunch for sure.
I would definitely drive back JUST to hit up this bakery, but only after running a few miles to burn off all the calories :)
**fun fact** purchase 6 items and they waive tax! what’s not to love?!

What a great bakery inside a shopping mall!
Don’t be confused with the other Saint Germain you may encounter, whether in US or Asia, since the name is quite popular and many bakeries use it.
Came by on a Sunday afternoon to find this place packed with Chinese people buying bread and buns. I ended up trying the pineapple bun and the evaporated milk bun. The evaporated milk is not overly sweet so that was a plus. Both were very good and as far as buns go, probably one of the better ones I’ve had. It was soft and it just tasted… fresh. The bread texture reminds me of bread from Japanese bakeries but the buns and the filling are definitely more towards HK-​style. Probably would’ve been amazing if it was still warm.
Lots of pastries and cakes, and plenty of people were ordering them. It’s all sort of hectic actually but somehow it all works.

Wow, how is it that no one has reviewed this delicious bakery? I kept looking around for a bunch of reviews and was surprised to find none.
The prices here are very reasonable, they make delicious looking cakes but I am more attracted by baked goods than anything else so I got a few baked items from here mostly flaky type pastries and they’re so delicious.
One thing that really stands out for me about this place is that their fillings are not too sweet. I love taste more than sugar so this is great! They have a huge variety of baked goods so it’s a must go at the Aberdeen Center!