Deer Island Bakery

I was curious about the lower rating so a read a few other reviews. Most are about cakes «not being fresh» which i find hard to believe.
I have been coming here every few weeks for the last few years to get my fix of coconut buns and pineapple cocktail buns. On multiple occasion I have waited for an extra five minutes because the buns were coming directly out of the over. They taste amazing and the staff have always been polite and friendly; even putting up with my jabs about their slow debit machine.
I recommend this place for any of their window-​displayed snacks. I haven’t ordered a cake but I would assume they hold them to the same standards of quality.
Definitely recommend.

In need of a bakery for a birthday cake, this was a work mission, and because I was already out of the office for lunch, they gave me the task of buying a cake for a co-​worker, and somehow I decided to come here. So the trusty Unilocal app led me here, seemed alright, coming in, this place is a tiny little shop, what you would expect out of any Chinese bakery, a mixture of savory and sweet buns on the side shelfs and a refrigerated section behind glass. I came around lunch, and was greeted right away by the front person, while the baker was in the back still baking on this summer hot day.
The woman picked my brain as I was in here for that birthday cake, and asked is it for adults or children, a very good question, as we got to the point of either black forrest or fresh fruit, both the same price. and because of my answer, we went for the fresh fruit. If you add a written name to the cake they do charge an extra $ 2. which I find steep, but the cakes. especially the one I ordered for $ 25 was a pretty big size, looked like an 8″.
As I was taking this to go, I have to say this place gets an award for one of the prettier cake boxes to take away. With the lid already having cloth strapping, tying this up looks like a present, and repackaging it. let’s say if you were at a restaurant or a friends house, and did not manage to finish the cake. you could wrap this up nicely again.
We had the cake not too long afterwards, and I have to say this is normal Chinese flare, the cream was light, not heavy so you don’t feel like a pile of garbage, and the cake had enough balance of fruit and cake, where all of us were satisfied, late in the work afternoon where if any of us were having an early dinner, we still could. I would definitely think of coming back to try their other stuff, or maybe just to pick up a birthday cake. If you are on 41^st in the Kerrisdale area, you will not miss it, and also if you are not carrying cash, lucky you. this is not a ‘Cash Only’ location!

Decent asian bakery with a good variety to select from. My husband loves the coconut buns, and the BBQ pork buns are always a hit with the family.

Went in the bakery to look for a snack for my daughter. She was still deciding so I decided to go next door to buy some vegetables. She came into the store and a lady started to yell at her in mandarin, accusing her of stealing a bun from the store. I went back into the store and asked why she would do that. She did not work there; her son worked there. When I asked the cashier why she would accuse her without proof, she said oh maybe it isn’t her, but there was a girl who took a bun. My daughter did not have a bag with her, she was only wearing a jacket with pockets that only had a phone in it. I will never shop here again as they accuse you of stealing without proof! Why would she steal as she was holding money in her hand and then go next door? My daughter is traumatized by the ordeal. Yes the baker apologized but it was not sincere. They did not believe her. Now she won’t want to go into a store by herself.

I wish I can give them no stars. Cheating store, cheating staff! I bought a birthday cake yesterday afternoon, I asked the staff is the cake fresh? They said «of course, we make it daily». But in the evening, when we ate the cake I thought the cake’s whipped cream was sour. So I put it back in the refrigerator. The next day, I went to the store to complain. The staff still admitted that it was fresh, but they did refund the cake. I thought the cake was days old. Not coming back here again to buy their cakes!

Decided to give this bakery a try. They took over 2 years ago and have a Taiwanese French Influence with their baked goods as compared to the Cantonese Style Buns I am used to.
BBQ Pork Bun — $ 1.50 — Large but the BBQ Pork filling was kind of dry
Paper Cover Soft Sponge Cake — $ 1.10 — not as soft and fluffy at other places I have tried, not too sweet, not as good as the appearance.
Lemon Curd Sweet Bun — $ 1.10 — Too much bun to taste, not much lemon
curd for my liking, not too sweet and sprinkled with sugar on top.
Cheese Hot Dog Bun — $ 0.90 — Small snack size
Ham and Pork Floss Danish — $ 1.95 — Baked with flaky choux pastry
They do offer Taiwanese buns with the Sweet Filling like Lotus, or Red Bean Paste.
Given the price and proximity, I would prefer my regular place in terms of freshness, quantity of ingredients vs bun ratio, quality and taste.

Chinese baked goods that goes outside the box. Very good prices, very awesome customer service and a unique twist on some of the traditional selections. When in the area I always come home with at least $ 10 in baked goods for myself or friends. There is a lot of French influence.

Chinese baked goods REMIXED.
Tradition is good and all but twists on the classics can taste great if done right.
And Deer Island Bakery does a darn good job.
The place:
— petite space, tidy & well-​stocked display
— quality & creativity over quantity applies here
— individual packaging is overkill… unless you buy 1
— best kind of aromatherapy!
The goods:
— everything has a little something different or extra to make it pop!
— pricier? yes. But worth every cent for the even filling distribution & flaky yet sturdy crusts.
Given my weakness for trying newfangled combos in bread form, I have eaten my fair share of their selection:
— lemon bun ($ 1.10): could use a more lemony hit
— matcha green bean bun ($ 1.50): sesame-​studded top + solid green bean filling. Must try!
— coconut cream bun ($ 1.30): raisin surprises await inside
— snow white: an elongated chocolate-​covered croissant that sounded more fairytale than it tasted
— sesame almond bun ($ 1.50): textural trifecta of crusty bun, nuts & seed
Worth a visit (and multiple revisits) to check out what new creations they have in store!

We had the chicken on a stick bun and a green bean/​macha bun. Both were unusual and pretty tasty! In the interest of encouraging experimentation, please go here!

* New Promising Chinese Bakery *
Although officially opening tomorrow, Deer Island was open today for «pre-​opening» with a special of 2 for 1 on all items.
This is a Chinese bakery with a heavy focus on the French influenced Chinese pastries. There were a few classic Chinese items available — but most was more of the French influenced style.
I tried out the ham and pork floss pastry, and the peach custard pastry. I’m not sure what their official names are for them, although it wouldn’t surprise me if they called the first one a ham croissant and the second a peach danish. But I’m just guessing.
The ham and pork floss pastry had a nice flaky crust, which was well layered. They did not skimp on the butter, and it showed in both the flakiness and delicious rich flavour. The ham itself was high quality, and the pork floss was a surprise. Many times I’m not a fan of overly dried out pork floss. But this one was flavourful, not dried out, and really enhanced the pastry. Delicious! Photo:
The peach custard pastry had a similarly flaky delicious buttery crust. The peach was a canned peach variety, but it worked nicely with the light custard that was tucked in underneath it. Delicious again! Photo:
While the fillings of both pastries were nice, the highlight is really that buttery flaky crust. I hope they keep up the crust quality as they get their business going!
Considering they aren’t even open yet, I think this place shows a LOT of promise. I’m looking forward to returning once they are up and running in full swing to see if their pre-​opening day was just a lucky day, or if they will be providing tasty high quality product continually with that wonderful buttery flaky crust as the highlight. I sure hope so, as it is a welcome addition to the bakery scene if they keep it up!