Made my first trip to Greenland Supermarket after getting my car fixed up on a chilly Sunday morning. So glad I parked in front of this humble little Asian bakery since the delicious smell of fresh baked goods drew me in like an Adkins moth to a carbohydrate flame.
After browsing around at their varied selections of sweet and savory pastries and cookies, I decided on the red bean doughnut and the young lady behind the cashier proudly stated their best item was the mocha buns so I had no choice but throw in one of those. She was absolutely correct as I bit into the mocha bun on my way into the supermarket. The top of the mocha bun has a thin crispy layer of caramelized coffee-flavored sugar and the bread component underneath has the consistency of hawaiian bread with perhaps the butteriness of a croissant. Add in the fact that I was enjoying this delightful creation perhaps a few minutes after it was freshly baked out of the oven since the transparent wrapper still had some remnants of steam, it was like biting into a warm coffee creme brulee, only transformed into pastry form!
Unfortunately for the red bean doughnut, it was saved for breakfast the next day and while I'm not the biggest fan of red bean (still recovering from the post-traumatic stress disorder my mom induced on me by claiming red bean paste was just "Chinese chocolate" when I was a kid), I was hoping the doughnut component had a more mochi-like consistency but it ended up being fairly typical so I'm wondering if that was due to the reheating in the microwave.
My advice is to arrive in the morning and pick out a few samples to enjoy directly on the premises or to hold your pastry in one hand as the other picks out groceries next door. Even though they offer their items in Greenland next door, nothing beats biting into a warm pastry straight out of the oven, and the mocha bun is definitely a great way to start your day.