Deer Island Bakery

Bakery: Deer Island Bakery
Address: 2068 W 41st Ave, Vancouver BC 
Website: n/a
Style: Chinese
Price: $-$$

Still somewhat fuming from my visit to the Chinese bakery around the corner, it was nice to find in Deer Island a classic unpretentious bakery that sells mostly HK-style sweet and savoury buns, along with a few almost healthier, more "Western" - albeit still soft and hamburger bun-like in texture - breads such as the multigrain or orange bretzel. It being later in the evening, many were already gone, but the crowds were nonetheless out stocking up on pineapple pork and coconut cream buns. Though they don't really have anything more traditional or elaborate besides egg tarts (sold out) and a few cakes, the prices are reasonable and I would say the level of quality is above average. Sure, I was a little annoyed at the "only one thing!?" comment when paying, but I'll let it slide....

Personally, I'm not that big a fan of coconut in general, but the giant/deluxe coconut butterfly bun ($1.60) was one of the few more Chinese buns left behind; it also happened to be the last one, so I figured it was a popular pick among regulars. Despite its bigger size, it was a fairly standard bun with a generous layer of coconut right underneath the thin top. Personally, I would have liked if the coconut would have been a little more incorporated into the dough instead of having parts with pure coconut and then other parts that were just plain dough that didn't have much flavour. The powdered sugar on top was a little crusty too. Overall, it was alright, nothing special.

Rating: **1/2