Experienced pastry chef Melissa Chou has made her bakery pop-up a regular appearance for now.
Grand Opening started off as a monthly pop-up but now you can find them every Sunday at the window at Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown. Her pastry background includes some of the hottest restaurants in San Francisco such as Aziza, Mourad, and Mister Jiu’s. Now that she’s no longer working at Mister Jiu’s, she can focus on her solo project where some of her desserts and pastries have a Chinese influence.
Outside Grand Opening.
Grand Opening.
Menu (A Little Hard to Read).
Only Half of the Goodies for Sale.
Pluot Black Sesame Pastry, Pistachio Apricot Twice Baked Croissant, Chocolate Peanut Toffee Cookie, Passionfruit Caramel Cashew Cookie, Chocolate Red Bean Bolo Bao, and Peach Custard Milk Bun.
My favorites out of all these were actually the cookies! Both were superb in terms of texture and flavor and I would definitely get these again. Now the pastries weren’t my favorite surprisingly as some of them weren’t as sweet as I would have liked. Perhaps that’s the intention as peach custard milk bun and chocolate red bean bolo bao are more Asian inspired?
Ginger Miso Caramel Ganache Éclair, Olive Oil Lemon and Blackberry Tart, and Burnt Honey Pie.
These were much stronger than the pastries and I would go back for her tarts/pies.
Burnt Honey Pie.
The burnt honey pie was actually incredible, no wonder it’s her signature dessert. The pie crust was beautifully golden and filled with a rich honey filling with caramel notes topped with whipped cream and bee pollen. This was stellar and I would go back solely for this dessert!
Olive Oil Lemon and Blackberry Tart with Meringue.
This was also a really solid tart. Flaky pastry, tangy lemon curd, tart and sweet blackberry jam, and fluffy toasted meringue. Definitely a winner in my books.
Grand Opening definitely has some impeccable desserts and while some of the pastries weren’t for me, I would happily go back for her tarts, cakes, pies, and cookies, as those were phenomenal. Therefore, my rating is an 8/10.