Phoenix Bakery
969 N Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 628-4642
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 9:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
17 reviews
Glendale, CA
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45 Reviews for Phoenix Bakery
its our family tradition to get a phoenix cake with the strawberries and the coated almonds. we dont experiment with anything else but the strawberry never lets us down. i use to go to the old one down on sunset but that one has been closed for awhile. the prices are getting a bit higher but its worth every penny for some FRESH baked goodness.
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God hates me because he made my mouth bigger than my stomach, and when I die from overstuffing myself with cake...(death by cake - it'll say as my epithet) I'm gonna go to heaven and kill Jesus. Yes! I'm ambitious!
The point being, these cakes are totally mouthgasm, and kind of a big deal. So good you'll be tattooing "strawberry shortcake for lyfe!" across your chest, after first bite.
Goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow.
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It was my moms bday in june, and all she can talk about was this delicious strawberry angels food cake from Phoenix Bakery. I hadnt seen her in over a month and i was already running late so i bought 3 of the largest ones they had. (fairly cheap).
Man was i impressed. It tasted so fresh, almost home-made but better.
i think ive been addicted ever since.
hahaha damn you Phoenix Bakery...!!!!
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If you like big chunks of fresh strawberries in a spongy yellow cake topped with light velvety whip cream, this is the cake for you! I've been working here for about two years and I'm not tired of this cake at all! I'm in love with the fresh whipped cream, it taste like... like... CUTE.
You should also try the almond cookies and sugar butterflies. Whenever I'm packing them up in boxes, I'd save myself a cookie or bow tie, because I can't resist!
Every time I would work here, at least one customer would tell me that Phoenix Bakery has been their childhood bakery, or they drove from Santa Barbara, Riverside, San Diego, or further just to pick something up from Phoenix.
Customer's Favorites: Strawberry Cakes, Butterflies, Almond Cookies, Cha Siu Bow (BBQ Pork Bun), Napoleon, and the Chocolate Eclaires
My Favorites: Strawberry MaryAnne, Cookies and Cream brownie (with nuts), Grand Mariner Cheese Cake, Ha Gow (Shrimp Dumping), Chiffon Roll, and the Curry Bun
Pros: Sells bake goods & dim sum, service, graded "A" for cleanliness, one of the landmarks of Chinatown, Awarded for Best Knot in Wedding Cakes 2008
Cons: Parking, and a bit pricey for the cheap old school Chinese (like myself)
This is a very plain looking bakery at the edge of Chinatown. The people who work here are always very nice to me and it never seems to be too crowded. I pretty much have to stop whenever I am in the area to grab a dozen cookies or a slice of cake or one of their delicious eclairs. Last time I was here I had a chocolate cupcake and their was a surprise nugget of fudge in the middle! I am trying to cut down on sweets (really) but it's just so hard to say no to Phoenix Bakery!
i celebrated 21 years of my life by eating phoenix bakery famous birthday strawberry cake. in every birthday picture you will see me sitting in front of that white cream, almond crusted cake with pink or red creamed roses. i will eat no other cake for my birthday! and when i do..its not the same! my birthday is not complete without one of these cakes!!!
i remember one year i had the chocolate strawberry cake it wasn't the same and i had to go back and get the original cake.
my ex boyfriend dissed my caked before saying he doesn't like creamy cakes and i got mad at him telling him "how dare he say that about my cake you will eat it and love it!!" =]
i hope this place stays forever!..i want to get my wedding cake here too haha . i was sad that the one in Broadway Closed (Lincoln Heights) my aunt worked there when she was in high school and she use to hook it up!
my mom still knows people who still works there they still give us discounts!
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This place is seriously great! My family has been getting their almond cookies since we've been alive, they have to be the tastiest, most authentic cookie ever consumed. I remember way back when, they used to pack the cookies in the pink carboard box, resembles that of a classic donut box (with grease and all staining the box). I remember as a kid I would pick off the almond and just eat the cookie itself. Nowadays, I eat the whole thing. I think every visit to Chinatown, we have to stop by here (if they're open, daytime). Seriously BEST ALMOND COOKIES EVER!
1 Previous Review:
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06/12/2008
5 stars because they have the best almond cookies ever!!!!!!!!!!!!! :d
This review is long overdue, but I thought Phoenix Bakery deserved a recommendation even if it's been a while.
I had my wedding cake done by Phoenix Bakery back in January of 2008. I met with Youlen (who is in charge of wedding cakes) and we talked about cake sizes. I loved that he was not pushy about any "upgrades" and he even recommended that as far as size, the cake that was about 4 portions smaller than my confirmed guest count would be sufficient. The other bakeries I went to pushed larger-sized cakes or an extra sheet cake. Youlen really let me call the shots. He's all business and pretty obsessive about understanding exactly what the bride wants (must've been burned by some bridezillas).
The facility has a very small parking lot, is pretty bare bones, but don't be misled by thinking this is not a top notch bakery. It may be no frills, but the quality and value are outstanding.
After bringing home 3 cake samples for my "sampling party," we selected a simple yellow cake with strawberry custard filling, whipped cream frosting and a plain swiss dot design. (My florist decorated the cake with fresh flowers.)
I whole-heatedly recommend this bakery.
1) The cake tasted DELICIOUS. It was fresh, flavorful and my guests and husband couldn't stop talking about how moist and delicate the cake was. It was the only time I've seen people ask to take some wedding cake home with them.
2) The value of the wedding cake prices is UNBEATABLE. I checked around and there was no comparison.
3) The cake was BEAUTIFUL, exactly as I had ordered.
4) They only do whipped cream frosting, which I LOVE. Fondant may be trendy, but it's pasty and tasteless.
Thank you, Youlen for making my wedding cake perfect! My husband wants to fly out to LA on our anniversary to have some of that cake :)
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I'm totally a fan!!!!
I went there for the Strawberry cake but fell in love with the brownies!!!
OK, so I was a little hesitant, when I decided to order the Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake for my sister's birthday. Based on the reviews, some people really loved it and others not so much, but I decided I would try it myself and see what the rage was about. So when I went to pick up my cake, on Friday, I drove around downtown trying to find the place and apparently I was having a blonde moment because .duh, its in Chinatown. So I walked in with the intention of picking up my cake and running but got distracted by all the yummy pastries. After one glance, it was over, I needed sugar and fast. So I tried the Chocolate Mousse Brownie. Ohmigod, I think was in heaven for that 2 seconds it took me to devour that brownie. It was delicious. The brownie was fresh and the mousse was amazing. As for the cake, yum!!! The cake itself was a bit dry but the combo of strawberry and whipped cream is amazing with yellow cake was the key. The whole cake is covered with whipped cream so you can actually eat it without scraping off cream like you do in most birthday cakes. And I gotta say, the cake was very inexpensive, like 30 bucks for a pretty huge cake. Well, I can say that I loved the cake, but more importantly my sister loved her birthday cake. I love this place, I'm so going back to get a brownie, not today but maybe tomorrow :)
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I know I write alot about bakeries, but truth be told, I barely have a sweet tooth so when it's good, it's REALLY good.
Phoenix Bakery has probably the best cake I have ever had. And I mean, a "I won't share this cake with anyone" kind of cake. You can order it to your liking, but please get the yellow cake with strawberries with the whipped cream topping. They mostly have this cake ready to go in their store and trust me when I tell you, this is not only worth the trip, but worth every bloomin' calorie.
On top of that, the Tres Leche cake is so good you might cry. Just a little but you will.
I urge you -- try this place!
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I've come here on and off years ago and had cakes that were pretty decent from what I recall.
Last weekend I picked up some Chashu Baos for myself and for my retired folks.
The white bread section is really really good, no complaints, it's just pleasant to eat.
The stuffing has too much pork fat than I prefer, I manually picked out the fat as I ate. The flavor of the stuffing is very good with nice aftertaste.
Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake was pretty yummy. Very Chinese, in that it wasn't overly sweet. Just a very light fluffy yellow cake, with an overwhelming amount of barely sweetened whipped cream, and a light layer of strawberry and jelly in the middle with more whipped cream.
My fiance gobbled that stuff up and he generally doesn't like cakes, but then again he doesn't like sweets much.
We also tried the sugar butterflies, which were like fried wonton crisps draped with honey glaze...yet surprisingly not overly sweet either.
They do wedding cakes and we got an estimate. Their prices seem v. reasonable and I think we'll be back!
The Cake is Not a Lie at Phoenix Bakery. This was the signature cake store for me as a child. You knew the cake was going to be tasty if your cousin Mike just came back from The Phoenix Bakery. The quality hasn't changed just my consumption of cake.
Freshly whipped cream, short cake and strawberries.
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Epic. A family friend owns this, and every year at christmas time when he shows up with the butterflies ( the 'bowtie things) I want to high jack the box, go in the bathroom and eat them all. This place is a land mark. In 1985 when my high school took a trip to LA, we went to this place. Its the best.
by the way, butteflies are like philo/wonton dough fried and drizzled ALLL over, with honey.
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Phoenix Bakery has been a major landmark in my history of Chinatown"land", since the early days of my childhood. The staff has changed, the equipment has changed (they have one of the old industrial mixers in the lobby), but the great smells and flavors are still there. It is usually one of my routine stops on my way home through Chinatown especially if there is a spot available in their 4 stall parking lot, and even though street parking is a hassle, the almond cookies are worth the trouble. Plus they have milk in the cute little plastic cartons that go great with the first two cookies you eat out of the dozen you just bought. If an awesome fresh baked almond cookie is what you crave, give Phoenix Bakery a try.
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This is my FAVORITE bakery. I would look forward to my birthday every year because I knew where my cake was coming from!! Sure the strawberry cream filling is awesome, but I prefer the banana filled cake. Eitherway, this place rocks!! Now that I'm engaged I KNOW where my wedding cake is coming from!!
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OH MY GOD. Perfection does exist on earth! Their "Strawberry Cake" is Amazing. Fabulous. Earth-Shattering. Exceptionally good.
Aw, hell. It's simply orgasmic!
Trust.
It is a fluffly mixture of yellow cake, whipped cream and sliced strawberries! Yes! It's worth the trip all the way to downtown!
I am a dessert/cake connoisseur...do not doubt me on this.
I've had this cake for my birthday, almost every year. Almost, because I couldn't bare to have this on my birthday the year that both my Dad and Maternal Grandmother died.
Other than that, this cake makes an automatic apprearance on my birthday.
Hence, I always get the large one. The one that feeds 30 people. And it's all for me, because since I only eat this once a year, I need to make sure that I will be eating this morning, noon and night for at least a week after.
One year I got this cake twice, 'cause both my mom and my boyfriend at the time (who shall remain nameless) did not coordinate and "whoo-hoo" to me...I had enough to share with my former co-workers at Universal Studios.
This Old School bakery rocks!
I used to make sure to stop by and get these little bowtie things everytime i was on the bus in the China town area!! This place is really good and i need to make a trip there soon!! MMMM
We all want to save money on your wedding but you want quality things also.. Phoenix Bakery came thru.. Our wedding cake was a simple but tasty delight that made it very memorable.. Youlen (the owner) was a trip to deal with but he knows his cakes and designs well.. Very practical with his advice.. His surfing stories in Malibu were quite interesting.. If u want a great cake that is light, and tasty, and classy, Phoenix Bakery is the place to go...
Old School bakery located in the northern section of Chinatown. I go here for only one item, the crispy butterflys. No other bakery has better tasting butterflys aka honey twists. This bakery still reminds me of the bakeries I went in the 70's, You can still get your birthday cake decorated with plastic palm trees and other plastic toys.
Been a loyal customer for 20 years. I don't mind the drive all the way by downtown for a slice of their strawberry cake. No one does it like Phoenix. and the prices... unreal. This place tops my list of cake-spots. Nothing else can compare.
If you're ever in Chinatown, be sure to stop at this bakery. It sells dim sum for a very inexpensive price. I got a steamed chicken bun, pork and shrimp dumplings, and a couple of pieces of bread for about sixty five to seventy five cents each... In all, I spent less than $5. The dim sum was very tasty....It's a great place to use your loose change for a satisfying snack.
I tried a slice of the Strawberry MaryAnn cake and a Mexican Wedding cookie. I wasn't impressed with either one.
The strawberry MaryAnn tasted like a dry shortcake with artificial strawberry syrup. The only plus about this cake was the tiny amount of custard filling hidden underneath the syrupy strawberries.
The Mexican Wedding cookie wasn't that great either. I suppose it's a nice sweet little cookie but Mexican Wedding cookies baked from scratch taste 10x better.
Word of this allegedly scrumptious 'Strawberry Cake' reached my ears, and I promptly dispatched the Katie to fetch me some. She returned with two bricks of cake for me, and one for herself -- because Katie damned well knows her place. The cake was spongy, fresh, and the cream topping complemented it very nicely in terms of flavor. I do, however, have a complaint: there wasn't nearly enough 'strawberry' going on with this cake. I mean, there's no strawberry inside the cake, there's no strawberry in the cream... there's just one fat strawberry sitting on top, and if that wasn't there, it would just be plain old vanilla cake. What gives, Phoenix?
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I used to drive by this place all the time, but never tried it. Then one of my friends went on and on about the strawberry cake and the tres leches. So I finally stopped in and got a slice of both...oh my god, soooo good! The whipped cream is the best whipped cream I've ever had. I crave it all the time. Last time I was there I tried a couple of the pastries...yeah, not so good. I'll just stick with the cakes.
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I agree with others about the Strawberry Cake experience, but the other goodies are to die for. For instance they have one of the most dense and amazing custard filled chocolate clair I have ever had.
This is not your average clair, because it must weigh at least .5 lbs - you need two hands to manage it (it's served on a small plate with a fork!). And, I know what your thinking, is it bland, is it just filler? Nope, it's super creamy, dreamy custard'y goodness, all nestled between buttery pastry dough glazed in chocolate....mmmm
Need I say more?
Check it out, and imho, skip the Strawberry Cake and go for the Choco-clair Gold!
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crack cake.
i don't understand.
it's so delicious, my body feigns for it.
honey twists. mmm. they look like deep-fried bowties smothered in honey. they've recently made miniatures. best thing ever.
it's amazing.
i'm going to have them make my wedding cake.
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4 stars. Why not 5? I really don't know... a cake is a cake is a cake, right? Chinatown is just not as convenient, especially to park. The strawberry cake is among the better ones out there, mainly due to the freshness of the velvety whipped cream (light, not overpoweringly sweet) and the freshness of the strawberries. I like the shaved almonds used to dress the sides of the cake. They even make a tiny 5" or 6" round cake. You can have them square, if that's your preference.
What I really like about Phoenix are its pastries. My favorites are the napoleon and the tres leches cake. Sure, their tres leches has a Chinese spin to it, but it retains all the goodness of the original without being overly soggy or thick. Pretty well balanced, with a slight bias toward the (again) velvety whipped cream. The tarts, eclairs and other cream/mousse-filled goodies are appetizing as well, but the napoleon and the tres leches really get me going. You can also get almond cookies and butter cookies. I have gone on Saturday mornings and bought some dim-sum style goodies: har-kau, siu-mai, char siu buns (steamed or baked).
Verdict: heaven might look like Phoenix bakery with ample free parking and a great espresso bar.
My favorite almond cookie is from here. Its lite crispy and fluffy. I always try to pick up a box ever time I go to China town except for recently because I am getting older and its harder to keep that butter off my ass. The place is a good take away place. It has cheepy plastic tables and chairs.
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So I went here expecting a CHINESE bakery, one that served chinese bakery things like buns with cheese and ham, egg tarts, sponge cakes, etc. You would know these things if you went to chinese bakeries with your chinese family when you were a kid.
Not so! They don't have ANY of that stuff here! It's just a regular bakery with a bunch of Chinese people working in it! What a gyp!
So anyway I ended up getting this strawberry tart which was great (is that the cake thing everyone is talking about?) and also these deep fried sweet twists that are traditionally chinese. They were good but I was still super dissappointed to find that they don't sell egg tarts or pineapple buns. :(
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I no longer get birthday cakes here. The strawberry cream cake is okay, but certainly not worth the physical hassle. I hated having to juggle a cake (in a box that doesn't fit, as Lisa points out) in one hand while maneuvering through the sardine can crunch of the parking lot.
Tis a family tradition to buy birthday cakes from here... though that tradition has died down the past two decades... WHY?
I'll have to ask.
... but it's STILL nice to be able to reminisce over how we could NEVER celebrate a birthday properly without a strawberry whipped cream frosting cake from Phoenix...
I enjoy their strawberry cake. It's light and not excessively sweet. Plus they've been here for so long you got to support them.
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OK, call me a party pooper. I really don't understand the fascination with the strawberry cream cake everyone here is raving about.
I stopped by here after the Empress Pavilion to see what's all the fuss about this super Strawberry cake I am missing out on. Usually I am pretty good in finding out about bakery goods. To me, I think I'm a bakery hunter and a donut connoisseur. Nothing escapes me. If I heard about it, I'm one of those standing in line for it. Even Beard Papa don't escape me.
So it was a news to me that this place is the king of a Strawberry Cream cake place. Obviously I got to check it out. This place is located very close Queen Bakery and Wonder Bakery. Three bakeries within 3 minutes of a walk is a killer competition.
Walked right in and proceed to scan the place for that cake. Took about 12 seconds before locating that piece. The girl behind the counter was done with the customer ahead of me and proceed to help me. I ordered that slice of cake, chocolate mousse cake, and a chocolate cream horne.
Interestingly they don't have coffee or hot chocolate at the time. So, it's only milk (which is OK) and sodas (which is not OK) for your desserts. Oh, I scanned the place....no Pineapple buns. FYI.
Three tables to sit and eat if you want to quickly eat that bite. There was a steady stream of customers so this place is humming all the time. Very popular indeed. So I was think at the time in that I'm so out of the loop.
Took a bite of that famous Strawberry cake... the verdict....
It tasted........ very dry.
The chocolate ones are good. So in essence, is the strawberry cream cake overrated? You will have to decide for yourself.
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When I have a serious yen for almond cookies. Phoenix is the place for them. I can just sit in a corner and just eat them all day. Whenever we get something from there it is a special occasion just because it came from there. [same applies to Portos and Big Sugar Bake]. I don't go so often b/c parking can be so L.A.
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This sh*t is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
We had a half-banana/half-strawberry cake from here last night to celebrate Carmen's birthday. It was the first time I'd tried the banana cake and it was like I was a monkey or something. I almost ate the whole half-pound piece Carmen cut for me.
So, so very yummy!
BEST. STRAWBERRY. CAKE. EVER.
I love this place. But my aunt and cousin always make runs to this place for assorted family members' birthdays. I think they just want any excuse to eat one of their heavenly cakes. It's kind of in a seedy area, but with cake this tasty who cares??
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I am not a fan of "birthday cakes" -but this place has a different approach. Their frosting is whipped and light and they use fresh fruit that is really refreshing. Their cakes are so light and unique. Get one for a party for a surprising change of pace.
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This cake is awesome (but there is a cheaper and more reliable version in Gardena...see my Sweeties Bakery review). The cake itself is spongy, and the whipped cream frosting is perfect.
BUT, the damn cake doesn't fit in the box. They always have to tape it cracked open so that the decorative flowers don't become destroyed. I don't get this. I asked them about this once, about why they don't just order bigger boxes. They said it would cost them more money and asked if I would like to pay extra for a box that fit. I said no. I'd rather have a box that fit for no extra money, because you expect your food to fit in its box!! This sounds like a dumb argument, but because of this situation, if you don't eat all the cake at once, or if you don't store it in a great big plastic container, the cake gets dried up faster, since there isn't even a cardboard seal.
Secondly, I've had a few dried cakes here, which is a horrible surprise when it's a gift for your mom or grandma. Surprise!! Dried cake for you! Happy birthday!
Don't get me wrong. For every dried cake that I've bought, I've been given 20 great and fresh cakes. But one dry cake is one dry cake too many.
That's why....even though I love this place, Sweeties Bakery in Gardena is much better. I've NEVER gotten a dry cake there, and cakes are about half the price. And dude, they fit in the box. Apparently they can purchase containers that actually "contain" their product without charging their customers extra. Humph!
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I'm over the whole thing about people complaining about parking, or convenience or whatever. Some of the best hole-in-the-wall places are hard to get to, or park, or whatever. We live in this world of go-go-go and drive thru service and whatnot. Slow the F**K down. I appreciate the finer things in life. That doesn't mean the most expensive, or flashiest car or crap like that, but when I find something truly good, I appreciate it. People on here comparing the cakes to Von's bakery is a joke. American's are so used to overly sweet everything. A typical cake from 99% of bakeries in this country will have SWEET cake, SWEET frosting. SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR. Yeah, I love my sweets like the rest, but some of the best pastries in the world take the approach of Phoenix Bakery. Where less is more. You can actually eat a large piece of cake and not feel like you have a lead weight in your stomach. Good ingredients and fresh light whipped cream, fresh strawberries, make these cakes special. Sure, they have other things, but they are famous for those particular cakes. When you do something well, people will want them, and when you go there, you can find any size you want. They make hundreds because the demand is huge. If you have a birthday coming up and want a special taste in your mouth. Pick up one of these, and compliment it with good ice cream such as Bryer's and let your taste buds do the happy dance. I'm not even going to comment on parking or having to go to Chinatown. Take a friend. Drop him/her off (if you cant park) go around the block, and you're off again. Yes, this cake is worth it.
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