Beard Papa - San Francisco - 3.5/4 stars

Visited on: Sep. 13, 2006

Cuisine type: Japanese pastry, specializing in puff

Comment: Highly recommended, but should be eaten very very quickly, preferably right away. AND get a napkin, the filling is sooooo rich and drippy. All in a most excellent way.

Note: The 3.5/4 is because sometimes the quality could be inconsistent.

Ordered items:
Vanilla bean puff
Chocolate puff
Cheesecake stick
Pumpkin puff
General description:
Before even entering the store, you can smell the wonderful aroma of fresh baked pastry, totally tantalizing. Beard Papa is a Japanese chain with franchises around the world. I first learned about it in Asia, so I'm really excited to learn that a store opened in SF. The crust is as good as I remembered: crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, lightly salted to balance the sweetness of the fillings. All shells are baked fresh in the day, and custard make several times in the day, hand-filled on the spot. Definitely not your frozen-unfrozen puff. So yummy. Vanilla very refreshing, and chocolate is a smooth dark chocolate. The flavor of the week is caramel, but I didn't get it. I'm so full after 2 puffs...

Updates:
Sep. 23, 2006: Just visited again, tried the pumpkin puff. Not as sweet as others. Equally good.

Basic information:
99 Yerba Buena Laneon Mission Streetbetween 3rd & 4th Streets415.978.9972Mon-Sat: 10am-8pmSun: 10am-6:30pm http://www.beardpapasf.comPls refer to website for menu and price