San Jose's Vietnamese-Chinese bakery tradition produces some of the best banh bao in the country. Along Story Road in Little Saigon, bakeries specialize in these steamed buns and keep them coming fresh throughout the day, thanks to a customer base large enough that turnover never slows down.
Thanh Huong Bakery top-pick
Thanh Huong's banh bao is San Jose's benchmark — fluffy, slightly sweet dough with a generous filling of pork, Chinese sausage, and a salted egg yolk center. The bakery's high turnover means the buns are constantly being steamed fresh, and you can often get them still warm. The dough is softer and more pillowy than most, with a slight sheen from proper steaming. Buy a bag of six for the family.
Grand Century Mall Bakery best-value
The bakery inside Grand Century Mall serves a more rustic, generously-sized banh bao with a higher filling-to-dough ratio. The pork is more coarsely ground and seasoned with more pepper, and the salted egg yolk is always perfectly cooked. Vietnamese families buy these by the bagful for breakfast and snacking.
Coffee Lovers Bakery hidden-gem
Coffee Lovers Bakery's banh bao is slightly smaller and more refined — a nice pairing with their Vietnamese coffee for a quick breakfast. The dough is properly fluffy, the filling is well-seasoned, and the salted egg yolk is present and properly runny. It's the banh bao you grab on the way to work.nnWhether you like your banh bao pillowy and classic or rustic and generously st￭, Story Road's bakeries deliver all day long.