Chinese Bakery Near Me on Stockton Street: AA Bakery's Owner-Baked Cases

AA Bakery & Cafe opens at 6:30 am every day of the week and stays open until 6:30 pm, and its owners, Henry and Colleen Chen, bake the whole case themselves. The shop is at 1068 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108, and unlike many Chinatown bakeries it takes cash, credit cards and contactless payment, with a possible card fee. If your search for a chinese bakery near me lands you in Chinatown, start with the egg tarts, which come out of the oven by the hundreds every day.

The bakery sits on the Stockton Street block between Washington and Jackson Streets, closer to the Jackson corner, across the street from Good Mong Kok. Chinatown–Rose Pak station on the T Third Street line sits under Stockton at Washington Street, so the walk from the platform to the door is less than a block. That dim sum shop draws its own line before 9 am, so do not mistake its queue for AA's.

Driving is harder. AA's own website points customers to Chinatown park-and-ride options rather than hunting for a curb on Stockton. Muni riders have the easier trip: the station opened in November 2022 as part of the Central Subway, and it is named for Rose Pak, the Chinatown activist who pushed for the line. The T is also the link to Union Square, one stop south, so a pastry run can start downtown.

Owner Henry Chen was born in Xinhui, in Guangdong province. After sixth grade he worked the streets selling bean sprouts and ice cream to help his family, according to the bakery's own story, and he immigrated to San Francisco with his family at 21. He worked in a Chinese restaurant first, then apprenticed under a baking master and worked his way up to pastry and dessert specialist. He is married with two daughters.

Henry and Colleen Chen founded AA Bakery in 2006, per Spotlight Chinatown, a project of the Chinatown Community Development Center. The Chens also run VIP Coffee & Cake Shop on Broadway and Dragon City Bakery & Cafe on Mission Street, and the bakery's website lists all three with their daily hours in 2026. Chen told Mission Local in 2021 that, by his count, many Bay Area Chinese bakeries learned their trade from him.

Chen is also proud of his hometown in the pastry case. Xinhui is known for its dried orange peel, or chenpi, and Chen told The San Francisco Standard in 2023 that he was the first in Chinatown to bake mooncakes with expensive chenpi imported from Xinhui. The peel goes into a red bean paste base, where its slightly salty, sour flavor balances the sweetness of the cake.

Spotlight Chinatown reported that AA makes hundreds of dan tat, the Cantonese egg custard tart, every day, and The Infatuation's 2025 review describes rows of warm egg tarts that never seem to run out. Other signatures listed by Spotlight Chinatown include the seed and nut mooncake and a BBQ beef turnover. Owners Henry and Colleen Chen specialize in puffed pastries filled with curry meat or char siu, as writer Emma Marie Chiang noted.

Do not stop at the front glass. The Infatuation's tip is to turn around and look at the back table, where more pastries sit, along with Lunar New Year cakes in season. Its 2026 bakery guide recommends the loaded ham-and-corn bun, the curry beef bun, walnut cookies and the mango and strawberry mousse cakes. Mooncakes are sold year-round here, and around Mid-Autumn the case adds nian gao in matcha, mango and red bean flavors.

AA's biggest side business is custom cakes. The website says the bakery makes cakes for any occasion with decorations of icing, chocolate, fondant and fruit, and Chen once showed Spotlight Chinatown photos of cakes built as pyramids and dragons. A photo collage of finished cakes covers one wall, so you can point at a design. Custom cakes need at least 3 days' notice, and bulk orders of 100 or more pieces need at least 1 day.

For events, the master baker can also do a live edible decoration demo in front of guests, booked by phone or email for a quote. Special orders are paid at the counter on pickup, and delivery is available for special orders for an added fee. The bakery says the fastest way to get a quote is to come in person, and in the same message it notes that each order helps keep the shop and its employees running.

The few tables inside belong to the neighborhood regulars. The Infatuation describes them chatting over the cases, and Spotlight Chinatown wrote that some regulars ride the bus in from other parts of town every day for Hong Kong-style milk tea. Martin Yan, the Yan Can Cook host who leads Chinatown tours, told The Infatuation that what sets AA apart is that the owners make everything themselves, and that any of the bao is a good choice.

The one time to skip a casual visit is the week before Lunar New Year. KTVU reported long lines to the counter in January 2023 as customers queued for new year cake, which is made and sold only in the days leading up to the holiday, and SF Weekly saw lines out the door on weekends in 2021. Come on a weekday morning instead, when the trays are full and the tables are free.

If the tables are taken or the line is long, Plan B is the sister shop, VIP Coffee & Cake Shop on Broadway, a couple of blocks north. The Infatuation says it has a similar menu with more seating, and its September 2026 guide praised the pineapple bun's crunchy, crumbly top and the baked pork chop rice. VIP opens daily at 7 am and closes at 6 pm.

Ross Alley runs one city block between Jackson and Washington Streets, parallel to Stockton and Grant, so it is about a minute's walk from AA. The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory there has been hand-making about 10,000 fortune cookies a day since 1962, according to The Infatuation, on large rotating cast iron griddles that give each cookie its thin crunch. The Infatuation's picks are the green tea and the chocolate-dipped, sprinkle-covered versions, and you can order custom messages.

Ross Alley also hosted the Chinatown Sweets and Pastries exhibit in early 2019, which featured AA Bakery with photographs by Andria Lo and a short film by Emma Marie Chiang. A loop from AA's counter to the alley and back to Chinatown–Rose Pak station takes in the market blocks of Stockton, the cookie griddles and the bakery in one short walk.

AA Bakery & Cafe, 1068 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108, between Washington and Jackson Streets in Chinatown. Open every day, 6:30 am to 6:30 pm. Cash, credit cards and contactless payment accepted, with a possible processing fee on cards. A few tables inside. Custom cakes need 3 days' notice. Nearest transit is Chinatown–Rose Pak station on the T Third Street line.