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Bread Corner, Chinese Bakery on Hungerford Drive in Rockville - Annandale Branch has Closed


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I think it's really bad for my car to want to keep making the drive from Arlington to Upper Rockville every week, but I just cannot resist buying this type of comfort food I grew up with! I am talking about Chinese buns -- you know, the ones filled with pork sung or custard or cream or red bean?

Well, you can find this type of bread readily in Rockville now at Bread Corner, next to Mama Wok Teriyaki in that tucked away corner of the Giant Shopping Center on Hungerford Drive.

They have a good variety cross of both Taiwanese-styled buns, ones topped with puffed pastry or sprinkled with matcha and filled with azuki-mochi, or Cantonese-styled buns like Chicken bun or custard-filled ones, with those familiar if you have frequented Maria's Bakery before. The chef/owner studied in both Hong Kong and Taiwan, apparently.

I also have liked their portuguese-styled egg tarts as well as the regular ones.

There isn't really seating; I think maybe one or two tables with 5-6 chairs at the most.

The breads are mostly consistent, but sometimes with the underbaked feel. The other thing I haven't really liked are their cakes. I am planning to try a few more though. The current problem is that they are not as spongy as Asian cakes should be.

I have gone several times now, and even though I get the same things, I see a good rotation of different types of bread flavors/toppings. They also have your usually coffee & tea with bubbles.

Bread Corner
591 Hungerford Drive
Rockville, MD 20850

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This exciting little bakery has been in operation for about a year and a half, but I had no idea it existed, tucked around the corner from the Giant in downtown Rockville in the same strip mall as a Mama Wok location and Atlantic Guns & Archery.

Inside is a dizzying array of fresh baked goods, mostly sweet or savory Chinese buns of different varieties, but also croissants...and some odd crossover varieties as well. I couldn't bring myself to try a seaweed and (can'tremember) croissant, but the custard-filled pineapple bun was delicious - and only one of several varieties of pineapple buns. And downright cheap, at a buck-and-a-half. They were already out of numerous items when I stopped by in the mid-afternoon, including the Portuguese egg tarts and the bubbles for the bubble tea, but a light but steady stream of customers suggests that it's already a favorite with the local Chinese community.

Okay, so the fact that they greeted me in Mandarin was also a tip-off. Fortunately they (or at least some of the staff) speak English too.

According to the Gazette write-up from early summer (scroll past the York Castle part), owner Danny Song learned both pastrymaking and hotel management while studying and working in Switzerland, which explains the unusual versatility of the menu. I need to recon this place in the morning hours when they're freshly stocked up.

591 Hungerford Drive, in the Rockville City Centre strip mall. At the light, turn into the Giant driveway, and take the first possible right around the end of the strip mall. Bread Corner is the second or third storefront to your left.

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Iirc, it's a seaweed wheat croissant.

From Monday through Thursday or Friday, it's buy 5 get 1 free promotion. They used to run it all days, but their popularity has expanded.

Next time try their pineapple square cookies (鳳梨酥) - it's a little man fave as well as their taro pastry.

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After a week plus in Hong Kong last month, I'm craving chinese bakeries. Why did I not come here before? Anyway, rectified now. I got to Bread Corner late in the day yesterday, and there were only two lonely croissants left: a regular one and a seaweed one. With a shrug, I went ahead and got them both. Nick declared the regular one quite good this morning. But the seaweed one that I had was excellent. The effect was (to me, at least) really quite subtle-- just a hint of savory, in amongst the layers of buttery goodness.

The bubble tea I had was also quite good; they asked upfront how sweet I wanted it, and made it accordingly. as a result, my bubble tea was just right.

I should make my way through the rest of the buns first, but I'll definitely be back.

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We don't actually go to Bread Corner that much anymore--we find that when we are usually there on the weekend, not long after they open, they don't have much selection. For that reason, we now go more often to Asian Bakery--just down Hungerford Drive in the same plaza as Mama Dumpling.

But the chocolate croissant at Bread Corner remains, for me, the most splendid chocolate croissant I've had, outrageously buttery, chocolate-y, and sinful.

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We don't actually go to Bread Corner that much anymore--we find that when we are usually there on the weekend, not long after they open, they don't have much selection.

But the chocolate croissant at Bread Corner remains, for me, the most splendid chocolate croissant I've had, outrageously buttery, chocolate-y, and sinful.

They used to do that, but in the past month, I've noticed that they've gone back to the old way--stocking everything in the morning. You can always, as they have done in the past, phone your order in, tell them what time you will pick up, and they will have it ready for you. It has made things very easy for me when I needed to buy a lot for family. ^^

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Now open in Annandale! Friend just told me about it, but apparently it has opened since January or February. Next to HMart Annandale's location at

7867 Heritage Drive.

 

Goodeats, have you (or anyone else) been to both locations, and if so, how would you compare the two?

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I've been to the Annandale one only.  It's a small shop, about 1/4 the selection as the nearby Breeze Bakery, without the coffee/tea/gelato service and much shorter hours, but I like their cookie selection better, and the walnut raisin bread is a brioche with a massive swirl of fat raisins, cinnamon, nuts, etc., that it could almost double as a dessert.  

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 Goodeats, have you (or anyone else) been to both locations, and if so, how would you compare the two?

My understanding is that the owners/partners have found a production kitchen to bake more goods. It's supposed to be the same, but the quality at Annandale seems a bit inferior compared to Rockville's, so I rather make the trek up north. But it's been about two months since I've gone to the one in Annandale, so hopefully the consistency has improved (I heard the owners have been polling regular customers the same question).

The new production kitchen has allowed Bread Corner to begin retail sales on a small selection of breads at the Bangkok 54 market and at the Super H, so it is slightly more convenient if you just want to pick 1 or 2 up to go. The prices at Bangkok 54 and Super H have a $0.10 markup compared to the bakery on the 1 or 2 breads I took a quick glance at, fwiw.

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Now open in Annandale! Friend just told me about it, but apparently it has opened since January or February. Next to HMart Annandale's location at

7867 Heritage Drive.

Am not sure what has happened, but this location closed. A new bakery will open soon. I cannot recall the new name. Bangkok 54 is no longer carrying their breads, but Good Fortune supermarket in FC is now.

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