Bánh by Lauren

The golden diner line in Chinatown was crazy right at 10am so we found this cute little vietnamese dessert pop up serving up delicious drinks as well. I tried the honeycomb cake and it had such an interesting texture. It was like playing with goo and it was GREEEN. But despite its very bold appearance it was very light in flavor and soft. Made me think of the honeycomb cereal. My friend got the black sesame latte which was so delicious! The inside is so cute and the staff were so sweet. Love stumbling upon such unique gems when plans don't go my way.What we gotBánh Bò Nướng-pineapple cakeMorning glory, chili garlic & cheddar sconeBlack Sesame LatteLoose Leaf Tea - Red Oolong

As a price agnostic review, I rate it 5/5! I loved the honeycomb cake which was a perfect flavor and texture. Chewy inside, nice outer crispier crust, and "not too sweet" (their slogan lol). The pandan chiffon cake is for those who are looking for something more sweet and had a stronger flavor of pandan. While I downed the honeycomb cake in seconds by myself, the chiffon cake is good to share (ofc feel free to enjoy the whole thing yourself - I ain't judging)!The black sesame latte was REALLY good. Wished I had my milk pills on me to have the regular milk option, but even with the oat milk it still tasted great and 10/10 would order again. The drinks are equivalent cost to other cafes in NYC, while the pastries are sure - more than what you'd pay for other pastries that you can find in Chinatown - but hey it's a small business and it's NYC! The space is pleasant (if you can snag a seat) and I found it was worth the visit to enjoy some Vietnamese pastries!

The extensive lines have subsided at Bánh by Lauren, and so I now decided to venture to the shop that quickly rose to fame as heaven for pandan lovers (a club of which I consider myself a card-carrying member). They offer revised takes on classic Southeast Asian sweets, primarily in a vivid green color that captured the attention of many an Instagram food influencer around the city.I opted for the honeycomb cake, which has only a slight infusion of pandan flavor, but was very pleasantly sweet and chewy. I liked it better than the classic version I've tried at other SEA sweet shops around the city.My espresso was a bit on the acidic side, but otherwise this was an eminently pleasant snack.

Pro-tip: Go on the weekend if you want to try the sesame balls! There's not a ton of seating so plan for that!Highlights: I absolutely love the flavors and the creativity here! My favorite item was the sesame ball because it had mung bean and coconut which I've never had before in a sesame ball. Other yums were the pandan honeycomb cake, the chocolate chip cookie, and the raspberry lychee macaron. I would definitely come back to try some more items like the cassava cake and red oolong macaron.Lowlights: It's definitely a little expensive, especially for $3.50 for a macaron that's on the smaller side.

I came back a 2nd time & tried their other items: 1) morning glory scone, 2) sesame mochi ball with coconut mung bean, 3) thai tea chiffon cake, 4) ca phe chiffon cake. The morning glory scone & sesame mochi ball w/ coconut mung bean was soo delicious! I would reorder these 2 next time again!The thai tea chiffon cake & ca phe chiffon cake were good, but not as amazing as the pandan chiffon cake. If you like coffee, the ca phe chiffon cake would be recommended. The thai tea chiffon cake was ok, probably the weakest in taste.Got the lime drip coffee again - so delicious!

Very pricy for what you get. I had to order two coffees because my first one was an espresso shot a the menu wasn't clear on that.We got the Thai Tea Chiffon Cake and Pandan Chiffon Cake, and only the pandan was good. For $13 per slice, we were sad the Thai tea one was just meh, with weak Thai tea flavor.

First, let me note that I don't like the flavour of coffee, and I can probably count on one hand the number of cups of coffee I've actually enjoyed. But, amazingly my pandan latte here managed to add itself to this ~exclusive ~ list.The pandan flavour (which I love in general) really shone through in this drink and complemented the darker taste of the espresso surprisingly well (didn't cover it up and wasn't overpowering).Paying $7+ for a coffee also does not exactly bring me joy, but this is NYC I guess (and if I had to buy a coffee from anywhere it might as well be here!!)I'm... not sure if I'd order this drink again (remember how I mentioned I don't like coffee), but their pastries and some of their other drinks look really appetising, so I'd love to come again to give it a try.Also, they don't have the the biggest storefront (understandably), so seats were a little bit hard to come by. It was pretty busy when we came around 10am on a Sunday -- we got lucky with a table just as this couple left -- but otherwise it was definitely a grab-and-go type of situation for most.

While waiting for my reservation at Golden Dinner I stopped into Banh by Lauren located at 42 Market street I was promptly greeted as I walked in to a cozy space with not much room but modernly decorated. I ordered the Thai tea chiffon cake and a hot chocolate which was not on the menu but they were happy to make. Hot chocolate hit the spot with a creamy top froth and rich chocolate body. The Thai tea cake had a light but sweet frosting that tasted like Thai tea, the cake portion was everything you want a chiffon cake to be..spongy, light and fluffy that fit perfectly with the frosting. I suggest you stop by if you have time to spare while waiting for your reservation at golden diner. Enjoy the photos

This is my favorite coffee shop + bakery in New York, but you have to order what's actually worthwhile.Banh cam (fried sesame ball, weekends only), pandan chiffon cake, chocolate chip cookie, and cassava cake are totally worthwhile, in that order. I've returned repeatedly for each of these. All the coffees are great but the salted egg and salted coffees are my favorite coffees in New York.The banh bo nuong (honeycomb cake) was tasty but not something I usually repeat. The pandan coffee cake doesn't have a strong pandan flavor and the topping is pretty lackluster. Hope that helps!

As others have mentioned, the portion size is pretty small for the price. However, the coffee and desserts are well made. The pandan latte was pretty solid, and the pandan coconut honeycomb dessert was so bouncy and delicious!