Buko Bakes

Mango bars are good!!! the purple don't look too good, not sure what they are made of, why are they purple. I will need to ask next time.

A new dessert stand at the Ferry Building Farmers Market on Saturdays. The main trend seems to be taking old school American comfort treats and adding some non-traditional flavors. I'm really digging the creativity.Mango Jam Bar: These were awesome! Reminds me of traditional jam bars, but the sweet and sticky mango was way better than the well-known raspberry or peach. Funny how one little tweak makes it feel brand new. I like how it was jam heavy with enough butter dough on the bottom and crunchy crumbles on top to help you carry the jam to your mouth.Ube Jam Bar: I'm generally a fan of ube since I love it's pasty sweetness. And I did like it in bar form. But the amazing mango bar is such a high bar (so to speak)! This was one was a little less sweet and little less sticky. Probably better to pair with tea or coffee.Pandan Macaroon: Love the aroma of pandan. What great way to jazz up a coconut macaroon. Which makes a lot of sense since pandan and coconut are often paired together. Not as moist as the bars, but that's just the nature of macarons.Pandan Blondie: More like Greenie than a Blondie, due to the pandan coloring. Cakey with lots of chocolate chips like the original blondie, but with a subtle pandan aroma. Very comforting.Ube Rice Krispies Treat: I'm such a sucker for marshmallow and rice krispies desserts. It's like an elementary school throwback. Except these are bright purple due to Ube. Enjoyed the novel twist and colorful sprinkles topping.Halo Halo Cookie: Really enjoyed this one. So many different bits of chewy things into an ube cookie.Ube Crinkle Cookie: Like a chocolate crinkle cookie, but with ube. Really enjoyed how this wasn't as sweet as a tradition crinkle.

Buko Bakes offered up 7 different items (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/buko-bakes-san-francisco?select=t2382NdOBji5O2Yuboqn5Q) at the recent Yum Yams Ube Festival at Kapwa Gardens, and since I had never tried any of their creations I purchased one of everything (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/buko-bakes-san-francisco?select=mlml4Ldmq6QyslTOswTQMw).Before I get to my review of their product though let me say that the ladies who staffed this booth were amazing, funny, generous, gracious and helpful from event set up to the actual event itself to event teardown they were an absolute pleasure to work with (I was there as a volunteer).So if you read my ABACA review you'll understand my circumstance once I returned home exhausted from this event and my mind in a fog that I gave away the ube cake donut and the ube macaroon, but at least I got to try 5 of the 7 items I purchased. Of those 5 items 4 stood out for me. I wish I had taken individual photos of everything, but I did not.The Halo Halo Fudge (https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/buko-bakes-san-francisco?select=lxwz6NvSO2btAKz9_j2vGA) was my absolute favorite with it's different flavors and textures as a result of it's components which consisted of sweet mung bean, mango bits, coconut, white chocolate chips, caramel bits, crunchy nuts, banana chip bits and probably more all nestled inside a chewy ube confection.The Halo Halo Cookie was equally as enjoyable in a chewy ube cookie form with seemingly fewer components.The Ube Jam Bar I liked more for the buttery dough and rolled oats which sandwiched the thin film of ube jam. At the time of my purchase I was asked if I wanted a chewy middle piece or a crispy corner piece. I chose the latter and it was a win-win for it was both crispy and chewy!The Ube Rice Crispie actually tasted like any other crisped rice and marshmallow treat but made more fun by it's purple color and the assortment of colorful sprinkles on top.I hope to come across Buko Bakes again for more Halo Halo treats and maybe try some of their non-purple treats.

Another find from going to the market. They actually started here on Saturday 11/7th but there was line so I waited the following week to give this a try. Supported by La Coccina, this business should get decent visibility from selling here. As I walked up to the table, I studied the menu board and decided to try three items. I bought a mango green tea (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=kiOqrlYBamVBOq-IrHAiPA&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q) which I drank as I shopped on this cool Saturday morning. The flavors were nice, not too tropical and, unlike most teas, it wasn't buried in ice. Only suggestion is that they have lids for their drink as I used my cart as a cupholder and, typical SF style, the pot holes in the sidewalk/driveway caused some spillage. My other selections were for later as I needed to finish my morning errands before enjoying them. Later that day, I tried the Pandan banana bread muffin; the color struck me funny from the description but, after taking that first bite, it was astonishingly good as there's something to be said about banana and chocolate chips (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=cyTV5qzChaWhed72TjjHVw&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q). Feeling guilty, I tried the mango bar (https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=JD5oi6WtJJ2ncZqRgoNGIw&userid=saJuyv784apZzH--psHZ3Q) a day later and this was also surprising in a good way. There was actually texture with this as I forgot to ask the ingredients before leaving. It was like eating a health food or energy bar. Best thing was that it was not overly sweet. Good to see sprouting businesses trying to get their products out there, especially if they are good quality and reasonably priced. Let's see what they have for this Saturday.

I love these treats! It's always such a pleasure to see Buko Bakes at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. Their desserts are so unique, beautiful, and tasty. I was initially drawn in the by ube rice crispies treat, which is purple with fun sprinkles, but I've really fallen in love with the ube crinkle cookies. It's also purple. Who knew that I would love purple foods so much??? Buko Bakes is a La Cocina-born business, and my understanding is that there is a rotating La Cocina booth at the Farmer's Market. That is how I got to enjoy these treats almost every single Saturday in April. I think Buko Bakes may be out until June, though I saw them on May 1 and definitely got more crinkle cookies. I'm actually not much of a sweets person, but apparently I love ube- anything. I've also tried the mango jam bar and the pandan blondie-- both are good but I just love the ube- stuff so much. I kinda hesitate to evangelize about the crinkle cookies because they definitely sell out in the morning and I suspect I am sowing the seeds of my own future disappointment when they sell out of the crinkle cookies before I get there... Before I actually tried any of their stuff, I had some sticker shock at the prices but I've now decided it is worth it considering: 1) the high quality of the treats; 2) I have no idea where else I could possibly find anything similar; 3) it's tough to have a small business in San Francisco; and 4) I'm glad to be able to support a woman-owned business. Also, probably a positive for it to be cost-prohibitive for me to eat a dozen of these cookies in one sitting (which is good for my health). Strongly recommend that you keep an eye out for this business! The yelp website link may be wrong because I tried to click through and it's didn't work. Here's the correct site and oh, apparently you can order online! https://buko-bakes.square.site/s/order That's gonna be not great for my wallet and my waistline if I'm no longer beholden to the Farmer's Market schedule.