mahoroba is a cute japanese bakery with a wide selection of savory and sweet pastries. it's…read moredefinitely a to-go place, so service is quick. sometimes there's a long line because the bakery is very popular, but i've never had to wait too long. it seems like they sell out of a lot of pastries by late morning, especially on the weekends.
- bacon & egg (3.5/5): their #3! the egg was cooked well, although the yolk inside was a little dry. the pepper on top added flavor, but it wasn't spread evenly, so some bites were too peppery and some didn't have pepper at all. it could've used more bacon. overall, there wasn't a lot of seasoning, but it was a good breakfast bun
- hot dog (3/5): not the best hot dog bun i've had mostly because of the textures. i liked that i could taste the cheese on the bread, and i also enjoyed the overall flavor with the ketchup drizzle and savory hot dog. the sausage skin was super chewy though, so it was hard to bite through. since the bread was soft and soggy due to the hot dog, the whole bun fell apart while eating it
- teriyaki meat ball (5/5): it didn't look impressive, but it tasted way better than it looked and it was very unique. this was surprisingly my favorite savory bun! the teriyaki sauce was sweet and not too strong. two meatballs was a good amount, and they were cooked well and juicy. the cheese baked into the bread was yummy
- croquette pan (3/5): not a lot of flavor, but some great textures! it had a crunchy exterior with a soft mashed potato filling and some tiny pieces of carrot in it. there was baked cheese and ketchup drizzled over the bread, but i could only taste it in some bites
- kobe cream delight (4/5): their #1, and i could see why! it was filled with a really, really lightly sweet cream. the bun itself was super soft. i thought it was a little boring but a safe bet for most anyone
- sweet cream cheese (4/5): their #2! the filling was like the cream cheese on top of a cream cheese danish, and it wasn't very sweet. i would've preferred it a little sweeter - it was definitely more cream cheesy. i liked the bit of almonds on top
- an pan (4/5): their #4! this had a sweet red bean filling, but it surprisingly didn't taste too strongly of red beans, which i liked. this was probably one of the sweeter buns - some bites were a little too sweet. the filling on mine was unevenly spread, so one side was mostly bread and the other had too much filling. i loved the black sesame seeds on top
- anpanman choco (4/5): their #5! the filling was like a sweet dark chocolate. it was good, but i prefer creamier or milky chocolate fillings. the bun was so cute!
- double chocolate bun (4/5): similar to the anpanman choco but with a crunchy chocolate shell. the shell tasted like the chocolate glaze on a donut, with a dark chocolate filling inside. it surprisingly wasn't too sweet and of course very chocolate-y. i couldn't taste the flavor of the filling as much as the anpanman choco because of the sweeter shell
- green tea sunrise (3/5): a little plain compared to other sunrise buns i've had. i really love when the top is dusted with enough sugar so there's a bit of a crunch, but the top on this sunrise wasn't very crumbly and the bun was more chewy. the green tea taste was very subtle
- blueberry cream cheese pie (5/5): my favorite pastry overall! this was one of the best blueberry cream cheese pastries i've ever had. the pastry was so flaky, and it contained the perfect amount of filling. it had a really good blueberry flavor with the perfect amount of cream cheese.
- raspberry cream cheese (4.5/5): it had a custard filling similar to the bottom of a cream cheese danish, and the cream cheese was very light. it was topped with a raspberry whipped cream, which didn't have a lot of raspberry flavor. the two fresh raspberries on top added most of the raspberry flavor. the pastry was still flaky even though it was cold
- strawberry anko fresh cream (4/5): i really liked the combination of red bean with fresh cream for the filling, but i wasn't a big fan of the cold bread texture. it surprisingly wasn't as sweet as i expected, but it was definitely one of the sweeter pastries. there was a good ratio of fresh cream to red bean. i would've loved another fresh strawberry, but one was a treat
mahoroba is one of the few asian bakery options in sacramento, and it's a pretty solid option. i wouldn't say the pastries are extraordinary or novel, but i can tell they're baked with care. the buns are familiar and comforting, and they're very affordable!