This might be one of the most overrated bakeries in the east bay. Yes, the vibes are cute and the staff are nice, but the food and drinks are overpriced and average. The food looks good, but the taste does not live up to the looks. The bakery is small, so it's going to be take-out only. I tried a passionfruit mochi donut, mochi muffin, and some drink from here. The mochi donut is nasty and tasted stale. It didn't have the chewiness and "bounciness" that you get from other mochi donut shops. Maybe it's the kind of donut that you need to reheat for it to be good. But I've had mochi donuts from other stores that I've left out for a few days with very little compromise in texture. The icing just tasted like generic artificial flavoring and sugar and was a bit too sweet. I guess it kind of tasted like a bagel with icing on top? Very weird. The mochi muffin is their flagship product, so much so that a few years ago, they actually trademarked the term "mochi muffin" and sent cease & desist letters to other bakeries that tried to sell mochi muffins. That was a whole thing. Anyway, back to the muffins. They suffer from the same issue as the mochi donut - they're supposed to be mochi muffins but they're just not that chewy. Maybe there's no mochi in them? It just tastes like a regular muffin but softer and smaller. There was nothing memorable about the drink. I think I got something citrusy? I just remember that it was too sweet. Unfortunately didn't take any photos, but none of the items tasted good enough to deserve a photo anyway. read more

I have been craving matcha lately. The matcha donut was so good. The iced strawberry matcha latte was also delicious. Staff is always kind and friendly. read more

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Obsessed with the mochi muffins, mochi donuts, and variety of matcha lattes they serve here. One of my favorite bakeries in Berkeley! Third Culture is currently expanding to their 6th location all over the Bay Area! The story behind the bakery and the owners is truly inspiring. My favorites: original mochi muffin - its a classic amazing texture and flavor, with sesame seeds on top matcha mochi muffin - tastes just like a matcha latte in a chewy sweet treat passionfruit mochi donut - sour but tangy passionfruit flavor with a soft, mochi consistency as a donut strawberry lychee matcha latte - smooth and strong matcha with a fruity strawberry lychee base read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - Strawberry lychee matcha latte and strawberry lychee roasted matcha latte - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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The owners of this burgeoning bakery chain had a challenging summer, but the subject of the social media chatter wasn't that relevant to me as a consumer. Instead, I was focused on how they were capitalizing on the global mochi craze by specializing on mochi muffins and doughnuts, but I know the fad really started with sweet variations on dim sum and has evolved into mochi doughnuts and even mochi ice cream. At this point, Im just waiting for mochi pretzels and bagels. I visited in early June and the West Berkeley shop was quite an explosion in pink. Once I adjusted my eyes to their display case, I saw several temptations that I thought I could share with Jamie W. when I got home. There weren't any other customers in the middle of the afternoon, and it didn't appear the staff was interested in chatting. I just randomly picked four of them based on my own sweet tooth predilections: Matcha, Ube, Churro, and Chocolate Brownie. They were $4.15 each (photo: https://bit.ly/3Agcg7S). As a thoughtful bonus, the owner added a complimentary butter mochi doughnut. It was a latte-flavored variation and quite unlike the 'pon de ring' style you would get at Mochill or Mochinut. I liked it because it was more like an actual doughnut. Of the muffins, the Churro and Chocolate trumped the more subtle Matcha and Ube, but frankly I wouldn't have bypassed any of them in a box. Clearly they must be doing something right as they've opened at least two other locations. And yes, I left some for Jamie. Don't judge me. FOOD - 4 stars...tasty and just chewy enough with the mochi AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...if you like pink SERVICE - 3.5 stars...let's just say I understand their tentative approach TOTAL - 4 stars...a good once-in-a-while treat if you're a mochi maven RELATED - Exploring Berkeley? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2CbVh8u read more

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Still loving the mochi donuts and matcha latte with oatmilk. Adding picture as an ode to the guava donut - it may not be the brightest colored donut, but it IS the tastiest in my book read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - Guava cheesecake mochi donut - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Coffee was delicious. Had a lot of interesting flavor combos. Didn't try any mochi donuts this time but would try next time

We recently stopped by for the new year black sesame event; we got a black sesame latte with soymilk and a black sesame mochi waffle. The waffle was nice--good texture, good nutty sesame balance, and this time the cereal bits worked well to complement the sesame cream. Not sure if the bananas were the best fruit pairing, though. I would, though, get it again. As for the latte, not too sweet (always good). read more

Obsessed with all their desserts! Never loved mochi desserts until I tried this place. The owners and their story behind the store is so cute and it is amazing to see their dream come to life and continue to expand. 1000% recommend trying their mochi muffins, donuts, and banana bread. The donut have such unique, yummy flavors and the muffins are personally my favorite considering the texture. The banana pudding mochi bread (I believe it is seasonal) but it was *chefs kiss*. Tastes amazing warmed up with a nice, cold glass of milk. I love the edges and put it in the air fryer for a minute to make the edges a bit more crispy and it was perfect! I def have to ALWAYS make a stop at Third Culture every time I am in the area. read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

**3.5 stars** I always hear about Third Culture, so it has been on my bucket list for the longest time. When I finally got to try it, I was a little disappointed. I got one of the matcha drinks, and it was good. They are also known for their mochi donuts. They have so many flavors to choose from. I personally did not like the texture and how it's more chewy. I just came in with really high expectations, so take my review with a grain of salt. Worth trying to see what the hype is about, but it is not a place I am dying to go back to. I do like how they have seasonal items, though. read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Like wow oh wow! What a treat! It was hard not to get every flavor, but if you do, no one would judge you. My favorites were guava, churro, and the original. Staff was friendly and welcoming. I do suggest taking a picture of the flavors so you will remember what you got. Definitely would go back! Highly recommend. Yum yum! read more

I've been waiting years to finally be able to see the mothership, since I first had their mochi donuts somewhere here in the Bay Area at a boba shop.... So it was fun to finally see where it all began! So one black sesame donut for me, and four to go to surprise my honey. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't really any place to sit and enjoy my donut, at least not indoors on a rainy afternoon. It looks like some nice benches outside for when the weather is nice, but not my luck today. IDK I think I was hoping for a transcendent experience since their story is so positive and strong, as is their social media. Still, they make great stuff, it was nice to see their store. read more

Food: I got a bunch of stuff, not everything was my favorite but that's just personal preference, for the things I did like, they were all good! Definitely won't get this many mochi donuts unless I'm sharing because it felt so fatty I couldn't finish As for the drinks their hojicha or roasted matcha is really good and the lychee I didn't really like Service: Standard and friendly service, I've been here a few times and some employees are definitely friendlier than others like with any place, but they're pretty helpful if you have questions and overall service is good! Ambiance: The store is a little small with a large (open?) kitchen but it is decorated and super cute! read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - mochi donuts and muffins - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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i loved the concept of mochi pastries and unique matcha drinks, but it was just ok. i got a mochi donut, but it was so hard and felt like it was sitting out for a long time, even though i literally went in the morning. kind of disappointing the matcha was good, but the lychee flavor was barely there. the drinks are great for pictures, but i wouldn't go out of my way to come again. read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - lychee rose matcha, lychee matcha sparkler - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

Mochi pastries haul! I always see beautiful and yummy pictures of these and I'm so glad to finally try them. There are so many delicious flavors and the texture is that perfect dense chewiness. Their bread pudding was ok but was a bit too moist for me; I liked the edge pieces more since it had more of that chew. Service was sweet and friendly. Plenty of parking on the streets in this location. Can't wait for their other locations to open so I can have easier access to them Flavors: *Black Sesame Butter Mochi Muffin *Ube Mochi Butter Muffin *Buko Pandan Butter Mochi Donut *Yuzu Lemon Butter Mochi Donut *Roasted Matcha Butter Mochi Donut *Thai Tea Butter Mochi Donut *Guava Cheesecake Butter Mochi Donut *Mango Passionfruit Butter Mochi Donut read more

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The best doughnuts I've ever had. We ordered two doughnuts - a guava cheesecake and ube and two muffins - black sesame and churro. Across the board, the group I was with rated the guava cheesecake as the top pick. It was very flavorful and the texture is so gooey and chewy in the best way. The black sesame muffin was also another high rated if you like black sesame. If you like mochi, you'll love this place. The service was very friendly even when we came in 4 minutes to closing! They also had a variety of drink options that we didn't get to dive into but I definitely will next time! read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - The inside and menu - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Came on a weekday afternoon. Parking was all on the street, free, and easy. Shop is very small and does not have seating inside. Had 1-2 other customers so the wait isn't long. Thai tea donut - Thai tea flavor wasn't really there Black sesame donut - pretty good Ube donut-bomb!! Best one. Must get Pandan donut - pretty good as well Yuzu lemon donut - good amount of sour from lemon Ube muffin - muffins were a bit dry but still had good flavor Black sesame muffin - same as above Pretty expensive for all the mochi. Definitely chewy and good texture but not worth a second visit. read more

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Fun place! If you're looking for a cafe/coffee shop kind of spot that a lot of locals have heard of, this is it (: Third Culture bakery has a great story, good products and in my mind it's one of the original mochi donut/muffin places before a bunch of the newer spots opened up in the last several years. The product is consistent and always a yummy snack option! They also have some fun merch inside and you already know their stuff is very ig post worthy as well. I recommend supporting this place over newer random mochi donut shops. read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - Banana Mochi Bread Pudding, Strawberry Lychee Matcha Latte, 3 donuts: Guava Cheesecake, Mango Passionfruit, Yuzu Lemon - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

If you're going to have alternative hours, please do your customers a favor and post it online. There were many groups of people standing at the door disappointed. If you would like people to spend time and gas to come support your business, let them know if you are going to be here. read more

Finally got to try this spot and it didn't disappoint! I really enjoyed the mochi muffins. Never had a mochi muffin before so this really set the bar high. It is a little pricey for what you get but alright for the occasional splurge. I also ordered the passion fruit mango and miso coconut butter mochi donuts but found them a little too sweet for my liking. Will skip out next time and stick to the muffins. read more

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I have had many of my friends tell me to try Third Culture's matcha and I finally got around to it. The location of Third Culture was in a nice area and it wasn't too difficult to find parking. There wasn't any seating inside the shop but there was a lot of seating outside. They had a lot of coffee and matcha and a variety of flavors. You also have a couple of different milk options that don't cost extra. I got the Strawberry Lychee Matcha with soy milk and it was so good I am already planning to go back in a couple days. You could really taste the strawberry, lychee, and matcha equally. I don't like overly sweet drinks and this was the perfect sweetness for me. This place definitely exceeded my expectations and will for sure be a go to spot for me in Berkeley! read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - Indoor - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I have had the pleasure of following Third Culture's journey for years through our Yelp blog posts and interviews. The biz owners' stories and passion, always caught my eye. So, I finally found a great excuse to ship some mochi muffins to all of my team for a virtual "muffin moment" and it was such a treat for all of us. The online ordering process is seamless and we were impressed to receive our muffins within 24 hours of shipping - wild! They offer muffins in the flavor of ube, black sesame and original. I thoroughly enjoyed my original muffins (pop them in the microwave for a few moments - you won't regret it!) and my team enjoyed the ube variation. We were impressed by the packaging and marketing collateral in the box as well. Way to share your story in such a fun and thoughtful way. Looking forward to future muffin moments with Third Culture Bakery. read more

The food here consists of mochi baked goods and matcha/coffee. I ordered a peppermint mochi muffin, pumpkin mochi muffin, and coffee mochi donut. They were so good and chewy! The service was great, too. Staff was friendly and I got my order quickly. The ambiance was also nice. No seating, but it is very nicely decorated inside. :) read more

We recently stopped by for Chinese New Year's treats! Black sesame latte was 10/10 however I burned my mouth after trying the beverage and couldn't drink for almost an hour without burning my tongue again. Yuzu mochi donut--10/10 I like my citrus and this hit the spot perfectly moist and chewy. Vietnamese coffee donut-- 6/10 coffee flavor was subtle. But the donut was dry and hard, perhaps day old or pulled from the fridge since it was also cold Caramel cold brew latte-- we ordered it cold but received it hot. Maybe the guy helping us was too overwhelmed? Or just tuned out with our massive order. We only frequent this establishment when we're in the east bay. We have yet to try the one in San Francisco. read more

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Huge supporter of this place. Whenever I have friends in town I bring them here. Discovered this a year ago and we can't stop coming back when in the Berkeley area. I can't wait until they open up more locations around the bay! I'll say prices are higher than the average, but it's totally worth it because the quality for what your getting. The mochi texture and freshness is unlike any others that I've tried. Mochi donuts, mochi muffins, matcha...& in any flavor you can think of:). I've tried pretty much one of every flavor and the two items that always stand out to me and never fail are: 1. Passion fruit mochi donut 2. Original mochi muffin One downside are the hours are a-little weird so best to go first thing in the morning when they open. Depending on the day and the time you go there could be a line, but I've never had to wait more than 30 minutes to get my order in. The ordering process is: you order and pay at the kiosk and they immediately hand you the baked goods, if you ordered a drink they'll prepare that for you and you wait on the side until they call our your name/order. Been back SEVERAL times and say I can't get enough of this place! Worth it to check out! read more

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When you first walk into this bakery, you're hit with a colorful interior that brings a sense of joy. The staff here is really nice, knowledgeable and are always there to give you their opinion on what is tasty/recommend. The parking here is easy to find so worries about that. They offer a variety of coffees such as pour overs, cold brew, and lattes. They have a wide variety of options when it comes to matcha so for those who love matcha, this is your place to go to. Their mochi donuts here are really good and I recommend taking a picture or noting what you got so you know what you got previously. Everything here is fresh and delicious! read more

A great experience catering to those with a sophisticated palate. When others are moving toward cost cutting ghost kitchens places like this stand out more than ever. A full display appreciated as is the personality inside. The best mochi donuts around period. The outside crust is such that it makes them second to none. The most popular signature mochi muffin is a different flavor than you've ever had and probably best saved for people who wouldn't touch some budget box dessert wrapped in plastic with an expiration date of 2029. Ice coffee with caramel was not overly sweet and zero bitter - very very pleasant. These days its ever more common to choose items from online photos and pick up in a little locker - a cold place with no human interaction at all. Elsewhere bottom line and expansion might be the driving factor and sometimes quality can slip in the assembly line. My recent visit to Mochill's ghost kitchen and how their mango didn't set comes to mind. Came in right before closing as the sun was going down which reflected an unusual image on the concrete from the signage. Noticed some younger people maybe from a nearby school and some older people - all kinds of people. Seems to universally attract those that want something a little different and personality packed. Third Culture often shows up in top bakeries - even outside of the mochi scene it is well known. Sometimes with all the who ha in the world you need a little refuge like this. read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

A yummy spunky spot to fetch some matcha and mocha donuts Drinks: Iced Cold Brew Latte with oat milk was smooth and not too acidic. The honey touch to the coffee rather than artificial sweeteners gave it a more yummy authentic coffee taste. Negative is they only have soy or oat milk as nondairy alternatives, which most places have at least almond or hemp milk The baby sister fell in love with her strawberry lychee soda. This was a wonderful not overly sweet, non-caffeine option for kids or individuals sensitive to caffeine. They use a homemade strawberry lychee fruit purée with sparkling water and I haven't had these delicious flavors before. Team Lychee for the win again. We had to get 2 so there was one for the road. 10/10 would get again. Hot Ceremonial Match with honey was divine. It tasted top of the line pure matcha with great honey floral notes. The aftertaste was clean and hit the spot, especially since it was a bit more chill outside. Even as a coffee addict, I would chose this matcha over coffee when coming here Dessert: raspberry lychee butter mocha donut was fresh, dense and smelled/ tasted good Service: a long line and moved slow. The service was average Environment: spunky, and lots of personal flare Compare: I would come again to try more of their mochi donuts and hot matcha. The family approved read more

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Came back to bring some goodies to my son's championship game. I must say! The Ube donut, guava cream cheese & the churro muffin are my all time faves! Love coming here when I get the chance to! read more

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First time at Third Culture Bakery and I am definitely looking forward to my next visit. The staff is so nice along with a simple and fun ambiance. I loved looking at their merch while waiting to order. They offer drinks, mochi donuts and muffins, etc. I only got the donuts and a mochi bread pudding which was delicious. For the bread pudding, they ask what slice you want (corner, middle, edge or doesnt matter) I got the middle to get all the gooey goodness. They even ask if you want it warmed up. If you are saving it for later, they recommend to warm it up before to best enjoy. The mochi donuts were equally delicious. My favorite out of the 4 I got was banana dulce de leche and ube coconut. read more

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Just wanted to give an update review for Quinn! Made my whole morning :) The best service and the kindest person. Super informal with all the goodies and all the drinks - feels like we could talk all day about it. It's the service like this that keeps me coming back (and the yummy pastries and drinks)!!! read more

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I had this place bookmarked on my Yelp for awhile. I was so excited when a friend had recommended meeting up on the weekend. There was a line pretty much out the door. It definitely built up the excitement! I tried the mochi muffin and mochi donut. I really liked the chewy texture of the pastries. Ube is always my favorite, so I really enjoyed those flavors. The matcha green tea was definitely a nice touch. read more

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Came at 2 -- pretty empty and no line! Finally got to visit after all the hype :) Walked in and the staff were all super friendly and helped explain the different flavors. They had ~8+ flavors of donuts and ~4 main mochi muffin flavors along with the mochi banana bread. Original Mochi Muffin (4/5): Wanted to stay simple, so just got the mochi muffin and super filling! A bit dense like mochi, but so yummy and reminded me of the trader joes Hawaiian mochi mix but in a muffin version. read more

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This is a review for Third Culture's bulk sales orders. After giving Third Culture a try courtesy of a Yelp Elite event a couple of years ago, we were convinced that we needed them at our wedding dessert bar. That chewy texture of a mochi donut/muffin just couldn't be matched by anything else that we were looking at. Third Culture doesn't do catering anymore, but you can make bulk orders in advance, so we. went. ham. Our dessert bar looked SO GOOD with all of the mochi donuts and mochi muffins. We took the liberty of cutting each piece in half as well so that our guests could sample all the different flavors. Koji and his team made it so easy and seamless to place our order! Just a couple emails later, our order was placed and booked, and we just had to eagerly await the special day to come to pick up our goods. I rave about Third Culture to anyone and everyone who wants a different kind of dessert. I'm so glad they could be a part of our wedding day! read more

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I appreciate being able to support a local business that is Asian-owned and LGBTQ-owned. So many choices, I had to get them all, literally! I heard so many good things about the Mochi donuts and muffins that I needed to try. There's a base and then a variety of glazes you can choose from. I got a dozen mochi donuts and half a dozen mochi muffins. I was on the biggest mochi donut kick and these are unlike any of the others! These donuts are very dense so eating a dozen in one sitting is not possible. I prefer the lighter style but the flavors were interesting. I liked Vietnamese coffee the best and the fruity flavors were pretty tangy. The mochi muffins had the same denseness but I like the slight savory flavors like the everything muffin. Next time, I would stick to just trying a couple than buying a whole box but it was really fun to try! read more

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Went here with my mom based on the reviews and wanting to support a local shop but we experienced the opposite. The staff wasn't friendly & the drinks weren't great. Maybe if I would've ordered something different but the atmosphere when we walked in seemed like they didn't want or care that we were there when everyone else who was walking in was getting a hello or immediate attention. If the drinks would've been great I wouldn't be writing this but apparently it's both, just be nicer to anyone who walks in, especially since it says that on your wall :) read more

Amazing number of flavors of Mochi donuts. And cute additional items one can buy. I love all of their fruit flavored Mochi donuts. Wonderful flavor in the icing and a soft wonderful Mochi texture. read more

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This place offers delicious goodies. I just wished that they had longer hours during the weekdays.

The OG Mochi Muffin is sooooooo good! The next item to try and which is "divine" as described by their AWESOME front man Quin is the Mochi Banana Bread Pudding. I LOVE IT! Especially, when it is warmed up a bit. PERFECT SOUL COMFORT. The donuts were just ok but the above will have me coming back. read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - The OG Mochi Muffin is the one to get! - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California

I love the concept and menu of Third Culture Bakery. The aesthetic of the store is adorable, plus they sell cute merchandise! There are a variety of flavors of their mochi donuts and mochi muffins. There is also a nice variety of cafe drinks to buy. However, honestly when it came to the taste of the muffins, donuts, and drinks, it was all okay. Especially with the price? Oh man, I definitely did not find the taste of the donut to be equal to the worth of how pricey the tab was. I can see why it is expensive in a sense that it is something different compared to other basic desserts, but I have had other mochi donuts elsewhere that were better and less pricey. *What we ordered: 2 Matcha Mochi Muffins -Good Matcha taste 2 Ube Mochi Muffins -Tatsed more like Taro. Yes theres a difference i.y.d.k 2 Ube Coconut Mochi Donuts -Coconut was a nice add on 1 Vietnamese Coffee Donut -Did not taste like Vietnamese coffee. It tasted like a toasted caramel flavor. 1 Iced Matcha Latte w/ choice of Oat Milk -Just tasted like milk and honey. I know you can not achieve much with the simplicity of a Matcha latte, however I have had better elsewhere. **Each donut is at LEAST, $3.00. Our tab was $38 and some change. Again, all of it was alright. IM SO BUMMED! I forgot to use my Check In offer of 10% off the entire order. I literally checked in, received the offer, then forgot after I ordered. Staff were nice. Parking is decent. Primarily street parking with no parking lot. We were able to find parking pretty quick, as well as my friend. Would I stop by again? Probably not. Maybe if I had a desperate sweet tooth. I will say that you should give this spot a try for the one time but I do not see it as a spot that I would go back to soon. read more

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We got the mango-passion fruit & ube-coconut mochi donuts. Both had a butter mochi base which gave them a nice extravagant mouth-feel. The passion fruit was overpowering the mango in the first donut so it was a bit sour - it was nice having the chocolate chips to counter the sourness. The Ube coconut was well done although some may find it a tad too sweet. We'll definitely be back to try more! read more

Third Culture Bakery - Berkeley - Bakeries Near Me - Berkeley, California