Best bakery in Santa Clara, California (CA) 2024

[Based on my experiences in 2018-2020]: I am a part-time dduk (korean rice cake) connoisseur and I have yet to meet a person that loves dduk and knows dduk (on a consumer level) as much as I do. I've tried all the well-known, amazing dduks in the motherland (S. Korea)! The quality (texture, taste) of Ehwa Dang's rice cakes are really really good.. even though they are $$$. I love that their rice cakes are not that sweet which may not be a plus to those who have a sweeter palate. I am so grateful that a place like Ehwa Dang exists in the states! I've tried their ssuk (mugwort) songpyeon, strawberry and pumpkin (kabocha) sulgi's, duteopdduk (a traditional 'royal court' dduk), and others that I have sampled in the store. I was really pleased with the textures of all of them!! NEVER refrigerate dduk. As someone who has stored and eaten dduk regularly for the past many years, this one rule is un-negotiable! It's like saying refrigerate your artisan country bread (a big no-no). Either eat it or freeze it. Dduk-makers would wholeheartedly agree. I usually individual-pack the dduck in saran wrap or ziploc bags and stick them in the freezer the same day that I buy them. If you defrost dduk properly (either by leaving it out at room temp or ever-so-slightly heating it up properly; the defrosting method differs for different types of dduk and how long the dduk has been in the freezer..), it will sometimes tastes better than the day you bought it. If you love korean rice cakes and appreciate the lower sweetness profile - as do older korean folks - you will absolutely love and appreciate Ehwa Dang. And if you've eaten a lot of dduk before, you will know that this place serves very high quality dduk. Ehwa Dang is most certainly the best korean rice cake in the area and one of the best in the West Coast including LA (I've basically tried everything that exists in LA; they have pretty good dduk too!). 많이 안 달고 정말 맛있습니다. 가격은 좀 세지만, 품질이 아주 좋아요. 두텁떡도 팔아요. 한국에 있는 떡 못지않네요. LA에있는 떡집들 보다 더 맛있구요. 아줌아도 친절하고 셈플도 맛 볼 수 있어요. 방문하세요! ~Grace