Korean Slate

I was looking over the baked goodies at the Bosco Cake Salon section of California Market when I chanced upon the label 소라빵 — “Sora Bread” .

Mmm, not soda bread. Sounds nice. What is it? I asked the woman behind the counter and she smilingly told me that they just called it that because the pastry was in the shape of a conch shell — 소라. It’s not like a name of a specific type of pastry. She said there was some chocolate inside.

Price: ~ $1.20. I bought it to try. It was blah. Just regular fluffy dough with a thin, pale mocha filling. It was sort of yucky actually.

Still this won’t deter me from buying stuff from Bosco Cake Salon in the future, especially since the women behind the counter are always nice and friendly, unlike the kids at Paris Baguette a few blocks north.

My recommendation: Their many variants of the Japanese kasutera (castella), which Koreans call kastera 카스테라… Though I have to admit it isn’t appealing to the American palate spoiled by an overdose of sugary treats. I keep hearing, “But it isn’t sweet-sweet.” Compared to the very subtle flavor of Japanese food, Korean baked products are sweet.

California Market @ 450 S Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90020