The Kalbijjim Croissant by Jina Bakes is definitely one of the top ten baked goods I’ve ever tasted. Their flagship croissant comes from pairing their flaky, flavorful dough with a legendary San Franciso dish from Daeho Kalbijjim. The first time I had the kalbijjim from Daeho was a memorable day. We saw a cursed showing of Sonic the Hedgehog — we actually enjoyed the movie, but we had to evacuate twice for a fire alarm (ironically, it also was the last movie we saw before the Covid lockdown). That said, the bubbling-hot stew served over chewy rice cakes with a ton of flambéed cheese certainly made up for a lot that day.

Jina Bakes takes that same meat from Daeho, tops it with cheese that they also flambé and it’s simply amazing. I was also impressed with the other baked goods, most of all, the Injeolmi Croissant, which is a Korean rice cake wrapped in croissant dough. I go back and forth on rice cakes — I usually need something contrasting going on in my food flavor-wise or texturally. In this case, the croissant dough adds flakiness and crunch really elevating this pastry.

Right now they’re doing bi-weekly pop-ups in Japantown, but are getting ready to open full-time. Please note that the day we went there, the wait was over an hour, but definitely worth it!

Kalbijjim from Daeho Kalbijjim, the foundation of Jina Bake’s kalbijjim croissant.