I’m not a morning person. But I found myself getting up super early, on a Saturday to boot to attend a bakery crawl with some foodies in Orange county.

The first stop was the Farmers Market in Irvine where we chatted with chef Rachel Klemek, owner of the Blackmarket Bakery. Fresh baked goods were numerous at this small stand.

So many to choose from but I ended up with the Pain au Chocolat… or chocolate croissant if you will. Very tasty & I was glad I wore my sweats for this one!

Up next was 85 degrees, a Taiwanese bakery in Irvine. It had such long lines. So long that we were asked to wait outside. Also they had a strict no photography rule to the dismay of us foodies.

Once the coast was clear, I snapped a pic of probably the most unusual bread I’ve seen to date, a calamari bread. Its dark color was undoubtedly from the squid ink. It was a bit intimidating to me but in the end I’m glad I picked it out. It just tasted like garlic bread with squid. Not bad at all! Also the prices were super cheap, it was ridiculous. It’s no wonder people had their trays filled sky high yet paid hardly anything for it.

I also shared a creme brulee with my husband. The flavors were light and not overly sugary at all.

Already feeling full, I opted for a lighter dessert, a fruit tart to be exact at Champagne Bakery in South Coast plaza. It was just what I needed. The bakery was nice and clean and reminded me of Porto’s without the chaos. The prices were also more standardized but it was still a shock coming from a place where we paid almost nothing!

The group continued to Thach Che Hien Khanh in Little Saigon. By this time I was super full but did get some Banh Mi and Vietnamese coffee that I’ll write about in my next installment of Tuesday’s Travels. I want to thank Sara of Our Private Kitchen for organizing this event. It’s always fun meeting new foodies & sharing the enthusiasm!