The Foundry Bakery - A Must Visit For Buns, Bread, and Baked Goods

The Foundry Bakery Experience Summary

I heard about The Foundry from an old email that my wife's co-worker Ping sent out in 2020. Ping sent his recommendations for Asian food around St. Louis. When I read about buns, I was all over them. Wei Hong has some of my favorite desserts in town, so I needed to compare them as soon as possible.

One day later, I was on my way to The Foundry Bakery.

It is a total hole-in-the-wall in Maryland Heights. The storefront is so small that I drove right past it, but I'm glad I turned around.

The Taro Bun ranks as one of the best buns I've ever had. It was stuffed full of creamy, sweet taro. Unfortunately, my son likes taro as much as I do. He quickly claimed the other 7/8s of the bun.

At least he has good taste.

Of the five pastries I got, the other two highlights were the egg custard tart and trio berry bread. I talked to Ray, one of the owners, who gave me the backstory of how Portugal brought their egg custard tarts to Taiwan in the 1500s.

The Foundry does them justice.

I had one at my brother's wedding in 2019, and this tart would play with the big boys in Portugal.

I wanted a Longan Walnut Sourdough loaf based on Ping's rec, but they were sold out when I stopped by during my son's climbing practice at 5:30 pm on a Friday. I had to "settle" for the trio berry sourdough. Let me tell you, if Union Loafers wasn't in town, this would be the best bread I've had in a 30-mile radius.

Update 3/27/2024: On my third visit, I finally got a walnut loaf!

Ray was working the register by himself at this point in the day. They have the pastries out on display in individually wrapped containers.

All in all, it's a great find. A little off the beaten path in Maryland Heights, it's worth the drive once.

And here's Ping's two-sentence take:

Foundry Bakery - Maryland Heights - Delivery available for more than 50 USD order. This place offers Innovative Asian-style bread. Their loaf bread may sound strange, but I tried the longan-walnut one and was very impressed. Their buns filled with taro or red bean are also very good. It also has a variety of Asian-style drinks. The downside of it is its location.

The Food At The Foundry Bakery

The Foundry has two halves to the restaurant - a tea/coffee/milk side and a bakery side.

I went immediately to the bakery half.

While I came on a bun and bread hunt, the Taiwainesse Toast looked amazing, as did the cronut, although the cronut was a bit small.

But like the good bun-hunter I am, I grabbed two Naisu milk creams, a taro, and a red bean. I thought the Nausu milk would be the sweetest and best for my kids to try, hence two.

As I mentioned, they were sold out of Longan Walnut sourdough, so I was stuck getting the trio berry sourdough.

I survived.

Ray brought out some fresh egg custard tarts, known as pastéis de nata, to the register. I didn't come in expecting to get one, but he graciously gave me one to try along with their backstory.

Boy, am I glad he did.

Armed with my pastries, I picked up my son and drove home to taste them.

The Buns

First up, the taro bun.

Living in San Francisco for four years, I trained to go after any Asian dessert with taro. This taro bun nailed it. Pumped full of a sweet, creamy taro custard, the bun added a bit of sweetness and texture but let the taro shine through.

Possibly the best single bun I've had.

Unfortunately, after my two bites, I gave it to my son to try. When I stepped out for a phone call, he ate the other 7/8s in one minute. I didn't even get to take a picture of the middle.

Next, we had the Naisu milk cream, a mix of raisins and cream.

Lastly, we had the red bean bun. Lucky for me, I'm the only one in the family who likes red beans, so I got to eat the whole thing. This bun tasted much better than the Naisu milk, but not as good as the red bean bun I had from Wei Hong.

Ray would tell you they aren't even trying to be the same bun family, but my standards are lower.

Overall, the taro was a global hit. Order one for $2.10 and 4.1oz of fun.

The Custard

When Ray brought out the egg custard tarts as I was checking out, I was suspicious. Ping hadn't mentioned them in his email.

I told him it wasn't in my marketing budget, so he comped me one.

And, I'll admit it, Sauce Magazine was right.

This egg custard slaps.

I had the same flavor of custard at my brother's wedding in Portugal. The Foundry's custard would rival that of those 100+-year-old bakeries.

Weighing in at 6.2 oz and measuring the standard 3.5" wide, this egg custard came to party. Cracking the outside pastry shell took some work, but the custard in the middle came out thick, creamy, sweet, and packed with vanilla. It didn't run down the side of the pastry but didn't sit still.

Everything you'd want in an egg custard tart. At $4.95, you should find room in your budget and stomach for it.

The Bread

Rounding out my adventure at The Foundry was the bread.

I love bread. My brother-in-law sold bread during the pandemic. My buddy here makes sourdough he could sell. My neighbor makes sourdough he could sell.

The Foundry makes sourdough you should buy.

I got the trio berry loaf that contains goji berries, blueberries, and cranberries. The loaf is light and airy, and the sweet tanginess of the berries pairs exceptionally well with the sourdough. It had all the bubbles you'd like to see in a bread like this.

My only nitpick comes in on the crust. If you like crusty bread, you should stick to the custard. The bread lacks a crunchy crust.

For $7.95, the bread at the Foundry nails it.

On my second visit, I added a taste of the Taiwan toast to my order. It's light, fluffy, and very sweet. It weighed 15.5 oz and cost $4.95, so a good deal on that end.

Finally, on my third visit, they had the Walnut Bread. It was much sweeter than I was expecting based on past sourdoughs I've had. The walnuts were evenly spread throughout. $7.95 for 23.6 oz.

Overall Impression Of The Food

I would come once for any of the three processed carbohydrates I mentioned. The fact that you can get all three in one place means you have no excuse for trying it once.

Make the hike to Maryland Heights.

The Foundry Bakery Atmosphere And Miscellaneous

The Foundry is a hole in the wall in a two-store front strip mall. You have to pay attention to when Google Maps wants you to turn to even see it. You kind of have to trust the process that you're not turning into the wrong lot.

The service was quick and friendly. Ray is very passionate about this product. Hopefully, he starts to pitch my review of the taro bun and bread to go along with his pitch for the egg custard.

There was only one register and only Ray out front, so I could see it going slower if there was any kind of mini-rush.

You should also check the hours before you head over. It's closed on Monday and Tuesday and opens at 11 am on other days. That makes it more of a brunch or dessert stop than a breakfast stop. I think weekend mornings would be a busy time for bread and pastries, but you'll have to plan ahead.

Parking At The Foundry Bakery

Parking is easy in a big dedicated strip mall lot. One other couple joined me at 5:30 pm on a Friday, but I'm guessing it gets busier.

The Foundry Bakery Receipt