Bakery 88 - Dali Pit Stop

Bakery 88

52 Foreigner Street Center

Dali Old Town, Yunnan

Tel. 0872 267 9129

88号西点店

洋人街中心大理古城王府酒店对面

Dali was one of the few stops where we had a chance to taste Western food, and it was very impressive. I went to Bakery 88 when we stopped over for lunch in Dali on our way to Shaxi, and walking into the bakery after days of passing through villages felt so good, simply because of its cleanliness and bright atmosphere. It’s worth going back to Dali just to go back to Bakery 88.

Bakery 88, owned by Karina, a native of Germany, is just off Foreigner Street (I dislike that name). It offers a fantastic selection of western goodies, including home-made baguettes, walnut wheat bread, soups, sandwiches, artisan cheeses, pastries, biscotti with chunks of of chocolate and cashews, almond cookies, strawberry cake, cinnamon buns, jam, and more. Looking at these fresh-baked goods, you want to try each one of them. Bakery 88 is as good or better than most of the bakeries I’ve visited in the West.

The sandwich I had was pureed aubergine with an olive oil spread on walnut bread. The sandwich was light and very vegetarian.

I first traveled to Dali in the early 90s on the overnight bus with built in bunk beds that left Kunming for the rollicking 10-hour smokey ride to the old town. My purpose in those days was to buy indigenous tie-dyed textiles, tablecloths, embroidery and silver for my small shop on Lama Island in Hong Kong. Back in those days, Bai women carried basketfuls of tie-dyed items on their backs, which they hung on a string strung against a wall, while a small gaggle of women would gather in one spot to do cross-stitching based on patterns that were filed away in their heads. I would snack on the delicious char-grilled baba (sticky rice cakes) along the side walk as I wandered through the dirt path. It was an amazing bazaar, nothing short of stupendous because of the abundance of quality handicrafts available.

I enjoyed the unspoiled environment back in those days when the town was not yet overrun with visitors. Ironically, the only reason to go back to Dali today is to enjoy a cold Lao beer with a sandwich or a pastry at Bakery 88. I guess when you lose one thing you gain another.

Comments

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Hi Eileen, thanks a lot for your friendly words about our bakery88. Next time you're visiting our place, please ask for me. Would be nice to meet you. Or may bee we'll meet on Lamma Island, where I lived in 1996 and stay every time during my frequent visits to HK.
I like your blog very much, very interesting and well written.
All the best
Karine, owner bakery88 Dali

Posted by: karine | 02/23/2012 at 02:57 PM