New Orleans’ Dong Phuong king cakes now available at 3 places on the MS Coast
Dong Phuong Bakeshop in New Orleans East makes the list of the best king cakes in Louisiana each year, and this carnival season they are available on the Mississippi Coast.
Because of the coronavirus, customers can’t walk into the bakery this year and buy a king cake. They are sold only by online order or at one of the 20 retail locations that were selected to sell the cakes.
“We’re the only ones over this way,” said Rudy Letellier. He and his wife, Dawn, have all three Coast locations, he said, all in Hancock County.
When he arrived at the bakery Wednesday to pick up the cakes, Letellier said the first person in line was a woman from Biloxi.
“I’ve been wanting one of these for a long time now,” she told him.
She won’t have to drive as far the next time she gets a craving.
Taste of Mardi Gras
De and Huong Tran journeyed from Vietnam to New Orleans more than 30 years ago and established one of the first Vietnamese bakeries in the city, according to the company website.
Huong created their own style of king cake, with a flaky brioche dough, generous fillings, house-colored sugars and tangy cream cheese frosting.
The price of the cake at the retail locations is set by DP Bakery, Letellier said. The cinnamon cakes are $24, and the cost is $28 for the other varieties — cream cheese, pecan, strawberry, coconut and almond.
Letellier said they also have DP Bakeshop’s French bread, priced at $2 for a two-pack of loaves or $4 for a bag of pistolettes.
Where to get Dong Phuong king cakes
Pecan is the newest flavor and his favorite, Letellier said.
The king cakes are so popular, he said, that when he arrived Thursday at his Pharmacy in Diamondhead on East Aloha Drive, 20 people already were standing in front the store waiting for the cakes.
“They sold out in about 10 minutes,” he said.
The DP cakes are available at:
- Pharmacy in Diamondhead on East Aloha Drive
- Waveland Pharmacy on Auderer Boulevard
- Worth Repeating Home Goods shop on U.S. 90 in Bay St. Louis (Letellier’s wife’s store)
All three open at 10 a.m.
Cakes are available at the two pharmacies on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and at Worth Repeating Wednesday-Saturday. Dong Phuong bakery is closed on Tuesdays.
Pre-orders are not available.
“We’ll pick up a new batch every morning, so if we we’re already sold out today, come back tomorrow,” is the message on the Waveland Pharmacy Facebook page.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
