This story was originally published by 225 Daily in February 2024. It has been updated with information for 2025.
As they have throughout this Carnival season, king cake fans will once again line up Saturday morning outside the Baton Rouge dessert shop Sweet Society for a shot at a coveted Dong Phuong Bakery king cake.
Sweet Society is one of 20-plus regional stores—and one of only four within Baton Rouge city limits—that New Orleans East-based Dong Phuong tapped to resell its famed king cakes this year. The list of resellers includes A&J’s Coffee Bean Café (located inside the Surgical Specialty Center of Baton Rouge), Saigon Hong Kong Seafood Market and Pho Café. Nearby, Bao Asian Market & Deli in Prairieville is another Dong Phuong vendor. Other spots on the list are based across parts of New Orleans, the Northshore, Houma and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Nabbing a Dong Phuong king cake has become its own Carnival cultural phenomenon, as the Vietnamese bakery’s popularity has soared over the years. Sweet Society co-owner Karen Vong told 225 last year that she was thrilled when she received news that her store had permission to resell the fabled treats, known for their tender brioche dough, rivulets of punchy cinnamon and generous drape of cream cheese frosting.
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Dong Phuong produces about 60,000 of the pastries each year and routinely attracts thick crowds and robust online orders, with many fans still coming up short. Long lines form in the wee hours before the store opens with patrons eager to buy their limit of three cakes each. The family-owned bakery also ships nationwide through gourmet food delivery vendor Goldbelly. Prices start at $80 and vary by flavor, but the site is currently sold out.
Dong Phuong was founded by Vietnamese immigrants De and Huong Tran in 1982. It is now known for its homemade banh mi sandwiches and for supplying bread to numerous restaurants throughout New Orleans. It won a James Beard America’s Classics Award in 2018. The establishment has been making king cakes since 2008.
“We were so excited when we found out we were a reseller,” Vong, whose mother used to take her to Dong Phuong for sweets when she was growing up, told 225 in 2024. “I jumped for joy. We’d been hoping for the last couple of years that it would happen.”
For the 2022 and 2023 Carnival seasons, Vong sold Dong Phuong king cake slices, and this is its second year to sell whole cakes. Reselling them has required Vong and her team to travel to New Orleans to fetch their weekly allotment. It’s only when they arrive that they know what flavors they’ll be bringing home.
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Sweet Society, which specializes in Japanese ice cream and inventive Asian desserts, is currently in the process of moving to its new home at 4957 Essen Lane, and the forthcoming location is also where patrons can line up for a chance at Mardi Gras gold. Queues form hours before the store’s sales start at noon on Saturdays. Each shopper is given a number to keep the line orderly, and they’re limited to one king cake each. Read more information here.
“We want to let as many people as we can experience it,” Vong says. “I believe this is a big part of Asian culture, sharing our love for food with our friends and family. It just brings a feeling of comfort.”
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