My Favorites

If it’s your first time entering a Chinese bakery, your senses may get overwhelmed.

From the quantity of buns and pastries to the aromas wafting in the air, you might not know exactly what you should order.

Luckily for you, most of these treats are relatively inexpensive, allowing you to pick and choose plenty to taste test.

These are some of the most popular things to order for first timers and some of my personal favorites.

Egg Tarts

Egg tarts are one of the most popular deserts in Hong Kong.

It has a flaky tart crust combined with a sweet, creamy egg custard filling. These are bite sized and a perfect item to buy a dozen for your family/friends to share.

Varients include the Portugese egg tart which has a caramalized top to the egg custard, giving it a smokier and richer taste.

Pineapple Buns

Despite its name, there are no pineapples and has no pineapple flavor.

The bun dough is topped with a sweet paste of sugar, flour, eggs, and fat that turns a burnished yellow color that gets crackly in the oven for a pattern that looks a pineapple rind, hence it’s namesake.

This bun gives me nostalgia, it brings back memories of running to the bakery during lunch time of summer Chinese school.

BBQ Pork Buns

If you’re a fan of Cantonese barbecue pork (char siu), this is the bun for you.

Char siu gets cubed and mixed with a gooey blend of oyster sauce, hoisin, soy sauce, sugar, and other ingredients. The bun is then topped with a sugar glaze before baking, making it the perfect mix of sweet and savory.

I recommend eating this bun right away when it’s warm out of the oven to get the most out of the pork fat and sweet sauces.

Paper Wrapped Sponge Cake

By far one of my favorite things to get at a chinese bakery

These are cheap, about $1 each and a great dessert to buy in bulk. They are light, fluffy and not overly sweet