Chiu Hong Bakery
“Chui Hong, over the decades, has realized an exquisite ratio of filling and coating for the perfectly delightful mochi.”
“Now I'm sharing to the yelp world, my little known secret of where to get a great, flaky, lo por bang.”
“And the flavors…can be varied from Red Bean to Peanut to fresh strawberries.”
Chiu Hong Bakery
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Inexpensive
8 reviews
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I have finally found FRESHLY BAKED mooncakes!! These mooncakes are not like the ones already packaged and sold in the tin can boxes. These are really fresh, just out-of-the-oven fresh!! There are absolutely NO preservatives. SO health-wise, this bakery won me over!
IMPORTANT TIP: Chiu Hong's traditional Mooncakes are available only for a limited time, just for the Mid-Autumn Festival aka Moon Festival. Therefore, you have to go early in the morning or else the mooncakes are sold out by noon and they won't produce more until the next day. They have mooncakes in different kinds of filings. Just ask the staff and they will give you a list of the various mooncakes available. My favorite is the "Five kernel" – A filling consisting of 5 types of nuts and seeds, coarsely chopped, is held together with maltose syrup. Try it before it is TOO late!!
In 2011, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 12.
It will occur on these days in the coming years:
2012: September 30
2013: September 19
2014: September 8
2015: September 27
2016: September 15
2017: October 4
2018: September 24
2019: September 13
2020: October 1
PS: The other pastries are just as fresh and delicious. This is a family-owned bakery so the place is a bit run down. But don't let the appearance change your mind!
My favorite pork bun spot!
My aunt, uncle and grandmother lived in the city. For years I secretly rejoiced in their visits primarily because they would bring cha siu bao (pork buns) (from Taipan back in those days) for me to devour.
Years later, as I started to make trips into NYC myself, I noticed a steady decline in the quality of the pork buns from Taipan had really declined. There was no identifiable meat or onion, but rather some sort of reddish jelly-like filling.
I embarked on a mission to find a new cha siu bao home. Chiu Hong was not the first I found, but once I tried the bao here, I never went anywhere else.
The bun is sweetly flavorfull, moist, and doughy. The pork inside is plentiful, though fatty and gristly (it is fast-food, afterall), and there are nice hunks of identifiable meat and onions. The filling itself is lightly seasoned. If you prefer a stronger flavor this might not be your mecca, but for me its home.
The servers are very nice, a family run business. The kitchen door is always open, and looking back you see it is immaculate, and the preparers are clean, efficient and seem to be enjoying their work.
They have a lunch-time catering business, so if you stop by at around 10 o'clock the place is bedlam as they prepare the meals, but very laid-back any other time I have visited.
Though I come for the bao, I have liked everything I tried, and I especially like thier home-made herbally-infused black tea. Its very strong and a great pick-me-up.
The first time I came here, I was with 2 elderly people and one was on a wheel chair. The owners were really nice and accommodated our seating which is what made me keep coming back. Soon this became my new favorite bakery in Chinatown for comfortable seating and excellent prices. 2 Coffees and a Pineappple cake for $2.80. I mean try that at Starbucks. The coffee actually taste like coffee and not watered down. Their steamed and baked buns sitting in the oven is fantastic.
This bakery is much more similar to a Ho Won than it would be to a Fay Da or Manna Bakery meaning it's old school and doesn't look like its too busy for you to order and get out of there quick. The owners/servers are usually really nice and don't have a low tolerance/patience problem that pagues many other bakeries in Chinatown, McDonalds or even Starbucks for that matter.
It's too bad in all the years I've been in Chinatown, I only discovered it now.
Challah to all the pork bunz here!
What's better than a bun that taste like delicious challah bread? Filled up with a savory mix of pork that is both lean and fatty, carmelized onions and a base sauce without the standard red food dye is heaven in my mouth.
I could eat 10 of these if I were a dude but thinking back, there was that time when I ate 5 on a bus or was it at home lying down texting. Perfect multitasking food!
These are the right pocket sandwiches for a camping or hiking trip and for those lengthy bus rides to D.C., upstate New York and Vermont where ethnic food or any food really, is scarce sometimes and at night. Please be careful of eating them outdoors at night since there are bears out there.
Shoutout to American Flatbread!
Ever tried FRESH mochi???? Ever tried Mochi? Bakeries making mochi are few and far between in the United States. First time I had mochi was at a night market in Taipei. Oh my gosh it is fun to eat. The texture is so different than anything we typically eat. And the flavors…can be varied from Red Bean to Peanut to fresh strawberries. So, about this place. It is fresh! Eat is fresh! Do not wait to savor it…no preservatives so yes it will not be good in a couple of days. Go to this bakery, eat some there and take some home to share. Fun fun! I have only found one other place that tops this one…in Hilo, HI where they do put fresh strawberries in the mochi. Look for that review!
If only the enlightened tourists knew where to go for the best Chinese mochi, this bakery would have lines out the door. Walking into this bakery is like stepping back to the time when Chinatown was populated with these small mom and pop establishments, loaded with local color and flavor and lacking any artisanal café ambience. This is a place where you see locals while the time away over a cup of coffee and chat with the staff, who are probably owners. This is ethnic Chinatown at its best, where you can still get the old time pastries like lo poor bang(old lady cake) and of course, the sublime mochi. The chewy sweet rice shell is dusted with confectioners sugar and coconut flake. The filling inside can be a sugary, flaked coconut, crushed peanut or red bean. Most places give you way too much mochi, too little filling, resulting in what tastes like a blob of sweet rice in your mouth. Too much filling means a too sweet mochi, not too pleasing either. Chui Hong, over the decades, has realized an exquisite ratio of filling and coating for the perfectly delightful mochi.$1.25 gets you three scrumptious balls, two to three bites each or one if you have a cavern for a mouth or just hungry enthusiasm. I keep my fingers crossed that gentrification and retirement won't erase this bakery from the map. If Chiu Hong ever shutters, a precious piece of real Chinatown will once more be lost.
I always fly/drive back to DC lugging a large box (or two) of lo por beng. This bakery makes the best; it is always fresh and delicious. I just love the winter melon encased in the always flaky crust! Yum. I don't know how I resist not stuffing my face on the way home… self-control takes practice. The mochi is pretty good too. I just like the lo por beng better (but that's just me).
The go-to bakery in Chinatown for "lo por bang". It's the best and no other bakeries will compare. My mom and aunts got a dozen each to bring home to Boston and were very happy with it.
Service is quick, you can be in and out the door in less than 3 minutes lol