Dragon Land Bakery
“Stop by in the morning right before I go into work to grab a pineapple bun or beef curry bun.”
“I've always been a huge fan of the sesame ball, a delightful treat filled with red bean paste.”
“Expect all your standard egg tarts, hot dog and pork buns, moon cakes, etc. Plenty of cold aloe drinks and sodas as well as bubble teas.”
Dragon Land Bakery
Take-out: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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The butterfly cookie I bought here did not seem very fresh, and their winter melon wife cake is pretty average. I'm taking off an additional star because the counter lady tried to get away with giving me less change than what she was supposed to. The food is cheap and no one is going to miss a quarter or two, but the dishonesty left a bad taste in my mouth.
Randomly stopped by while walking with some friends because it was the closest bakery to the train station…what a letdown! I ordered three items and all three were disappointing.
The Mango rice ball – the outside was delicious and gooey but actual mangos on the inside were so sour!! It left a pretty bad taste. The taro bubble tea (that I ordered hot) did not taste like taro at all; it tasted like watered down lukewarm milk with some sugar…lukewarm, not even hot! I could not drink more than a couple of sips… one of the worst bubble teas I've ever had. Third, the sponge cake … was not flavorful..didn't really taste like anything.
One of the worst Chinese bakeries I've ever been to. Two stars for the nice staff. I really don't I'll find myself back here again anytime soon.
It's hard to evaluate Dragon Land Bakery without comparing it to the nearby Taipan Bakery, just a couple blocks east on Canal Street. It's definitely easier to navigate Dragon Land–just inside to the right there's a wall of delicious-looking (and clearly labeled) buns, and you tell the server in front which you want, and she puts them on a tray and walks it to the cash register, where you pay. It's a much easier process than Taipan, which can get hectic.
That said, most of Dragon Land's buns are inferior. The pork buns, steamed and baked, are still delicious though. The coconut custard bun is a greasy mess, closer to hydrogenated oil and coconut flakes than anything resembling custard. Their red bean bun is also not great–it'a a red bean mash rather than a paste, and the bread wasn't fully cooked.
When I lived in the miserable NYU dorm down the block, this was my sanctuary for a cheap snack as a starving student. Everything here averages around $1.50 and it is GOOD.
Years later, I come back and know that this review is very long overdue. I love this place because I could pick up bread and heat it up and it would taste freshly baked even 2/3 days later.
you really have to know what to get. I just had really good luck with trying the options. I never really went for the sweet pastries because I am super picky, but every time I come here I always buy the shredded pork bun(rou song bao) and try something else.
Lately I found the Char siu bao is pretty decent and the dan huang dou sha su (red bean and egg yolk pastry) was super tasty – if you are a mooncake fan you will definitely like this.
Nice variety of buns at this shop. The hot dog bun and pineapple buns are the way to go along with a lemon ice tea or a coffee. All are fresh and soft. Great price for a snack under $5. Pick up a tray and pick the variety of baked goods. I also like the chicken pot pies as well.
I discovered this place because my husband's family always comes to this bakery when they visit NY. It is one of those hole in the wall places that is really good with decent prices.
I always get the mango basil drink in the fridge in the back. It is so yummy. It has pieces of mango and little balls with basil seeds- you need the thick straw to drink it up. Yum.
The backed goods are also yummy. Not super healthy thought. The steamed pork bun is so good with a sweet soft bun and beef/onion/tomato concoction inside that is just right. The sesame balls are super sweet, almost too sweet but so delicious because the sesame seeds taste like they are toasted and to goes so well with the sweetness inside. I have a few other favorites but I don't know what they are called. I generally just point (since I can't read Chinese) and one the two ladies just put in on my tray. I am okay with this because I've liked everything I have tried.
Word of caution, the small tables are usually full so I generally just take my tray to the ledge by the window and eat standing there.
Pretty good Chinese bakery – tasty pastries, fast and very clean.
I really like that they have a person behind a rope barrier using tongs to handle the pastries you select, so that other random customers can't touch the pastries as they're in an open display.
Overall good bakery, but wouldn't make a special trip for it.
My favorite pastry is the Sweet Crust Bun filled with butter or pineapple.
My friends and I came here to get out of the rain and to chill. The place was pretty much empty when we came here at about 6:30pm except for a few customers. There weren't much varieties of buns to choose from because I came pretty late in the day, so I chose to go with a char siu bao; a cold char siu bao. The bun itself wasn't really "all that" but still edible.
Other than that, I wouldn't really come back here unless I really had to. Seems like an ordinary Chinatown bakery where old folks come and chat about life while drinking their Lai Cha.