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Chinatown Bakeries

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There are several good asian bakeries in Chinatown. My favorite so far is Eldo Cake House on 36 Harrison Ave. They have an assortment of pastries that you can buy by the slice and fruit shakes too. My wife bought me a birthday cake from there 2 weeks ago and it was delicious. If you haven't tried a Chinese cake you should try it because it's not so sweet and just tastes better all around.

Any other bakeries I should be aware of? I'm always looking.

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  1. I've always been partial to the two-yolk, lotus-seed paste moon cakes at Ho Yuen bakery. I nurse them along, slicing off a sliver at a time. Also, their egg-yolk "pielets" (don't know the real name, sorry!) are wonderful, esp. when they're hot!!

    1. I like the bakery on the corner of Tyler and Beach..GG is that Ho Yuen? I love their little egg custard pies too...also a taro dumpling..stuffed with pork..and great spring rolls.

      18 Replies
      1. re: 9lives

        Are you thinking of the one on the corner near Ginza? I can't think of the name... (Sorry, my map is in the car, and it's too icky out to get it!!) They DO have good treats, but a lot of their treats are just chock full of pork...I know, not that that's a bad thing :).. Ho Yuen is on the "food court" side of Beach(#54), a few doors down, almost next door to where the first Chau Chow was...
        It was the first one I ever went to about 15 years ago...Some things I bought that day were hits; some misses..I remember a gelatinous roll filled with nuts that I took a bite of, and chewed. And chewed. And chewed some more....Almost enough to make me give up on Chinese bakeries!! But the almond paste cookies were enough to make me persevere...But there is nothing, IMHO, that can beat the taste of those salty duck-egg yolks surrounded by that heavy, sweet lotus seed paste in the moon cakes..Interspersed with very-Western sips of black coffee!
        And they've recently started selling har-gow; pretty unusual for Boston's Chinatown!!

        1. re: galleygirl

          I'm going to have to try those..the place I was talking about is called Hing Shing Pastry..67 Beach St..wryab correctly notes Beach and Hudson..not Tyler like I said earlier..little egg custard in pastry to die for

          1. re: 9lives

            Yeah, that's the one I thought...mmmmm, pork!! Wrayb, I'm gonnah have to hit Eldo for the congee...In fact, I guess I need to do further explorations for the best congee in ctown!!

            1. re: galleygirl

              When you get your congee don't forget those long breadsticks-slightly sweet- that you're suposed to dip into that congee.

              1. re: fatboy

                Yeah, but you have to get up EARLY enough to eat the congee for breakfast to get them!!! (g) I haven't had them, but I'm morning impaired...Luckily, Chau Chow City caters to my problem by chopping them up on top of the congee...But you're right, I'm going to have to start getting up EARLIER if I want to do the great congee challenge....So let's hear it, hounds, where should I check out the congee?

                1. re: galleygirl

                  The congee at Eldo is muted but complex. Either that or I was totally starving. I got it since it was cheap, convenient and I had decided to use it to keep me from just having a breakfast of sweets and coffee. No big pieces of chicken or shrimp or anything but a really tastey broth and lots of flavor infused from ginger and many other little flavor bits. Maybe someone will come along and tell us that the flavor is all MSG and dehydrated flavoring that they use. I don't know, but I do put it on the short list of 3 or 4 best congees I have had. I don't attempt to say which is best because each on my list is different and special in its own way (the others are not in Boston and so out of this discussion). Perhaps it is best when eaten a wholesome "fast food" and not necessarily as the target of a quest for excellence.

          2. re: galleygirl

            just had 1 of those duck egg moon cakes...great!

            1. re: 9lives

              You dog, you!!! It's making me really, really want one..(actually, I had 2 of those duck eggs for lunch, which took care of the salt-jones, now I'm craving the lotus seed part!!)

              1. re: galleygirl

                That thing filled me up..had to go to the gym and spent an hour on the stationary bike...reading A Cooks Tour..Anthony Bourdain..and wearing a recently purchased T shirt..with a smiling dog on the left breast..yes.. a chowhound T shirt.

                1. re: 9lives

                  THAT would be why I eat them in little slivers...(g)

                  1. re: galleygirl

                    I tried that...really..just 1 bite...but I kept stopping and having 1 more bite...by the time I got home it was gone..:)

                    1. re: 9lives

                      I KNOW, they're so RICH, so addictive..But, for the future, they DO actually last a few days...I freeze them, and slice..(My knees will not tolerate THAT much time on the stairmaster...)

                  2. re: 9lives

                    BTW, how is "A Cooks's Tour"? Clearly, I'm the only one enjoying that series, but I stayed up all nite reading KC....And I think the gym is a GREAT place for that chowhound T-shirt!!!

                    1. re: galleygirl

                      I am totally enjoying the book...and loved KC..I haven't seen the tv show...only reviews I've seen have been on this board...no one seems to like the show..

                      1. re: 9lives

                        Yeah, I'm loathe to admit to watching it...But it's made me want to go to every place he's been..In fact, if I had gone to that Vietnamese village and drunk the moonshine, I might have eaten the clay-covered duck. Of course, I drank the moonshine in China, and didn't eat the duck, but...Shows what a good tale he told!!!

                        1. re: galleygirl

                          I have seen only the Japanese ryokan and this week's Cambodia shows, but I am enjoying them. Particularly the Cambodia show.

                          It helps to accept it for what it is, this particular NY based French guy doing his own food adventure and using the tv show as a dear diary. I haven't got the book yet. So many people seem to be reading it I figure I will wait and read it when some one else is finished with it.

                          1. re: wrayb

                            Actually, I watched the Cambodia episide, and thought it was a little funny that he was playing the squeamish American to his friends' "eat anything" frenchman...I mean, they were panning across stuff that he rejected as breakfast food (turnip cakes, dumplings,..) that were making me drool!! Of course, I know, editing...But did you hear that CH mention? During the durian fruit episode, he was talking about the mystique of it, and how there was a whole message board in the states of people saying, "Where'd ya get it? How do I get durian? How much did ya pay??" Sounded like a CH thread to me!!
                            Oh gawd, I am getting WIERD...Anyway, I'll hit that food ct. next time I'm down there..Wrayb, you need to keep coming to Boston to introduce us to more things in our own city!!

                      2. re: galleygirl


                        I've been wearing mine to aerobics class...I love busting 2 or 3 stereotypes with a single fashion statement!

            2. Alright, so it's not a bakery, but the drinks at Cindy's Planet are the perfect complement. They have drinks made with tapioca pearls and grass jelly, and addictive teas like homemade brewed ginger tea and Japanese green tea made from matcha (the tea powder used in the traditional ceremony). And the iced drinks come with a bright fat plastic straw, which is half the fun.

              I'm always a little out of place there -- it seems to be a hangout of cool Asian teens and twentysomethings, and I'm a dorky thirtysomething white guy -- but it's a great place to get hooked on.

              It's on Tyler, one block south of Kneeland (that is, away from the center of Chinatown).

              1 Reply
              1. re: david k

                Just wanted to say thanks for that tip, we tried it out this week - I really liked it! Link below:


              2. Eldo is my choice among the 4 that are around there. One day I ate breakfast (congee) and lunch (noodles) and dinner (steamed buns and custards) there. But there seem to be some particular items that can only be found at each bakery so I found that after my Eldo orgy I still did return to the others from time to time.

                The place at the corner of Hudson and Beach street I found to be good for all the Chinese bakery basics.

                There is a bakery/cafe in the food court building that lies north of Hudson, they have an entrance on Lincoln Street. There only I found what I think are rice dumpling, like a mochi with either pork (the red stuff) or egg cream filling. It is grilled so that it is flat and slightly browned on both sides.

                Next time I guess I should try the Ho Yuen bakery.


                2 Replies
                1. re: wrayb

                  Ya know, I haven't even BEEN to that new food court at Linclon and Beach...The food court I meant was the one at Beech and Harrison, on the second floor, what one of my friends used to call the Blade Runner bldg.....

                  1. re: galleygirl

                    There are a few places inside but I have only tried the bakery which is OK. Mostly I found it the easiest to get to when I would be driving or coming from South station. But as I said, each place seems to have a couple of interesting items not found at the others.