Ding Dong Pastries

The only wow factor is the cheap prices.
The buns I have gotten from this place is flavorless. The beef curry variety they have lack in filling, curry and beef taste. All I was tasting is salty goo in the middle. The BBQ pork bun again lack in taste. The egg tarts looked stale and rushed and was unappetizing to the eye and it was around noon when I went.
I don’t think i’ll come back here. I rather pay a bit more for quality versus quantity.

Excellent selection of Chinese cookies, buns, cakes and dumplings. Also very reasonable prices. Most items are 2 or 3 for $ 1.
There are trays at the entrance. Tongs at checkout which is a pity. It’s not always obvious to the first time customer to grab these from the counter. I found someone grabbing and replacing various items before I offered my tongs.
Three types of egg tarts: custard and egg. Can’t recall the second type of egg tart but their regular egg tart was delicious.
Sponge cake was light and fluffy.
Everything else was excellent except for the curry beef pastry — it was all pastry. I think there was no more than a teaspoon of filling.
Lines are long but worth the wait! And take cash!

I used to go here when I was in undergrad and hasn’t been there for about 4 years. It’s still great as always (3 for $ 1, 2 for $ 1) and friendly lady behind the cash. Will keep coming back for their cheap buns! (Though I have to agree, not the best or freshest around, but certainly the cheapest!)

This bakery is a hit or miss based on what products you purchase. People say the steamed buns are good but I’ve never tried. I’ve tried the blueberry puffs, coconut cream bun, mini chicken pie, twisty coconut bread, custard bun and a tuna bun. The items with meat inside were fine. However the blueberry puffs was basically layered phylo pastry with a minute drop of blueberry stuff, the custard bun had the measliest spread of custard within it. The cream bun was decent was the heavy cream saving the concoction. I have mixed feelings about this location. If I’m being honest, I go there because it’s cheap and because it’s conveniently right there on my way back from work. I wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase anything from here but if I’m there might as well get something.

Both pastries my wife and I had, the red bean bun, and the pineapple, were excellent. You can’t beat the price! Note this is not a great place to sit or have a full meal, but if you are in the mood for something tasty, inexpensive and quick, this is a treat not to miss.

I will note that I am not an expert on Chinese pastries, but I have been on a mission to try all of the pastry shops on Spadina. Of the ones along this road, this one is best in my opinion.
Not only is it pretty tasty, but it’s also the cheapest one with the biggest selection. The pastry shop near Sullivan St is almost double the price in comparison and has about the same quality of pastry. Maybe someone would argue differently, but I have tried both shops several times over just to double check consistency and Ding Dong wins out.
I will warn that the end-​of-​day food isn’t as good and will be a little stale (to be expected when it’s freshly baked/​fried each day). So like any bakery, early morning is the best (but not too early or half the items won’t be out yet). I’d recommend the spring rolls and BBQ buns, not exactly healthy but delicious.

When I go to Chinatown or the nearby Kensington market, I always have to stop by this bakery. There are many bakeries in the neighbourhood that are very very similar to this one, but for some reason, Ding Dong Pastries is still my favourite. Their pastries are always fresh (even in the late afternoons) and they offer a wide range of Asian goods.
Even though all their pastries looks so appetizing, I keep coming back for their steam pork buns. They are absolutely my favourites here! It’s hard to describe what they taste like, so you’ll have to trust me on their deliciousness and see for yourself.
A close second favourite to the pork buns are the coconut cream buns. With just the right combination of coconut taste and sweet cream filling, these buns are perfect for dessert. Every time I go back home to Quebec City for the holidays or for a quick trip, my mom always has me bring a couple! That’s how tasty they are.
I also have to mention that the prices are super cheap here. You can get 2 coconut buns for $ 1 and 3 steam pork buns for $ 2. That’s a deal you can’t pass up!

Awesome buns, great selection! I’d recommend going later and getting their 6 for $ 2 deal (after 8:00pm).

The pastries are decent but the price is super cheap. I went to Toronto for two days and I tried this place for their pastries. It is pretty decent for the price. I remember getting 3 egg tarts for $ 1. A lot of the pastries there are $ 1 or less.

Nice bakery with some good vegetarian options.
Their baked taro buns and red bean buns are very nice and are warm if you come in the morning, and are 2 for 1 $. So a great price, and though not very healthy because of all the sugar give a pretty good meal with protein.
I love that the open at 8:30 so if I’m running late to a 9am class or something I can pick up something to eat on the way. They are also open on Sundays which Mashion bakery up the road is not.
They aren’t the best buns, but you can’t ask for perfect quality for that price. The bread tastes a bit more more like western bread from the supermarket than normal chinese dumpling dough. The taro buns are mostly bread and not much taro filling. Still, they taste freshly made in the morning.
I will definitely be back.

My favorite type of place to stop in any big city are the Chinese bakeries, and Toronto was no exception.
Ordered sesame balls and a pineapple bun. Should have ordered more sesame balls! Very yummy, though a little lacking in filling. Pineapple bun had no filling which was sad.
Boyfriend got tuna bun with very little filling and a peanut rice bun, highly recommended.
It was all good but not great.

Personal favourite for Hong Kong-​style Chinese pastries. Good stuff. And not expensive.

I love this bakery. I’m mostly a fan of the steamed pork and vegetable buns. I can eat those all day! The cakes/​sweets are also very good!
My only suggestion is to add a LITTLE BIT more meat in the steamed pork buns. Every few buns, I’ll find one that’s more bun than anything.

Ignore the name, respect the game! This is one of the better of the Asian pastry bakeries that are scattered along Spadina and China town. Of note, the spring rolls (3 for $ 1), the ham and cheese buns and the hot dog buns. Good selection, fresh, and $ 7 buys you breakfast, lunch and dinner. Go!

Importantly, the shop’s name is redolent of many things. I chose to be callow about it. Hi! Hi! Anyway, there’s an abounding of equal pastry stores in chinatown. Same delicious items (even the meat filled breads have a sweeter profile) and same price range (most are 2 buns for a buck). I much prefer this place of retail business because the lady at the cash isn’t as rude as in other places.

Ding Dong is perhaps my least favorite Chinese bakery in Chinatown. I’ll echo the sentiment of every other review… it’s cheap. Yes, there’s a lot of competition and in that situation you have two ways of distinguishing yourself: cheap quantity or high quality. Ding Dong chose the former.
I find the pastries here bland, stale-​tasting, and underwhelming. Not that Chinese pastries are usually all that refined, but out of the times I’ve bought 3 or 4 things here, usually 1 – 3 of them end up in the trash. The sesame balls are oddly greasy and soggy… I mean they’re usually greasy, but here the grease permeates all the way through the glutinous rice. The buns invariably taste stale and artificial… lots of dough conditioners and the like must have been used.
Some of the buns that should be more steamed and delicate are instead bread-​y. Many of the bean paste buns taste more like bean paste spooned into WonderBread. The chao sa bao (pork buns) have a gristly and tough filling.
Basically, the only redeeming aspect is the staff. They can be really friendly and warm and are always quite enthusiastic when I attempt my primitive Mandarin. But, I’m here for the pastries, and I’ll pay a little bit more somewhere else.

My first time trying anything from a Chinese bakery. We were here as part of the Unilocal Elite Tasty Tour and sampled the red bean sesame ball.
The outside was crunchy and the inside was very gelatinous. Inside was a paste of red beans. I sometimes have an issue with texture and this item was a bit hard for me to swallow. While I appreciate the crunchy outside texture and the non-​overly sweetness of the pastry, I don’t believe I would order this in the future. Glad to say I tried this once!
I will return to try another pastry and update my review at that time.

First stop of yesterday’s Unilocal Elite Tasty Tour! I was actually pretty excited to check this place out as I had just been reading about it on BlogTO a few hours prior (pure coincidence).
Came inside and the first thing that hit me was the smell. Cue biggest grin of my life as my nostrils absorbed the scent of all that is good in the world. Walls of baked goods as far as the eye could see, golden brown in color and inviting drool the longer I stood there.
We were led to the back to have a seat (be warned, this is a grab and go place, not to sit and enjoy at your leisure) and listened to an introduction about the venue while staring at the tray of sesame rice balls in front of us.
This was my first time trying one and I must say, 10’s across the board. That special talent Asians have for making things sweet and religious without overloading it with sugar and artificial flavors was prevalent here. Gummy, sticky, chewy rice casing enveloped in sesame seeds with a red bean paste — YUM. I bet it is even better when it’s warm!
Another cool thing (I didn’t get to experience this today but some other time), the baking area is visible through a large window at the back of the shop so you’re actually able to watch them in action.
Otherwise, ambiance is open, friendly and cheery. Prices are rock bottom cheap (I’m almost afraid to come on my own) and the woman behind the cash was cheery, prompt and took my money with a smile. :D
Can’t wait to come back.

I’ve walked by here sooo many times, and always felt a little fearful of going in because really, who knows what goes inside the food in any shop on Spadina… a little sketchy.
Anywho, I finally built up the courage to go in, and lo and behold, no dogs or rats were being cooked!
First, I walked by all the little shelves of their freshly baked buns, and was very impressed with the variety of buns and desserts to choose from! Not to mention, the smell of their fresh products was to die for! After checking out everything they had to offer, I made up my mind, and decided to go with the 3 sticky rice balls for only $ 1! I got 2 with the peanut filling (Which I thought was amazing), and the other was a red bean filling (it was the first time I ever tasted red bean filling, and it was a lot sweeter than I expected it to be!).
I simply loved the texture of the rice ball, it fit the 3 S’s category… sticky, squishy, and soft!!!
I was very impressed with the quality of the product and cannot wait to go back again and try something new!

It might be because I’m Chinese — but I really like this place. And probably not for the reasons you think.
Obviously, it’s a Chinese bakery. But the buns are pretty standard. I do enjoy their curry beef buns — I think it’s a cut above your normal curry beef buns elsewhere.
But as a frugal Chinese man: $ 3 for 6 buns. As the Engrish sign outside says — it’s available ‘all of the day’. Again: $ 3 for 6 buns. That’s wicked cheap.
And add the fact that the name reminds me of Doraemon. I suspect this place was named after the Chinese name for Doraemon and not for male genitalia. Instead of being mildly disturbed, I can smile as I eat my curry beef buns and dream of robotic, atomic cats from the 24^th century.