St Honore Pastries

My favorite go-​to Chinese bakery for roast pork buns, egg custard buns & tarts, and fried pork dumplings! I especially love coming here in the morning because I get to see/​listen to the old Chinese men in the back talking/​gossiping about the latest news (old people are so cute!).
Pros:
– Cheap prices! Almost every baked good is under $ 1
– The ladies who work here are so friendly and always smile
– Very consistent with almost always getting «fresh out of the oven warm» baked goods
– Get to practice my Cantonese!
Cons:
– Very small place, so not much moving room
– Not a place to go to sit down and do work

my friends and i were on the search for the best hong kong milk tea today. while st honore’s version wasnt remotely as close to the best i’ve tried, it is by far the best in philly. give this place a go if you are on the hunt for some good hong kong milk tea.

This use to be my goto bakery for coconut buns. Then I became a freak about my sugar intake and I stopped getting most baked goods.
I remember Linda N.‘s review about them and ventured there during my lunch break. I didn’t want a drink but saw they had a sign for custard buns, my childhood favorite!!! I go in and look for their steam machine thing… But nothing is in it. I ask for the bun, and they said it was frozen. I assume for take home orders. Womp Womp!
I felt weird leaving without buying something so I got the egg custard. I’m glad I did, it was pretty bomb. Well done in my opinion. Can’t beat price, 80 cents. I’ll try the hk tea next time… Didn’t realize they sold it in ice lol. Didn’t want hot since it was hot outside.

I just walked in to this random bakery to order a birthday cake for my family member’s birthday last week. I picked it up this afternoon. It was beautiful fruity and cheap. I only paid $ 27.00 for pretty big size cake. The most important thing is it was DELICIOUS !! I can’t believe it !!. It was not too sweet, it was just perfect. Just perfect for the birthday party. I willing to try another kind again for the next birthday party.

Went just for the egg tarts. The crust was incredibly thick and while flaky, the edges had the texture of being stale. The egg custard was sweeter than I am used to but I did not mind that as much the crust.

If you know me, I LOVE iced HK-​style milk tea… a lot. I used to frequent Zhong Gang, but it has been very, very inconsistent — too much half and half, not enough syrup, or not enough ice.
My new favorite HK-​style milk tea is from here. $ 1.50 for iced. It is consistent most of the time. I like to ask for crushed ice, but there’s just too much clumped ice leftover… most likely because of the cold weather. Maybe it will be different when the weather gets warmer.
THE most important reason why I like the milk tea here is because it is consistent and they top it off with evaporated milk… and you know what that means? No added sugar! (Trying to make myself feel better because there’s sugar somewhere.) Still can’t be good for you overall, but everything in moderation, right?
Definitely recommend their iced HK-​style milk tea and HK-​style iced tea!

Excellent dim-​sum but better get there early. Often sold out.

AMAZING!!! Everything is so cheap! I got the egg tart, neapolitan, and «cupcake.» The place smelled bit weird when i came in, but that was fine since i wasnt planning on staying there to eat. Neapolitan is perfect combo of sweet and crispy. It’s not crazy sweet like others with icing on top. The cream in between is also not that sweet, tastes bit like whipped cream, but the pie is AMAZING. The «cupcake «is like spongy soft angel/​pound cake which is what i was expecting. Egg tart EXCEEDED my expectations the crust was to DIE for and it actually tasted like an egg tart not a tart with yellow cream in middle!!! COMPLETELY recommend this place

Nice pastry shop. We went in for bubble tea after dinner at Wong Wong and left with drinks plus a bag of savory pastries. The bubble tea is more flavor and less sugary which I like though my kids have come to expect a certain level of sweetness from their fruit flavors. The boba were perfect, small & chewy. The cups were smaller than most places but then again none cost more than $ 3. In the evening Monday pastries ranging from $ 0.80 and up are 2 for $ 1.00, which is a good deal… similar to ABP’s twofer sales. I picked a variety of savory pastries and they were all tasty the next day — one difference from buns I’ve had before is that I could see bits of onion inside the bun but not in the filling. Will go back.

Cute pastry shop, very authentic chinatown feel. I had their egg tarts including the almond tart. I definitely prefer the egg tart over the almond tart. It was flaky and the egg custard was sweeter than the almond. The almond tart didn’t have any almond taste to it. The flaky crust was definitely a good compliment to the egg custard. Not bad for 80 cents a pop.

Oh pastry shop, how you now disappoint me! I’ve been here often and they have always stuck with the moto «We only use fresh fruit. We don’t have powder stuff here.» And now, what happened to you!!! You stooped to the level of some other tea places that use powder. YUCK!!! And it’s not even blended good either. It taste gritty and just plain disgusting. After making it, I noticed the funky looking color and asked if this was fresh. «No, it’s powder. You didn’t ask for the fresh fruit one which costs more money.» From all the other times I have been here, you have never given me a strawberry drink made of flavored powder. Who even asks for a fruit drink made of powder??? Also, my sister ordered the thai tea. It did not taste fresh. :-(When my family wanted a good bakery, I was so happy to introduce them here, but then all this happened… shame.
And the pork buns aren’t as good either anymore either. It was stuffed with tons of onions when before it was stuffed with a balance of meat and onions. Are you cutting back on quality bc of costs? I rather pay a lil extra money for your old quality then you trying to cut cost and making your products non-​edible.
I thought I found my new bakery, but my search continues…

Their egg tarts are the best. The crust is flaky and buttery and the custard is baked to perfection– soft, creamy, and jiggly, the way it should be! I love that they’re not overly sweet too. Get there early in the morning and get the egg tarts while they’re still warm, it’s the best thing ever!
Some bakeries in Chinatown get their pastries delivered, I like that they bake on the premises. You know you’re getting fresh pastries!

Best egg tarts?
I was lucky to get them fresh and right out of the oven. Oh my goodness, a little piece of heaven they certainly were! With the right amount of flakiness and the sweet creamy filling, their egg tarts that I tried this time was probably one of the best that I’ve ever tried, if not the best.
In terms of pricing, this bakery is on par with every other bakery in Chinatown. There really is not significant, if any, differential in terms of the prices.

This is the bakery I usually go to in Chinatown. They have a decent variety of buns and pastries. Red bean-​filled buns, mung bean-​filled buns, coconut stuff, egg tarts etc. If you buy a dozen, they will give you two more for free. The prices are standard for a Chinese bakery, with most things at approximately $ 1. The service has always been good. They do serve coffee and tea. There are a couple of tables inside, with usually the expected group of older Chinese guys chillin’ in the corner table debating about something. Great place to stock up on the buns, which I usually do before leaving town.

Looks like a nice place from the outside, but the Bubble tea really sucked. If you are going to blend ice into it, at least do it so it’s smooth and not gritty or rocky. Also something is wrong when you Green Tea Bubble Tea looks white and not green. Bubbles had the wrong texture too. Yuck!
We also ordered the egg tarts which were good.
Based on my experience though, I have no desire of coming back.

Really good egg tarts. Scratch that, probably the best egg tarts in Philly. I keep trying to catch them straight out of the oven, but I think you probably have to ask them for that or something, because the last time I watched them bring out a fresh batch of egg tarts, and ordered it, it was still cold. Definitely still, good, I just want to try them right when they come out of the oven. I wish I knew when they baked those darn egg tarts. I’ll have to ask them next time. Anyways, unlike most of the places in Chinatown, they use a flaky crust for their egg tarts. Pair that with the sweet, creamy baked egg custard filling, and it is a match made in heaven haha. Flaky crusts are the way to go for egg tarts.
Their other buns and savory pastries are standard; taste the same to me anywhere I get them. My sister favors their butter bread though, which is very good, and can act as dinner rolls. The drinks here are ok, nothing special. They serve the standard milk tea, lemon tea, and they also have bubble tea, but I’ve never gotten that here. They have a few small tables for you to sit on, and a refrigerator with soda and canned/​boxed drinks right by the door so you can grab and go (no five finger discount!!! Remember to pay). I’ve also had the lemon cake before, which wasn’t bad, but sometimes I do stray from the cakes, as they don’t always look fresh.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen young people working here; it’s usually 1 or 2 middle aged ladies behind the counter. They’re not mean, but they’re not overly friendly either. They just do their job, that’s all it is. No extra smiles or small chat. And usually, there will be one or two middle aged/​old men sitting toward the back reading the newspaper, making it seem more like the cafes in HK, where old people will hang out in cafes just to drink a cup of tea and pass the hours by.
All in all, definitely come here for an egg tart, if nothing else. You won’t regret it.

This was my and the bf’s go-​to HK pastry place for the last two months. I thoroughly enjoyed their hot dog buns and egg tarts. Cash only and they’re nicer to you probably if you speak their language. Overall, a good chill spot after roaming around Philly/​Chinatown all day if you need a short 5 – 10 minute break. Let the soy milk drink go though, it really didn’t taste like anything and I don’t like the foam silky part on the top.
It was authentic and I wish I can get one of em hot dog buns right now but whoever is reading this — enjoy one for me!

I am quite partial to the St Honore in Mei Foo, Hong Kong. For a short while, I think I may have been a mild addict.
Same logo, same wrapping, so yep, yep — –
Ordered some vanilla cream sponge slices.
Soooo good with Starbux decaf for dessert in a warm bed. Simple pleasures:)

I’ve walked down Race many times, but never noticed St. Honore before. I asked the woman at the counter if they were new, but she gave me a polite smile and no answer — either there was a communication gap or she couldn’t believe that I was so clueless (seeing as how Unilocal reviews date back to 2008, clearly I am just unobservant).
I ordered an Egg Tart and was pleasantly surprised that a baked good was still so moist at the end of the day. The crust was sweet, light, and flaky and the egg filling was the perfect consistency — definitely one of the best I’ve had in Philly. Now that I know this place exists, I’ll be back to try some other baked goods.

Little square cakes of happiness with cute bunnies, cherries, and fruit, and for 90 cents each… Don’t mind if I do! I still can’t believe the prices in here. I was wondering what was wrong with the cake at first for that price, but it was surprisingly as delicious as it looked. Everything in here just looks appetizing. I like Asian bakeries because the cakes are not overly sweet as most ones are in American Bakeries.
I have tried the chocolate cake, and different versions of the vanilla cake here (bunny and cherry). Both were fluffy, moist, simple, and slightly sweet. They didn’t really have any difference in taste though. The main difference here seems to be the cute decoration. I’m okay with that though. I get excited like a five year old child at the idea of what cute animal or fruit I will get on my cake next. The mango pudding was okay, but not as good as I’ve had in some Thai restaurants, or even what I could make at home. I haven’t tried any of the buns, but they do look tasty and are priced right. They also offer bubble tea and smoothies here, but I haven’t tried them. I’m always too distracted by the cake.
You should drop by here after a nice dinner in Chinatown and get some sweets to take home. It doesn’t matter if you’re still full from your meal like I usually am. The cute little cakes look and taste just as good the next day.