Bread Talk

Probably there on a bad day during xmas week. We were the only ones there post lunch in chinatown which was surprising given how highly rated it is in NYC eateries to visit. Had the egg tarts, wasnt too impressed!

Best egg tarts in the east coast! Love this place! Plus it’s only $ 1.50 for 2 egg tarts!

The egg tarts here are quite good. Very nicely eggy and the crust is nicely flaky. Only $ 1.50 for 2 egg tarts!
The sponge cake was average, a bit dry on top, but good in the middle. The flavor is not quite as eggy as I like. The hot dog bun was more dense and sticky on top than some other versions (like Tai Pan) but for some reason it’s quite addicting. Try them!
All in all, a solid choice in Chinatown though a bit out of the way.

This is the best egg custard! I really loved egg custard, this custard is very good.
Be honest, i tried almost every Chinese bakery in Chinatown. I’m not kidding! Also Almond cookies are very good and very cheap.

Really good.
–Pineapple bun with egg custard ($ 1): good. I really like the buns here. Normally when I eat pineapple buns, I like the crust to have a thick, sweet, flakey, crunchy, crumbly, cookie crust. The crust here is definitely, thick, sweet, and flakey, but the cookie crust is soft here; not crunchy and crumbly. Though that would normally bother me, because that’s part of what defines a good pineapple bun, but it does not here. I just think of it as a egg custard bun vs a pineapple bun with egg custard filling. I really like the taste of the outer cookie crust here, and the bread is nicely sweetened and soft.
–Pineapple bun with coconut ($ 1): really good. Like the pineapple bun with custard, but with coconut. I like the coconut filling a lot. Not too sweet, and nicely blended. Good amount of filling.
–Cocktail bun ($ 1): good. I really liked the filling in these buns. The only thing I wish was different, was if the bread was the same sweetness and softness as the pineapple buns. For some reason, the bread on this was slightly dryer and less sweet. Also, it needed more filling. I wish they were as generous with filling in these, as they are with the pineapple buns.
–Egg tart: okay. People raved about these egg tarts, even comparing it to Golden Gate bakery in San Francisco. Um, I don’t know about all that. I thought these egg tarts were pretty good, but nothing out of this world. I’ve had Golden Gate bakery egg tarts a lot… I used to live in California… and they’re not that special either. For the price, I’d probably prefer these over Golden Gate. I did get these towards the end of the day, so I would like to try these earlier in the day when they are more fresh.
The old man working here is really nice and friendly. He’s suggestive, without being aggressive. You should definitely give this place a try. It’s worth going to the outskirts of Chinatown.
The place is small with seating in the back. You could definitely get a stroller and/​or wheelchair in, depending on how busy the place is. They sell pastries, so they’re obviously kid friendly.
Cash only.

They raised their egg tart prices by about 80%. It’s not worth it for me anymore to go out of my way.

Very, very cheap bakery goods, even by Chinatown standards. I’ve ordered most of their buns, and of course, their egg tarts. Don’t bother with the little cakes when the buns are delicious.
My favorites to buy are the egg tarts, cocktail buns, pork floss buns (with the most mayo and floss I’ve seen on a bun), and all their varieties of hot dog buns (classic hot dog bun, hot dog and scallion bun, and hot dog croissant). Taro buns, red bean buns, and pineapple buns with various fillings are good but not the best. Avoid the coconut cream bun, which can be really good with a nice amount of cream but I’ve had times where the cream tasted like chemicals. Avoid the ham and egg bun too, which can also be good sometimes, but on more than one occasion I’ve discovered egg shells in the egg.

The egg tarts are as good as ever, but the price increase from 50cents per tart to 90cents is hard to swallow. It would take a lifetime for my wages to increase at that proportion. Not value for money anymore :(

Simply delicious egg tarts. Egg custard is creamy and has the right amount of sweetness. The base is light and flaky and easy to bite into. Pair it with a cup of hot coffee and now we are talking. And 2 for only $ 1? Yeah let’s bring the egg tart game on. Last but not least, the ladies at the shop were really nice and helpful when I didn’t know what to order.
Update: pineapple custard bun is good. The bread is soft and the crust and filling has the right amount of sweetness. Baked pork bun surpassed my expectation. It’s actually one of the better ones in chinatown. Coffee is good given the price point.

Cheapest egg tarts that I have ever eaten, probably one of the most delicious ones. 1 Dollar for two egg tarts how can you say no to that?

hole in the wall chinese bakery, w/​Damn good coffee!
sometimes their baked goods are on sale, 2 for $ 1. peek inside the store during the early evening to see if there are laided out on the table.

They hardly speak any English, but that’s cool with me. Coffee is good here, milk and sugar already added for around 1.50. The coffee milk tea= crack. Egg tarts are tasty as well for only 80 cents.

This is by far the best tasting egg tarts I’ve had in a long time. The crust was buttery, flaky and the custard cream was smooth with right amount of sweetness. Bread Talk’s egg tarts definitely lived up to their hype, and not to mention only 2 for $ 1. I am in egg tart heaven!

Let me start by wishing everybody a prosperous Year of the wood Horse. Gong Xi Fa Cai, y’all!
Yesterday, after the frenzy of the Chinese New Year parade had subsided, I found myself yearning for some Chinese baked goodies, particularly some egg custard tarts. I took my cue from Unilocal friend Garrett P. who opined that the egg tarts at Bread Talk were almost worth dying for. [And what a horrible death that would be to slip on snow and ice and have a concussion!]
My Unilocal app guided me to this tiny bakery on the outskirts of Chinatown. The girl at the cash register was very amiable and was the only person in there who spoke English well. The egg tarts had just come out of the oven, and were so fresh that I felt compelled to eat them right there rather than take them home. My two egg tarts and cup of coffee were $ 1.90, and I had to double check with her to make sure she had charged me for everything, not just the coffee. It was great enjoying this little treat with the joyous Chinese New Year songs playing merrily all around me. On the way out, I picked up a Sweetie Pie (a hybrid between a cookie and a cake, with a delightful sweet filling), a golden custard filled bun and an egg custard filled bun for breakfast this morning. The 3 items totalled $ 2.80. Everything was fresh and tasty. They make everything fresh everyday and do not keep any items overnight to sell the following day, so freshness is guaranteed.
I can’t wait for autumn to roll around (and I know we still need to get through the rest of winter, spring and summer) so I can try the mooncake and the pineapple bun.

You know how sometimes you’re on an airplane and, in that shitty magazine that’s always in the seat-​back pocket, there’s an article from one of the staffers about a couple of the «delightful» places that they found as they were strolling (insert name of city that was just added as a destination by the airline here) and it was «to die for?»
Well, this is sort of the non-​pretentious version of that. It’s about as unpretentious as you can get, really. Just a tiny little shop with an almost comically happy shopkeeper that serves egg tarts good enough to have made the trip worth it. And when the trip involved lots of slipping and sliding on snow and ice, I guess that means it almost was «to die for».
see what i did there?

Came here after a Jury Duty shift one day.
The place was very small and jam packed with people picking up baked goods. I purchased some egg tarts, a sponge cake, and boba.
The egg tarts were yummy, but quite larger than i’m used to. I enjoy the smaller bit-​sized ones. The sponge cake was amazing, and the boba was good but nothing out of the ordinary.
I did order the Jook for my boyfriend, and he loved it. Tasted just like the one his grandma used to make for him.
I removed a star because the staff wasn’t very pleasant/​patient, but regardless … I’ll be back.

It’s off the beaten Chinatown path, but I’ve come here a few times to seek out the famed «best dan tat» in town. On my latest visit, I had the spare time and the hunger to check out more than just the dan tat (egg custard pastry), so I went in and sat down watching some Canto soaps as I munched. I ordered two mini boluo bao (pineapple buns), a taro bun, a hot lotus bun, a small coffee, and of course 2-​for-​1 dollar dan tat. Total damage was $ 4.90, and that’s what I freaking love about breakfast in Chinatown!
The servers were welcoming sweethearts, naturally the one at the cashier had the best English of all. I really enjoyed sitting there in no rush and watching all the regular customers come through, the friendliness apparent in the joint. My taro and lotus buns were kind of forgettable and my coffee was terrible since I didn’t drown it in milk and sugar all Chinese-​style, BUT the boluo baos were incredible. First of all, I loved that they made them in a mini snack size. Second, I usually pop my baos into the microwave for like 10 seconds cause warm boluo bao is the only way to go once you’ve tried it. Their baos are amazing this way. Very soft and chewy cause it was clearly sold to me fresh. The dan tat was of course not a disappointment either, so overall I was happy to have this new experience to add to my Bread Talk memories.

3.5 stars for this small, no frills bakery toward the BACK of chinatown
they don’t have a large variety of bread compared to other bakeries in chinatown but i guess they do okay on what they offer
paid $ 1.90 for an egg tart and an egg custard bun, so i think the egg tarts are now $ 1
–egg tart: i like how the crust is NOT super oily & the filling is not too sweet!
–egg custard bun: unfortunately the filling of this bun actually WAS too sweet & the yellow topping wasn’t crumbly. they also offer plain pineapple buns, small pineapple buns, & pineapple buns w/​red bean filling
NOTE: there are 3 – 4 tables inside that can seat 2 people each. & there are korean dramas w/​english subtitles playing on the TV in back (makes no sense since these people are chinese)

Dan tat — «Egg Custard Tart» Review ONLY —
I had cravings for dan tat yesterday and decided to go on a food tour visiting Bread Talk, Tai Pan and Golden Manna Bakery in search of my favorite version. I’m from SF so my pinnacle for comparison is Golden Gate Bakery and honestly, this may give Golden Gate Bakery, San Francisco a decent run for their dan tat!
Off the beaten path of main Canal Street but if you don’t mind venturing away, this is probably the best dan tat I’ve had in NYC so far. Something about the flaky layers of crust surrounding silky smoothe custard makes for a very desirable dessert. The custard is not too sweet, just the perfect amount and literally melts in your mouth with every bite.
It’s dingy inside, very small and a set of 2 person tables so if you must, you can definitely eat in but this is probably a more likely to-​go spot. They have a sign outside that says 2/​$ 1.00 but they no longer have this promotion. For whatever reason, they still have this promotion on their signage and I couldn’t help but let them know they have false advertising. Now, EACH dan tat is $ 0.90 which is more expensive but still a great deal for their yummy pastries. I didn’t have a chance to try anything else, but the food looks fresh! I will definitely want to go back to try their bo lo bow — «pineapple bun» which is another one of my favorites.

The price is definitely right at 2 Egg Tarts for $ 1.
Upon entering, I noticed that we were the only customers there. The cashier seemed to be in a hurry and we felt incredibly rushed. I really wanted to browse a bit more and purchase more than just egg tarts but the cashier kept waving his hand towards me to pay now.
I read a lot of great reviews about this place and Serious Eats spoke highly of their egg tarts, so I had to give it a try. They were disappointing. Maybe I came on a bad day or received a bad batch of tarts. They were warm but the crust was soggy and lacked flavor. The filling was smooth but bland and watered down. The consistency was more like jello than custard. I appreciate that it wasn’t too sweet but this tart lacked that eggy flavor I was looking for. The consistency left something to be desired as well.
Yes, the 2 for $ 1 special is truly a great deal but I rather pay a bit more for a better tasting egg tart.