Chiu Hong Bakery

I brought 9 peanut mochi.
I brought 9 red bean mochi.
I brought 2 packs of 5 wintermelon cakes.
I brought 4 lemon rolls.
I brought 4 pineapple rolls.
I brought 4 walnut cookies.
The mochi are outstanding.
I thought the cookies were too crumbly.

The bakery staff are friendly and the service is very efficient, but I went on a Sunday afternoon and the selection wasn’t as impressive as other pictures suggested. A box of four mooncakes is $ 20 and a single mooncake is a whopping $ 7. The taste is not worth the price, so don’t come here for just mooncakes!

The first time I came here, I was with 2 elderly people and one was on a wheel chair. The owners were really nice and accommodated our seating which is what made me keep coming back. Soon this became my new favorite bakery in Chinatown for comfortable seating and excellent prices. 2 Coffees and a Pineappple cake for $ 2.80. I mean try that at Starbucks. The coffee actually taste like coffee and not watered down. Their steamed and baked buns sitting in the oven is fantastic.
This bakery is much more similar to a Ho Won than it would be to a Fay Da or Manna Bakery meaning it’s old school and doesn’t look like its too busy for you to order and get out of there quick. The owners/​servers are usually really nice and don’t have a low tolerance/​patience problem that pagues many other bakeries in Chinatown, McDonalds or even Starbucks for that matter.
It’s too bad in all the years I’ve been in Chinatown, I only discovered it now.

If only the enlightened tourists knew where to go for the best Chinese mochi, this bakery would have lines out the door. Walking into this bakery is like stepping back to the time when Chinatown was populated with these small mom and pop establishments, loaded with local color and flavor and lacking any artisanal café ambience. This is a place where you see locals while the time away over a cup of coffee and chat with the staff, who are probably owners. This is ethnic Chinatown at its best, where you can still get the old time pastries like lo poor bang (old lady cake) and of course, the sublime mochi. The chewy sweet rice shell is dusted with confectioners sugar and coconut flake. The filling inside can be a sugary, flaked coconut, crushed peanut or red bean. Most places give you way too much mochi, too little filling, resulting in what tastes like a blob of sweet rice in your mouth. Too much filling means a too sweet mochi, not too pleasing either. Chui Hong, over the decades, has realized an exquisite ratio of filling and coating for the perfectly delightful mochi.$ 1.25 gets you three scrumptious balls, two to three bites each or one if you have a cavern for a mouth or just hungry enthusiasm. I keep my fingers crossed that gentrification and retirement won’t erase this bakery from the map. If Chiu Hong ever shutters, a precious piece of real Chinatown will once more be lost.

Challah to all the pork bunz here!
What’s better than a bun that taste like delicious challah bread? Filled up with a savory mix of pork that is both lean and fatty, carmelized onions and a base sauce without the standard red food dye is heaven in my mouth.
I could eat 10 of these if I were a dude but thinking back, there was that time when I ate 5 on a bus or was it at home lying down texting. Perfect multitasking food!
These are the right pocket sandwiches for a camping or hiking trip and for those lengthy bus rides to D.C., upstate New York and Vermont where ethnic food or any food really, is scarce sometimes and at night. Please be careful of eating them outdoors at night since there are bears out there.
Shoutout to American Flatbread!

Best «wife cakes» (Low Paw Bang) I’ve had in North America. They’re not the most attractive wife cakes and don’t come in the cool old school paper wrappers that some other bakeries use, but they get the filling right. Instead of using the same generic mush as everyone else, they stick to tradition and use thin strips of winter melon, resulting in the perfect amount of chew and flavor.

Someone suggested I give their coffee a try. I like it better than the trendy new café that opened up across the street; Two Hands. Plus it helps that it’s only $ 1.75! If you prefer more cream you’ll need to speak up and say so. It’s very plain on the inside but those who come in to sit and enjoy their pastries are mostly the older locals. If you want a nicer ambiance go to Two Hands. Great iced coffee to grab on the go if you’re in the immediate area.

The go-​to bakery in Chinatown for «lo por bang». It’s the best and no other bakeries will compare. My mom and aunts got a dozen each to bring home to Boston and were very happy with it.
Service is quick, you can be in and out the door in less than 3 minutes lol

Excellent mochi with chopped up peanut filling at this dull-​looking establishment with the usual bare-​bones Chinatown décor (or lack thereof). The peanut mochi is very fresh, soft, rolled in coconut flakes on the outside and will just about melt on contact with your tongue. I do prefer my glutinous rice more firm and chewy, like Korean-​style mochi, but for a classic Chinese mochi, this is the gold standard. Get there in the morning and the mochi will still be warm from the oven! My only complaint is that there isn’t enough of the peanut filling; it’s mostly mochi. I think I still like the Taipei street stall version better.
Try the sweet chrysanthemum drink in the fridge. It comes packaged in a juice box.

I always fly/​drive back to DC lugging a large box (or two) of lo por beng. This bakery makes the best; it is always fresh and delicious. I just love the winter melon encased in the always flaky crust! Yum. I don’t know how I resist not stuffing my face on the way home… self-​control takes practice. The mochi is pretty good too. I just like the lo por beng better (but that’s just me).

Mochi are really pretty good – not Japanese authentic, but they are fresh with the right texture. Also, need to try the thousand year egg cookies – that’s one of the more unique offerings at this bakery. Don’t be scared off by the less than inviting décor or lighting – at least give it a try.

I cannot stop going here on my lunch break and getting mochi. It’s fresh, 3 for $ 1.25, and the peanut/​sugar filling is GENIUS. I understand that it’s common, but this is the first place that I tried it so I very logically believe they invented it.

Ever tried FRESH mochi??? Ever tried Mochi? Bakeries making mochi are few and far between in the United States. First time I had mochi was at a night market in Taipei. Oh my gosh it is fun to eat. The texture is so different than anything we typically eat. And the flavors… can be varied from Red Bean to Peanut to fresh strawberries. So, about this place. It is fresh! Eat is fresh! Do not wait to savor it… no preservatives so yes it will not be good in a couple of days. Go to this bakery, eat some there and take some home to share. Fun fun! I have only found one other place that tops this one… in Hilo, HI where they do put fresh strawberries in the mochi. Look for that review!

In spite of a limited selection, this is one of the better bakeries in the greater Manhattan Chinatown area. In addition to the buns and moon cakes mentioned by other reviewers, they make a meat & vegetable bun that rocks. The coffee is standard Chinatown coffee and the help, while a little gruff, are okay and laughed at my awful command of phrases in Mandarin and Cantonese! The bathroom says employees only and since I am employed (just not there!) I tried it out and it was quite clean.
My friends told me that Chiu Hong was a meeting place for many of the area residents when the area was Italian and today it seems to be serving the Chinese community in the same capacity. Definitely a legit place to grab a coffee and a bun!

Ive been coming to this bakery for years and it’s great! Coffee is always fresh, buns are always hot and fresh, and they specialize in the moon cakes for Mid-​Autumn festivals.
A few things to recommend–
Lo Por Bang– Don’t ask, just eat it.
Pork Buns
Mooncakes
Lor Mei Chee– Peanuts and powdered sugar wrapped in mochi.

Chiu Hong Bakery is one of those old time neighborhood Chinese bakeries that is still going strong. There are several tables and most of time, locals come out here and hang out and have a drink, read paper, chat and eat pastry. Even the workers in this bakery haven’t changed. They’ve only aged and are more grey and worn. I will be so lost, when they retire and shutter their doors like May May Bakery. You don’t find many of these old time bakeries any more in the neighborhood. This is my favorite go-​to bakery for everything that is fresh mochi.
I love their mochis. I’ve tried all types of mochis from Japanese package ones you find in the refrigerated section of Asian grocery stores, to package ones from Taiwan and other bakeries and none can compare to Chiu Hong Bakery. Have been eating them for such a long time. They have, as long as I remembered, been 3 pieces for $ 1.00 and through the recession and rise of all things around, the price of these mochis have still endured and so has the quality. These beautiful rounded, soft little balls are rolled in dessicated coconut and you have it with either the peanut filling or the red bean paste. These mochis are so beautiful they look like snow balls. The mochi with peanut filling is my favorite. The peanut filling consists of sesame seeds, sugar, chopped peanuts and coconut shreds. The soft mochi skin is made of glutinous rice and stuffed with just the right amount of love. The red bean paste is soft and sweet and is also in perfect proportion to the skin. These are absolutely beautiful little white round packages, that I NEVER grow tired of and come here time and time again just for the mochis. When eaten fresh, the skin is so soft and feels like the silky softness of a parrot’s tongue. If you have ever fed seeds to a parrot and your finger graze the bird’s tongue that’s what the soft mochi silkiness is like. They also make decent and nicely textured walnut cookies, almond cookies and sponge cakes. Still when I think of Chiu Hong, only one thing comes to mind MOCHI.

Great lo por bangs! Though the bakery is a little dark, they make the best ones in Chinatown. My mom always buy them from here! Will come back whenever I go to new york!

I have finally found FRESHLY BAKED mooncakes! These mooncakes are not like the ones already packaged and sold in the tin can boxes. These are really fresh, just out-​of-​the-​oven fresh! There are absolutely NO preservatives. SO health-​wise, this bakery won me over!
IMPORTANT TIP: Chiu Hong’s traditional Mooncakes are available only for a limited time, just for the Mid-​Autumn Festival aka Moon Festival. Therefore, you have to go early in the morning or else the mooncakes are sold out by noon and they won’t produce more until the next day. They have mooncakes in different kinds of filings. Just ask the staff and they will give you a list of the various mooncakes available. My favorite is the «Five kernel» — A filling consisting of 5 types of nuts and seeds, coarsely chopped, is held together with maltose syrup. Try it before it is TOO late!
In 2011, the Mid-​Autumn Festival falls on September 12.
It will occur on these days in the coming years:
2012: September 30
2013: September 19
2014: September 8
2015: September 27
2016: September 15
2017: October 4
2018: September 24
2019: September 13
2020: October 1
PS: The other pastries are just as fresh and delicious. This is a family-​owned bakery so the place is a bit run down. But don’t let the appearance change your mind!

My favorite pork bun spot!
My aunt, uncle and grandmother lived in the city. For years I secretly rejoiced in their visits primarily because they would bring cha siu bao (pork buns) (from Taipan back in those days) for me to devour.
Years later, as I started to make trips into NYC myself, I noticed a steady decline in the quality of the pork buns from Taipan had really declined. There was no identifiable meat or onion, but rather some sort of reddish jelly-​like filling.
I embarked on a mission to find a new cha siu bao home. Chiu Hong was not the first I found, but once I tried the bao here, I never went anywhere else.
The bun is sweetly flavorfull, moist, and doughy. The pork inside is plentiful, though fatty and gristly (it is fast-​food, afterall), and there are nice hunks of identifiable meat and onions. The filling itself is lightly seasoned. If you prefer a stronger flavor this might not be your mecca, but for me its home.
The servers are very nice, a family run business. The kitchen door is always open, and looking back you see it is immaculate, and the preparers are clean, efficient and seem to be enjoying their work.
They have a lunch-​time catering business, so if you stop by at around 10 o’clock the place is bedlam as they prepare the meals, but very laid-​back any other time I have visited.
Though I come for the bao, I have liked everything I tried, and I especially like thier home-​made herbally-​infused black tea. Its very strong and a great pick-​me-​up.

LO POR BANG or LAO PO BING OR WIFE CAKES/COOKIES/BISCUITS…whatever you choose to call them
i come here for just that.
or actually, i HAVE to come here to get lo por bang for the folks in Boston.
it’s the mission i have been delegated
2 dozen cookies is usually the amount i have to lug around chinatown, on a train, or on the bus.
one time, mommy dearest made me buy 7 boxes? or was it 8? i dont remember exactly, but my shoulders and deltoids sure do.
yea, she loves them that much. yea, everyone else loved them that much that she makes me buy them so she can distribute them.
and they are soft, flaky, delicate, and addictive. if you’ve never had a great lo por bang, make sure you come here!
I always see the same 3 ladies, they speak toisonese, and really jolly. I’ve noticed that a lot of people come here for milk tea, maybe I should try it one day. Now I’m sharing to the Unilocal world, my little known secret of where to get a great, flaky, lo por bang. Who knows, maybe, you can bring some home to your mommies and her homies. BE WARNED though, they might really really love them.