Sunkist Bakery

It has been nearly 2 and ½ years since my last review. Sunkist Bakery (I don’t know what it’s called now) still reliably makes the best on-​demand cheong fun noodles in the area. Depending on the type of meat or topping you want with your cheong fun, it will cost you anywhere from $ 1.75 to $ 2 — more if you want multiple items. As most visitors would know, there is a tiny 2 person seating area near the store window. The store is mostly a counter with two ladies working the kitchen.
The amazing part of Sunkist is that they sell a lot of Hong Kong-​style dishes (as in a «cha-​can-​ting» style). It’s surprising due to the small size of the kitchen.
Another great thing about Sunkist is that since the departure of Wing Shoon Restaurant — the old dim sum restaurant — Sunkist has picked up the dim sum slack in the neighborhood and offers an amazing 10 dim sum item on their menu, ranging from chicken feet, steamed dumplings, siu mai, har kow, etc. It’s almost beyond belief how such a small operation can offer so much choice. Even better is the price of their dim sum — only $ 2 a dish. Previously, Sunkist never offered dim sum. The closest thing they offered was sticky rice wrapped in a leaf.
So, in summary, Sunkist is worth the visit if you want quality cheong fun and more than passable dim sum. There are other menu items to be had, but what I normally get is plenty good.

Based on the photos, this is the location of the mini dim sum/​take out meals storefront. I’ve ordered from both this and the next door bakery under the same name. I like both given the minimal bakery options in the neighborhood. It does the job and many of the items are made fresh on the spot such as the rice noodles. I like picking up a few buns and milk teas when I want to munch on something. If you want a heavier option, you can get rice noodles or small rice dishes next door. The staff is fairly friendly and are pretty quick at taking your order. It also doesn’t hurt that the train station is right around the corner.

My first foray into non-​Americanized Chinese food. I’m sure their food is delicious if you like actual Chinese food, but I quickly realized that I, unfortunately, do not.

Got a couple of buns from here and I thought they weren’t half bad. At 80 cents each, probably cheaper than most bakeries in the main part of Chinatown. The red bean bun was made rugelach-​style, so there was a generous layer of red bean in every bite. The custard bun had a dry texture, but the custard filling helped. The buns were big too, so they’re a pretty good deal.

If I could give this place zero stars I would. I wandered in here at 12:15pm looking for bubble tea. Having read the menu I asked the woman for a red bean tea. In broken English she replied, «not yet». Confused, I asked if they had any drinks available and she replied, «only coffee or tea». So since I was thirsty, I decided to order an ice tea. Bad idea. I wound up with a bitter, small, ice tea for $ 1.50. While $ 1.50 is not that much for an ice tea in NYC, I am still a little confused how it ended up being so much considering the menu said it should only be $ 0.80.
How can a place in NYC that has multiple drinks on its menu only serve coffee or ice tea at 12:15pm? I could understand if I had gone there at 8:00am, but by 12:15pm I would expect an establishment to be able to serve more then just coffee or tea.
While I can’t say much for their food, I know I definitely won’t be going back there any time soon for something to drink.

This business consists of two separate stores with separate entrances.
On the right is a bakery offering standard Chinese baked goods, tea, coffee and bubble tea.
On the left is their snack shop, which offers a range of items from sandwiches to ramen to my favorite: fresh-​made rice noodle rolls, what we call «churng fun» in Cantonese. I’ve never ordered anything but this from them, and my review is based mostly on this item.
I usually get the scallion & parsley rice noodle roll, which is $ 1.50. They have a range of other items you can mix and match and have in your roll: chicken, beef, sausage, dried shrimp, egg, and even a Buddhist delight option. Prices range from $ 1 to $ 2 for an order that comes in a small styro container with a little container of soy sauce.
What’s great is that the rolls are made fresh to order, and you can watch the lady behind the counter pour the batter onto the steam trays, add your ingredients, and it’s steamed and cooked in just a few minutes. Sometimes there can be a wait, especially during the peak weekend brunch hours. I think they’re worth the wait, and so much better than the rice noodle rolls at the dim sum joints in Chinatown.
Take-​out and cash only.