White Swan Bakery

The new name of the place is called Pie Pie Q though in Chinese it still is White Swan. The new ownership and renovations make this place look completely different than what it was 2 years ago. Gone is what seems like a very unsanitary environment. They have certainly made everything more home feeling and the seating is much more comfortable. Whereas the original White Swan felt more like a cafeteria, Pie Pie Q is an actual bakery.
Fortunately for patrons, comfortable seating is almost always available, unfortunately for the owner (s) there really isn’t a lot of business hence, they can go out of business any sooner than later if that remains the case.
Of course buns and coffee is not all they serve, they also have rice and a few good dishes to go with it for $ 4.50. The offer a lot of new drinks that are not found elsewhere and thankfully the majority of the new staff are customer friendly though the price is above average for most of the items especially bubble tea (you can thank Chattime for that since it’s right next door). Do give it a try if you happen to pass by it.

I went in here for tea after the New Year parade. Just a regular tea was delicious. I also had a really yummy almond cookie.

So if you come to chinatown for cheap buns this is your place. Though it may not have the glamorous ambiance on the outside like other bakies like fay da or taipan bakery, but cheap is cheap. The only reason it seems sketchy is because the casino bus crowd gathers on that street and makes one feel like clutching their personal belongings a little tigher.
The old man the runs the places lives in my building and he’s a pretty cool dude. To catch to best deals come at 7:30 pm when the buns are sold at reduced price. Pay at the counter. So the deal is a bakers dozen for 3 dollars! That’s 23 cents a bun!!. You can also buy 4 for a dollar if you dont have a small village to feed.
Must buys are the bacon bun (best combo of a sweet tender bun topped with salty fatty bacon and scallions), the mini and regular size egg tart (delightfully sweet filling and the flakiest crust), the coconut filled bun (aka chicken «a%&» (butt) bun dont ask me to explain), the soft sweet plain buns, and the strawberry or lemon filled bun.
They also have cooked food on the side which is ok and their bubble tea drinks are milky refreshing with perfectly chewy tapioca balls
Happy bun eating!

Eeesh. I think this is the first C-​graded food service location I’ve seen since the new health inspections went up. My husband wanted some Chinese baked goods, White Swan seemed large with a decently broad selection, and so we decided to duck in. I caught the posted C out of the corner of my eye, discreetly warned my husband before we placed an order, and turned around to head back out. We felt adventurous enough for chicken feet for lunch, but not enough for wayward insect legs in dessert.

I was lost in the midst of the subway service interruptions. Very grumpy. A bit hungry. Determined to make the best of a lousy situation, I sought refuge in this bright shop.
As it was near the end of the day, there were gaps in the stock, but I was still easily able to find a few options. I snagged bun with «pork». Actually a large, very lightly cooked slice of bacon baked atop the bread.
Although the bacon was quite undercooked to my taste, the flavor permeated the moist bread. The bread itself was light and slightly sweet. All in all, it was much better than the standard bagel and cream cheese for a handy meal-​on-​the-​go. At only a dollar, I will be back the next time I am anywhere nearby.
Plus, they got me headed in the direction of a functioning train line!

I went here after another bakery had run out of rolls during my quest to try every Chinese pastry known to man. They had plenty. I got the red bean roll, and while I don’t have much to compare it to, it was pretty delicious. But I’ll have to try out some other competitors to get a better basis of comparison.

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but I believe that the White Swan Bakery may in fact have the best bubble tea in town. I tried the milk tea which was perfectly sweetened with no unsavory sour/​bitter aftertaste which is frequently the case at some of the more well known establishments. The tapioca pearls were also better than the average as they contained just the right soft-​to-​chewy ratio. You won’t get a cutsie little card to get a free bubble tea after you buy ten zillion other bubble teas, but the price is already great, so you save money immediately rather than after ten zillion purchases. I also tried some sort of sweet round pancakey pastry which was also really good. White Swan may not have classy ambience but it does have a homey hole-​in-​the-​wall sort of atmosphere and some super good bubble tea.

ok i randomly stopped by here while getting lost in chinatown. my overall philosophy for a good bakery is that they have a quick turn around and alot of people going, therefore, freshness therefore good bakery. so i figured this place juxtapose a mcdonalds is pretty prime real estate for a bakery.
but even with that being the case…
. everything was bland and stale… sooo dissapointed! …:(boo…

Oh, the hate. Oh, the shame.
Granted, I avoid the pastries because I found my new bakery love just down the street (
).
But my new rules about Chinatown are as follows:
— Must have over 75% Chinese
— Lots of old Chinese people inside = good (hey, gotta follow the «lao gongs» and «lao tai-​tais»
— Place must be small and cramped (okay, that’s not hard)
— Gotta be cheap (but then, of course, that’s how you get all the Chinese)
This place fit the bill. And I was on the lookout for a good «zhong zi» — you know, the sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. I usually pick some up from an old lady sitting on a street corner, but they’re awfully hard to track down, so I decided to try my luck on these little suckers staring up at me from the window cart in the front of White Swan.
Thankfully, I was not let down.
On an impulse, I threw in a carton of mi fun (thin rice vermicilli) and some other delectable goodies. The lady was terse, but piled my containers high with food (no stinginess!).
The food was tasty so the dinosaur (Bello) in me tummy was happy.
And for $ 1.50 a pop, the Chinese in me was thrilled.

No, no, and no. I did not like White Swan’s rude customer service and subpar food. I’ve had to come here several times because other people I was walking with had to try some bubble tea or get themselves a Chinese pastry. In either case, each time I’ve tried my best to avoid their rather plain pastries. The milk tea /​boba isn’t bad here, and they have a solid selection of drinks. Thank goodness they don’t charge an arm and a leg as this place would be terrible otherwise.
Like most Chinese bakeries in Chinatown, its small, yet quaint inside. They don’t have much of the notoriety as some of the other ones along Canal and Mott but this place has plenty of character and a good amount of people during each visit. I’ve just been very disappointed with their Char Siu Bao (BBQ Pork Bun), Char Siu So (Mini Baked BBQ Pork Crossaint), and egg tarts. I hope they can improve soon to keep the competition stiff amongst local bakeries.