Bao Bao Bakery Review

Boston’s Chinatown has a surprising number of Chinese bakeries, all of them quite small with no seating available. Bao Bao Bakery is no exception, and it can be a bit crowded if multiple people are shopping at the same time. Inside the shop, there are several displays featuring individually wrapped buns and pastries. If you’re buying multiple items, you can grab a tray and tongs near the entrance.

Their selection ranges from savory buns (bacon and cheese buns, scallion buns, curry beef buns, hot dog buns, pork sung buns) to sweet pastries (coconut cream buns, pineapple buns, egg custard tarts, red bean buns) to cakes (roll cakes, Japanese fluffy cheesecakes). Each bun or pastry is priced at about $2 – $3. They also make custom cakes for weddings and special events.

The pineapple buns at Bao Bao Bakery are some of the best I’ve had in recent memory. This is a sweet bread that does not actually contain pineapple but has a crusty topping that resembles the texture of a pineapple. I ordered a pineapple bun with taro filling, and I thought that the topping was crunchy and thick with the right amount of sweetness. The taro filling made it more interesting than plain pineapple buns.

The egg custard tart was great — delicious and fresh tasting.

I also ordered a beautiful bun with swirls of red bean paste. I thought it was unique and tasty, but not as good as their pineapple buns.

Overall, I thought that the pastries at Bao Bao Bakery were creatively executed and delicious. I would return again if I ever had cravings for pineapple buns, or to try their brown sugar boba cream puffs or matcha cream puffs. Service is good; the staff is efficient in ringing up orders and I’ve never had to wait longer than a few minutes.

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