Best Pork Buns in the city?

Hello - I am looking for a very specific item - some pork buns from a Chinese bakery/restaurant. I worked with a Chinese woman several years ago and she used to bring in these pork buns, and suddenly I've developed quite a craving for these things again.

Unfortunately, I have no idea where to go to get one. I see Chiu Quon Bakery is known for having some good ones but I wanted to solicit opinions on here in case there were better ones out there.

BBQ pork buns? Steamed, or baked? I do like Chiu Quon for baked BBQ pork buns. On the same drag, Feida is inconsistent in buns (but has dynamite Winter Melon Cakes), and I'm one of the few apologists for Maxim's right around the corner from Penang under the gate - I think that woman is hilarious (even with the showy abacus), and I bet she's not smoking over the baked goods anymore. When she has them, the BBQ pork buns, and the sweet-top + coconut filled (not just one or the other, the kind that has both in the same bun) are wonderful.

Every once in a while, you can get baked or steamed pork buns at Sixty Five (http://www.65restaurant.com/sixtyfive/default.asp), at least the 201 W. Madison location, but they run out fast, so this would be a 10:30 or 11 AM thing there or not at all, in my experience.

Santander wrote:BBQ pork buns? Steamed, or baked?

I was thinking they were steamed but is one better than the other?

I second Santander's comments. Chiu Quon is probably my favorite..

I am not an expert, but these are one of my favorite snacks, so I seek them out everywhere I can!

You can buy the kind you steam at home in the frozen case at various Asian grocery stores. I always pick them up at the grocery on Argyle, South side of the street and a half block East of the L stop.

I think the best take-away kind are from St. Anne's Bakery, in the strip mall in Chinatown. Lower level, same side as Lao Sze Chuan, across from Joy Yee's Noodles. They have the baked kind (in an egg-bread, round/oval shape) every time I've been in there, and a couple times they had the steamed variety (the white ones that look like a spongy baseball, called bao), too. Sometimes we eat dim sum at Chinatown Place, then go a few doors down to St. Anne's to get a bubble tea and the baked BBQ pork and minced chicken buns for a snack the next day. Yum!

Let me second St. Anne's, particularly if you can get them hot from the oven (they open at 8:00).

(You should be aware, these BBQ buns have no smoke in them--sorry about that )

La Patisserie P on Argyle has excellent pork buns, especially when warm. If you go, don't miss the curry chicken bun; best bun in the city. Chiu Quon's BBQ pork buns are good too, but I prefer their Chinese Sausage bun. All of Wow Bao's buns are tasty, especially when paired with their Ginger drink. Yummy.


La Patisserie P
1052 W Argyle St
(between Kenmore Ave & Winthrop Ave)
Chicago, IL 60640

Welcome, radiator, and many thanks for the Patisserie recommendation and reminder about Wow Bao, which should be very convenient if the OP is downtown.

I'm a big fan Chiu Quon's BBQ Pork buns. At $.80 a piece (they recently raised the price from $.75) you can't go wrong. They will also make dumplings and shao mai fresh to go. My wife and I go there as a cheap alternative to dim sum.

I agree with the St. Anne's bakery recommendation, although I also highly recommend the baked buns from Richwell Market. And even though Wow Bao's steamed buns cost twice what they would cost in Chinatown, they're still a bargain at $1.29 and have the advantage of being just a block from my office.

The best steamed buns I've had lately, however, were from Mountain View Chef in the Chinatown mall.

This is not a difficult item to find--especially if you're looking for the steamed rather than the baked version. I think you'll find them at almost any restaurant in Chinatown. Look on the appetizer or dim sum portion of the menu.

especially if you're looking for the steamed rather than the baked version. I think you'll find them at almost any restaurant in Chinatown

A good roundup, Ann, and I concur with the last statement. I enjoyed Lao Sze Chuan's version a few weeks ago:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... hlight=bao

#810, steamed dumpling with pork, six for $5.45.