ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!? why does this place have so many stars????? Let me set the scene for you. No customers before me. No customers behind me. Nothing going on. It's quiet at 2pm in the afternoon. So there was no reason for what had occured. No rush. CONS: The lady here was sooooo rude, i almost left without buying anything. I walked in and smiled and said hello and she just looked at me. I asked a couple of questions because I wanted to get two different order/boxes. My friend who is getting married, gave me a coupon of $8 in her invitation as a form of goodluck so OF COURSE i had to use it there. I wanted to make sure good luck was coming her way for her wedding. Anyhow, when I began to order she kept rolling her eyes and throwing out big sighs and almost yelling at me. I was so shocked I think i stared at her for a good 10 seconds just to get a handle on WHY she was being so rude. I paused and yelled at her asking her "WHY ARE YOU SO RUDE" and i think she was a bit shocked but didn't seem to give a cr*p about me being there. She yelled at me and said I had to order more than 4 a box as if there was a minimum........... I walked out of there with 8.50$ worth of pastries and i will never go back. I went to ELDO CAKE HOUSE instead to finish what i wanted to get. PLEASE DONT SUPPORT AN ESTABLISHMENT THAT DOES NOT RESPECT THEIR CUSTOMERS. There are so many other choices in Chinatown. I'm telling all my friends. All my family and spreading the word. They don't deserve to be next to all thes other bakeries that actually respect their customers. They don't even have a great selection and the bakery itself is dingy and dirty. Please choose another place more deserving. I actually feel BAD for writing this bad review because my friend said that the owner is a friend of her family.... but if they truly cared about their customers, they should not have hired this lady. read more

This is a pretty small Chinese bakery offering a variety of things most people in the U.S. have never seen before. It's extremely inexpensive with most everything costing maybe a buck. I usually go here and get a couple things while I'm waiting for my takeout from nearby Peach Farm. My absolute favorite item is the lotus seed cakes, which have a very flaky outside and delicious filling on the inside. If you come here, you'll definitely want someone who speaks Chinese or at least knows the food to join you. Otherwise, you will almost be certainly confused as to what to get and end up with something very odd or unpalatable to your tastes. read more

I was craving pork buns and decided to try out this place in Chinatown. The bread dough was amazing. The filling was decent but I've had better. Would eat here again if I don't find superior pork buns elsewhere in Boston. read more

I like their fried stuff- like egg roles and fried dough (the ones that go with congee) better than their buns. Kinda old-style buns, but can't complain if you like the price- around 65 to 70 cents each. During Chinese NY, you should go to purchase their "lean go" and "lor bak go" - they only have them once a year. Celebrate like those in Hong Kong- with lots of food! read more

I've been coming here since I was a little boy and the milk custard buns are always so good. I just had to take off a star because the lady behind the counter was cutting her fingernails and then proceeded to help us. I guess it comes with the territory. read more

The bakery definitely looks rough around the edges, but the pastries were yummy! Unfortunately this place is cash only, so make sure you have some bills on you (there's a Bank of America ATM a couple streets over). I got the lotus seed mooncake and it was quite delicious (great amount of filling, great taste, and great texture). My sister had the melon cake and she thought it was mediocre (not too much flavor). read more

Ordered the egg tart, cocktail bun, mochi and pineapple custard bun. I didn't particularly think any of these were delicious. I like Eldo better for these chinese treats. read more

I didn't try anything except mainly the egg tarts. So, 5 stars for the egg tarts! I'm usually not a huge fan of egg tarts, but this place tastes good. There's a minimum amount required in order to use a credit card. read more

Place is dope. I've been to plenty of Chinese bakeries but this one actually offers new pastries that I've never seen before, and it's the same Chinatown prices. We shared the green tea and honey layer cakes and both were fluffy, effervescent and effortlessly delicious. These sponge cakes were fantastic, and they had so many other flavors too! They also had random mooncakes laying out even though it wasn't anywhere close to the holiday...but ok. read more

When I grab lunch in Chinatown, this is my go to place afterwards for a little something. It's definitely very underrated, no frills, and what a real bakery looks like. read more

Ho Yuen has been around for along time. As long as I can remember. This place makes wonderful pineapple buns as well fried sesame balls with red bean paste. Yummy stuff. The roast pork buns are good too. Can't go wrong with this stand by chinese bakery. read more

*sigh* ... I had such high hopes for this bakery as I walked in and saw many of the familiar Chinese pastries that I had grown up with in NYC's Chinatown. Having lived in LA for almost 8 years I have yet to find a place that reminds me of home. Back on the East coast for the weekend, this looked like exactly the hole in the wall, authentic type of place I was looking for. Alas, once I tried the goodies I realized that looks can be deceiving. Nothing tasted freshly made even on a busy Sunday morning. Maybe they baked them the night before and left them in the display cases? The rice cakes were so hard that I took a bite of one of them and it got stuck in my throat! Very uncomfortable to say the least. I guess my search continues ... read more

This review is JUST for their ji wei bao (shaped long-ish like a hot dog bun, filled with custard and coconut). It's uber tasty. And 90 cents. BAM. read more

Another cha siu bun in the dust. Ho Yuen's cha siu bun ($1.30) is the smallest one I've seen - especially for that price. The best part is the filling, which contains a flavorful mix of pork chunks and onions, while being free of any goopy, red, overly-sweet nonsense. Perhaps I didn't go on the best day, however: while my bun dough was a delicious pillowy tuft, it also seemed to be a tad under-baked at the center and stuck to its paper backing. Aside from the bun dough and the price, this has solid potential to be a cha siu bun favorite. The search for the perfect cha siu continues! read more

Always buy from here but today nasty!!! Doing a piece of pubic hair in my bun!!!! Nasty nasty nasty!! Gave half to my little one and have the other half but what I found was disgusting !!! Never ever want this again never!!!! read more

My first time to an Asian bakery so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I thought it was Ho Yuen was a great experience. Prices can't be beat, and the lady behind the counter was very sweet and spoke great English. I had the egg tart (flaky crust, good filling) and the pineapple bun (taste and texture were beautiful) and thought they were delicious! I can't wait to go back and try more. read more

Great pastries! Great selection. Great prices. The delicious pastries come individually wrapped so I buy extra for the next day. Now, if they could just do something about the horrible Boston traffic, I'd be here every other day. read more

The Black Bean Sesame Balls and the Coconut Tarts are amazing. My boyfriend loves the pork buns and the curry buns. We stop in to get treats about once or twice a week to grab something for the train. Always delicious! read more

One of my favorite Chinese bakeries ever. Incredibly cheap and large portions to boot. I love the cocktail buns and white sugar cakes. Peanut balls are excellent as well. You can easily buy a day's worth of food for under $5. read more

Probably my favorite bakery in Chinatown. Truly authentic and homey Chinese pastries and buns. Made fresh daily so you can get delicious treats like roasted pork buns warm out of the oven if you go early enough. It's also the only place in Chinatown that has the Portuguese egg tarts. You will never have a regular egg tart again once you try these... The egg is so much more creamy and smooth. Try to get these early in the day because they usually run out at night. Come prepared with cash, they do take card with a certain minimum purchase but I swear they charge you a little extra for stuff too. There's a restaurant on the other side of the bakery too that makes pretty good Chinese food. read more

Absolutely love this place. My favorite here is the BBQ pork buns. A few months ago, I went on a BBQ pork buns binge and tried EVERY SINGLE bakery in Chinatown. This place has the best! Sweet and moist buns filled with tons of fresh, chunky BBQ pork sauteed with onions. Truly yum. At $0.90 per bun, the price can't be beat. Granted, the ladies behind the counter don't smile even if you smile at them but trust me, they'll eventually warm up to you and after 10+ visits, they might even say "hello" back or better, give you warm buns, fresh from the oven! So keep smiling! read more

After stuffing ourselves at dim sum, my friends were up for a bakery visit, shopping, and coffee. We all walked towards Ho Yuen without verbal agreement. I wish it was as easy to select a restaurant. None of us were surprised to run into another mutual friend who was in the long Saturday afternoon queue. Although not fancy, Ho Yuen offers tasty, good fare. read more

I remember coming here when I was six and it's been over 30 years and this shop is still around! All their pasteries are hand made, fresh, traditional, and authentic. It's the next best thing to my grandmom's. I normally get the pork, curry beef, egg & ham, big buns and they are flavorful and moist! I also get the taro cake, rice-vinegar cake, sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, and other kinds of dumplings (fried and steamed). Just point and pick. I also had their mooncakes which are out of this world and you can get year round! It's the best! The guys in the back make them out of the traditional molds by hand! Can't get more authentic than that. Most of their pasteries will sell out by 5pm so you can tell this place is popular. I still come here and bring home some pasteries for my parents. I highly recommend getting a box of goodies! read more

My go to place for Chinese bakery foods. I always come by for the egg tarts, spring rolls, and fried pork dumplings.

This is the only spot that is clean and tasty for any type of buns or pastries! I have purchased all types of buns and pastries here since I was young. Still fresh and tasty! read more

Decent Cantonese bakery in Chinatown. They produce their wares in the morning and throughout the day. Yes, it helps if you speak Chinese (and mostly Cantonese) but most of the ladies do speak English -- a shock to me. In any case, they do have various things including: - barbeque pork bun - egg tarts - sesame balls (with black bean or red bean filling) - curry beef buns - regular beef buns - chicken buns - pineapple buns - coconut cream (or just "cream") buns - "butterfly coconut buns" (coconut butter buns) - ham and cheese buns Occasionally they also sell the tea-leaf wrapped rice and moon cakes (of various numbers of yolks and other fillings ... I've seen up to 3 yolks, with and without nuts, and black bean / white lotus / regular lotus). It's pretty good value, usually around (2014) $1.10-$1.30 for buns with meat and $1 for buns without. read more

Been there twice and the first time I was there. The place was so crowded and they offer a wide range of asian cakes and pastries, both sweet and savory. Bring back the memories of an authentic chinese bakery back home. The food is great, especially the sponge cake! Super friendly staff too. They gave me a freebie tonight because they were closing. =) read more

I came here for egg tarts and sesame balls. The egg tart seemed undercooked and the sesame ball was WAY too oily with very little red bean filling. Thumbs down. read more

This place is wonderful. The baked goods are so delicious including the egg tarts, sesame buns, roast pork buns, and walnut cookie. Cash only plus the 2 boss ladies only adds to the charm of this place. May they stay open for many years to come. read more

there are at least 5 bakeries near by but i always end up here to fix my pastries cravings. they bake, make, and mold their pastries fresh daily. it's small and expect a tight squeeze when it's busy. the woman at the counter however scares me and i have yet to befriend her. read more

My favorite Chinese bakery. I prefer this place more than the place across the street (forgot the name). They make the best hot dogs and their egg tarts are pretty good. I haven't really tried everything in the store because it is a little unclear what the items really are. Service isn't great but their pastries are delicious and very cheap too! read more

Soggy & uninspired. I didn't try the egg custards -- just two kinds of pork dumplings. Both were disappointing.

so good that i'm thinking about driving all the way to chinatown to pick up some buns right now... service kinda sucks and there's no real line. just be aggressive and rude like the other old chinese ladies "in line" and you'll get served. read more

If I can give them a NO STAR rating I would but since I can't they get one star. I got a slice of chocolate cake and a slice of green tea cake. I brought them home and took a bite then spit it right out. Green tea cake was old and almost sour. I took a careful look and saw that part of the frosting had dried up! The top layer of this four layer cake was so dry, it was physically curling up. It was on the verge of being rotten! The chocolate cake was somewhat edible but dry, tasteless and old. Unfortunately, I was home already so I wasn't about to go back to the store. It's horrible that any bakery would have the gall to sell such horrid baked goods. SO GROSS!!!!!! read more

I don't know what it's called but I get the yellow rice cake. It's spongy but gelatinous at the same time. Yummmmmmmm.

I judge chinese bakeries by their pork buns because I'm a piggy. Unfortunately this one didn't live up to my expectations. The bun had great texture and flavor but the filling was mediocre. The sauce was too thick and had a 'goop' consistency. Wasn't very appetizing. On the positive side, the staff was pretty friendly for a Chinatown bakery. read more

Pinapple bun and coconut bun were perfection melt in your mouth and crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Definitely will come back

I am picky when it comes to Chinese bakeries. This bakery has possibly the largest selection of Boston Chinatown bakeries. They items are yummy and oh so cheap. My biggest problem is the cleanliness of the place. The glass is greasy and the shop is a little questionable. The service could be better. So, take your pick: cleanliness or large selection for cheap prices. read more

Delicious, traditional Chinese pastries with prices as good as L.A.'s. I'm sold.

4 stars for their cocktail bun (Gai Mei Bau). It has always been good. Lots of filling and not too sweet. Everything else is mediocre.