Wendy W.

Lelecha's got an interesting variety of pastries and drinks. Their goods are pricey, with pastries about $6-7 a pop, but that feels par for the course these days with trendy bakeries. I loved the giant sausage roll from the refrigerated section, which uses Taiwanese sausage and is topped with egg salad. While cold sausage wouldn't be my first choice, I actually didn't mind too much. The sweetness worked well with the creamier egg salad on top. The spicy pork jerky and floss bagel was also great, very savory and flavorful with a nice kick. The purple rice milk custard bun was fluffy and chewy, and not too sweet. But the older I get, the more I veer toward savory snacks, so I'm not sure if I'd get this again. The honeydew coconut bliss was highly recommended, and I can see why. There are actual blended pieces of honeydew in the drink, and it's light and refreshing. It was meant to be a slush, but the ice completely disappeared on this 100-degree day. If you're experiencing sticker shock, we swung by near closing time (8:20-ish) on a weekday and a few of their pastries were buy one get one free.

Nina C.

Drinks were good but the baked goods could use improvement. I bought a bag of the custard toast and it looked nothing like the picture displayed. In the picture, the center of the toast was filled with custard. However, when I cut the toast open, there was barely any custard in the toast :(

Susan C.

Hmm based on initial impressions I'm not entirely convinced though I only tried one drink so I'm open to trying some other items and updating this review when I do. Storefront is fairly generic though quite open and spacious with seating and standing room for about 20 at curvy metallic bar-height tables. Looks like originally when they opened there were patches of wheat placed around these tables though they've since been removed. Baked goods are placed on shelves along the left side of the store. On the right along the wall there are digital kiosks for ordering however most people went directly up to the counter to order. I didn't notice the digital touch screens until I turned around and faced the front of the store. Seeing other Yelp friends' posts, the baked goods are fairly unique, in terms of flavor profile and technique, they're not your average Chinese bakery buns. That being said they're also more than twice your average Chinese bakery prices, so I did have some sticker shock. However compared to non-Asian bakeries that charge around the same prices or more, I suppose it's in the realm of reality in this mid-town neighborhood. Their custard tarts $6.49 are popular signature bakery item which I may try on my next visit. The black sesame and milk crumble sweet bun $6.79 and salted egg yolk mochi pork floss bun $6.99 intrigued me also. Staff was cordial and helpful when I had questions and my order took about 5 minutes to prepare. For my drink I got the red date ginger milk $5.95. What was great is that they served it steaming hot, but I didn't taste the red date flavor, it was sweetish but not distinguishable. The ginger flavor was also on the light side. I'd probably stick to regular teas and milk tea flavors next time. They carry alt milks too.

Lily L.

I am someone who really likes carbs so as soon as I found out there was a new bakery that opened up that sold unique breads, I knew I had to try it out. I enjoyed everything that I got this day. I do not fully remember the names but I will be back to try more of their pastries in the future. Starting off, the egg tart. It was so crispy and flaky with a nice creamy middle. Then we got a garlic cream cheese bread which was very nice. One thing to be wary about though is that most of the filling is in the middle and can get overpowering. Maybe try to spread it more evenly through the cracks yourself before eating it. Then we got a bread with black rice and cram in the middle. The bread itself was super fluffy and the middle was not too sweet but had a nice chewy texture which my sister and I both enjoyed. And last but not least, we got a bread that that a salted egg mochi with pork floss. It sounded extremely weird and like something that could work or would be gross so we knew we had to try it. Somehow, they made it work perfectly! It was my fiancés favorite out of everything that we picked. This is definitely the top bakery for me currently and I will be back soon to try more items.

Ellen C.

Ordered the brown sugar boba and tiramisu tart. The drink was OK. I loved the texture of the boba - chewy and soft. But the standout to me was the tiramisu tart. It was a tiramisu combined with an egg tart, two of my favorite desserts and wow it was so good! Service was also super fast.

Angelica L.

Overall: 3.6/5 I was browsing their menu when the pastry selection caught my eye, so we stopped by and picked up the matcha taro bun ($7.49) and the salted egg yolk mochi pork bun ($6.99). These buns are soft and huge, great for snacking throughout the day or sharing. The salted egg yolk mochi pork bun was super underwhelming though. The filling to bread ratio was off, there wasn't a lot of pork floss, and I couldn't really taste the salted egg yolk at all. The matcha taro bun on the other hand was delicious. The taro paste was so good and paired really well with the matcha. A great dessert to satisfy my sweet tooth after dinner.

Vivian L.

There were people sitting/hanging out in the store when I arrived (I think there was some sort of pop up or event happening), but there were not a lot of people in line to order. You get a tray and grab your own breads along the wall, and then can order extra things at the counter when you pay. The breads were all pretty large and on the denser side. The egg tart was good!

Glenn C.

Originally found in Shanghai, this is one of the many bubble tea chains that have come over from China. I have been to this spot a handful of times, and they are always pretty crowded. The place has a good location, being close enough to Bryant Park but not too close, and far enough from Herald Square that you don't get the K-Town crowd. As expected, the workers here seemed overwhelmed the first time I was here, but they improved on subsequent visits. The first time, I didn't bother with tea and bought a pastry instead. I got the $6.99 Luigi Pistachio "Mini," with a full-sized version for $11.99. There is also a "Mario" version made with walnuts instead of pistachios. The small oat loaf had sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and pistachios embedded in it and was filled with pistachio cream. The bread had a pillowy, slightly chewy texture, with pistachio and the two seeds adding a bit of texture and some sweetness. There wasn't that much cream inside, but what was there was well-flavored. It was tasty overall, very lightly sweet, as is typical for Asian desserts, and would be a good option if you want a less buttery version of the pistachio croissants you find everywhere. The other times I've been here, I ordered drinks. I'm generally not someone who loves most bubble teas, as I prefer my drinks less sweet and with more tea flavor. The Oolong Breeze I once ordered was a bit above average. It was better than your generic spots like Vivi or Kung Fu, and it smelled nicely fragrant. The other time, I had an Osmanthus Oolong Milk Tea, as it was cold out. The cup was a bit awkward to puncture, but I eventually got into it, and the flavor was alright. I prefer the osmanthus flavor from some other spots, as I found there was a bit too much milk. It was alright overall. This place is pretty solid. It's not the best at anything, but it's above average and certainly beats most spots in the surrounding area.

Komal R.

I got their Matcha dirty bun and their Matcha Taro Bun - both were huge especially the Matcha Taro Bun! There is a large table in the middle with seating around so I would say there is plenty of space to sit and enjoy. I got their stuff to go because it seems like most of it is prepackaged in foam containers and plastic bags anyway so figured it will travel well and it did. The Matcha dirty bun is indeed named appropriately; the powder will go everywhere if you aren't careful with your bite. I guess hold your breath when taking a bite to avoid inhaling the matcha lol. The Matcha Taro Bun was huge - definitely couldn't have finished it by myself. The bread was soft and had a nice chew to it. The bread was not too sweet but had a slight natural sweetness due to the raisins and read bean paste throughout the bread. The filling in the middle is the best part - lots of delicious taro! The person at the counter was very helpful and friendly.

Yi X.

Lelecha's Valentine's rose series is actually worth trying. The hot rose milk tea was my favorite -- comforting, floral, and not overly sweet. Great on a freezing day. The sparkling rose drink was lighter and had jelly inside, which was fun. Bakery items were solid too. The spicy pork floss bagel had real heat, and the matcha dirty bun was packed with matcha cream and powder (definitely shareable). Black sesame swirl bun is better heated. Nice casual stop for tea and pastries. Weekend crowds are real.

Holly C.

Went there on a Tuesday night and unfortunately, many of their items were sold out. I was able to pick up one plain and one butter caramel egg tarts, and a garlic cheese buns. I also ordered their jasmine breeze, which I didn't particularly liked because it tasted very bland. The tea flavor was not enough for me even though I already requested less ice and there was too much milk. All the other items, I got them to go and tried them the next day. The egg tarts were decent. The crust was flaky and the center was creamy. I honestly couldn't taste too much of a difference between the plain and butter caramel. The size was great and I guess it's because they have to justify the cost but I definitely prefer Portuguese egg tarts over this. To my surprise, I really enjoyed their garlic cheese bun. I reheated it a little, enough for it to be warm but not hot enough to for the cream to completely melt. The bread was soft and pillowy, extremely garlic and fragrant and had just the right about of creaminess and sweetness to balance out the flavors. As for the shop itself, there's a counter in the middle that splits and store in half with some stools for you to sit. The counter was quite dirty and no one was cleaning it up. There's also a lot of people that appears to be working behind the counter but I waited for quite some time to order even though there's only 1 person in front of me. And after she was done ordering, the person working the cashier just stood around and waited awhile before she took my order. They also seemed a little disorganized. My order number on the screen still says it's being prepared when my drink was already done waiting for me to pick it up. Overall, the flavors seem interesting but not enough when there's so much competition in the city. Nothing really stood out and nothing you couldn't find elsewhere. I most likely won't be back.

Sophia W.

The tea is so fragrant! The jasmine and oolong tea were both very good. The butter caramel egg tart was amazing even though I ate it later, when it wasn't fresh anymore. It was so creamy inside and the laminated layers were so crispy. I'd love to come back and try more of the menu. The staff were kind, and they made the drinks quickly. There is a bit of seating inside, but the store interior is very small.

Evelyn M.

I visited this bakery because my friend works quite close to them. I got a couple of items from them but only remembered to take pictures of one of them. I think I got the matcha dirty bun? It was fine, it was very bready but also had a strong matcha flavor. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I also took home the spicy pork floss bagel, which was very spicy. I also took home a pork floss bun with a mochi and egg inside and it was fine. I steamed the bun when I ate it the next day and the mochi melted into a nice custardy interior. Place is... meh. My friend ordered the same pork floss bun with the mochi and egg but asked them to reheat it. Not sure what happened, maybe my friend should have stayed standing there but they basically reheated it and then left it there until my friend went back to the front to check on it about ten minutes later. It was literally just sitting in the microwave. On the screen, it said that her order was still being prepared and neither of us heard them call her order number. When I paid for my items, they were also very busy and didn't acknowledge me for a few minutes even though I was ready to pay. We went during lunchtime so they were also getting online orders, but it was a little odd that they didn't even say "sorry give me a moment." I was studiously ignored and had to stand and wait like a shmuck for maybe five minutes.