Noshwellmenu

[rating:3]

Sun Fresh Bakery in Chinatown had recently moved from a nearby location and this one looks brighter and cleaner. They specialize in Asian style baked goods like pastries and steamed buns. The buns aren’t perfectly shaped, but that’s because these guys do it all old school, handmade in house.

Chinese bakeries often use lard instead of shortening or butter, which makes the buns really tasty but isn’t so good for your waistline. Unfortunately for us, the pastries at Sun Fresh are slightly addictive and keep us coming back. They are very soft, and light, and not at all doughy or heavy and are perfectly seasoned: not too salty or sweet.

(Left to right: 1.Trays of freshly baked buns. 2. Six packs of plastic-bagged steamed buns.)

Sun Fresh has a wide variety goods including the standard baked buns: hot dog buns, lemon, pineapple and coconut, and the steamed variety: mini buns filled with minced pork and vegetables and the ginormous green onion buns (the green onion buns are almost as big as my head). The front counter near the cashier strangely exhibits a variety of cooked foods including fried rice on a styrofoam plate wrapped in plastic (is this leftover from some one’s lunch?), rice rolls with green onion and dried shrimp, taro and chestnut cakes.

We noticed that Sun Fresh Bakery doesn’t cheap out on the portions and the prices are really good. The trick is knowing what to buy. We would avoid the cooked food displayed near the cashier and we haven’t tried their egg tarts, which look strangely pale. There really isn’t much service. The bakery is basically self serve and the cashiers look like they hate their life, but if you can look past that, Sun Fresh Bakery has some good quality Chinese pastries for a reasonable price.

Perfect For: cheap carbolicious treats

The Details:

215 Keefer Street, Vancouver
604.688.3868

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