Grandpa Chen Char Siu Bao — Restaurant in New York

This is a review for the one that just opened up on Kissena Blvd since I can't seem to write one for it since Google maps have a review for this location yet. Went to the new bakery by me on Kissena Blvd and Horace Harding near the Dunkin Donuts and right in front of the Q25/34 bus stop where Regina Pizzeria used to be, Grandpa Chen Char Sui Bao. It's the same name bakery as the one in Little Neck on Northern Blvd . They open at 7 am I think they close at 6 pm. The buy one Char Sui Bao sale has been extended to Sunday 1/12/25. It only applies the the regular , pineapple topped char sui bun and I think it includes the regular pineapple bun too with nothing inside . They also sell steamed big buns, sausage buns, etc. plus, many bakery cookies , pineapple cakes etc . The bun itself is tasty, comes out warm . There is a decent amount of filling . The taste of the char sui inside the bun is not too sweet but a bit lacking in that authentic "char sui" flavor for me since I am used to that OG flavor growing up. The prices seem reasonable $2.95 for the pineapple char sui bao, $2.50 for the regular char sui bun and $1.95 for the hom su gok, fried item with meat inside. Many streamed buns in the refrigerated section for you to take home to microwave or steam $12 for a pack of four big buns, they have the Chinese sausage bun and others too. They have cookies and other bakery items like pineapple buns, walnut cookies etc. The steam buns is missing something for me too. But I can definitely say that the topping on the pineapple char sui bun is very crispy and light and maybe the best pineapple topping I have had In Queens. I think Grandpa Chen's bread is very tasty for the baked and steam buns and they do give a good amount of filling , but the fillings are lacking something in taste for me . I am still grateful that there is a business like this near me and hope...

Actually gave this place three chances and just disappointed after each time. Waited in line for 30 minutes at this bakery, just for some char siu baos. We let that issue slide because there was a promo that day whatever. It took them 15 minutes to make three drinks. We decided to give them another chance the next day, called for pickup early in the morning around 7:35 am, told the worker I will be there at 8:00 to pickup some charsiu baos. When I got there, there was no customers in the store and I had to wait 15 minutes for the worker to last minute pack my order slowly. Mind you it is 8am during rush hour, we just thought we could stop by pick up breakfast before work. I personally ate a pineapple charsiubao, the meat inside was sour, I got food poisoning from this. The other regular baked charsiubaos were salty and tasted like straight soybean paste. We called a couple hours later to let the store know what was going on and they said they would credit us back the breads we bought for fresh ones. Last chance, I went back two days later to pickup the credited breads, I informed the lady working behind the counter that I was in a rush. I told her the issue, and that I was picking up the credited order. She ignored me, moved even slower, and asked me for money, insisting I pay. I tried to explain the situation and she still would not listen to me and was very rude about it. We went back and forth for almost 10 minutes just for a couple charsiubaos. Safe to say, I dont recommend this place, the service and food is terrible and slow, bakeries are supposed to be fast and convenient. This place is the first time I had a sour...

The baos I had previously bought were good but overpriced compared to other bakeries in Flushing and Chinatown. But the location is convenient with parking nearby. And I'm sure the store is aware of this and therefore feels justified for the prices.

The one star rating is for the lack of inventory. I lived nearby and walked over today at noon (Saturday) planning to buy just 2 baos for breakfast tomorrow. My son wanted a pineapple bao with egg yolk. Unfortunately, the guy ifo us on the line decided to take all remaining 7 baos. I wanted a hotdog bao and saw that there was a whole tray of them inside the display case. But after waiting on the line for 10 minutes and finally my turn was up, I was told the hotdog baos were all reserved already. Why did they leave the baos there for people to see then?

I could've bought other baos we didn't really want but decided not. My time was already wasted so I wasn't going to give them my money today even though it was going to be just around $6.

I hope they do read this review. It's a beautiful Saturday. People will visit to buy your baos. Make sure your stock of the popular baos is not depleted by noon!

The 2 stars for atmosphere were for the uncomfortably high temperature inside the bakery. Open the door or add ventilation to cool down the store for the long line of people standing in line would...