Maxim’s Bakery

This review is for the Maxim’s on Broadway, in Argyle.
Delicious bakery, I love it that they are not so sweet like most American bakeries. Cakes are fluffy and melt in your mouth. And the price is very affordable. Just remember to bring cash, they don’t take any other way of payments.

To be completely honest, this is the only bakery I don’t really like in Chinatown. The baked goods just aren’t on par with those at other bakeries and the selection is also smaller.

Thanks to Chicago Unilocalers, we were here last week to pick up a wintermelon cake and an egg custard tart.
Both were okay. Not much difference from the ones in NYC.

Maxim’s Bakery was one of the contestants in my ongoing BBQ Pork Bun Off competition. The review is entirely about their BBQ pork buns, which is the one standard by which I hold all of my Chinatown bakeries accountable. I used 5 criteria, each with a possible 10 points, for a total possible score of 50 points.
Other things to note about Maxim’s before the bun-​off: they also sell lottery tickets here and there’s a giant room in the back with tables for eating your purchases, if you care to hang around a dingy little lotto-​bakery…
BBQ Pork Bun Off Results
Surface: 3 out of 10
The top is sticky, but not so sticky that my fingers feel sticky after touching it. Everywhere except the center of the bottom feels tough and crusty, with crumbs able to fall off when touching the edges.
Dough: 2 out of 10
The dough outside of the filling has the consistency of packing material with a faint taste and odor of yeast. I can vaguely tell that this is a baked good due to that, but aside from that, there is no flavor to help the dry and crumby dough.
The BBQ sauce: 7 out of 10
The sauce itself has a good flavor to it. Not a whole lot of spice, but enough of a sweetness that it goes well with the pork and is smooth enough to fight some of the issues with the surrounding dough, though it has caused some structural integrity problems with the center-​bottom of the bun, making it very soft and almost mushy.
The pork: 6 out of 10
The major damage to the score on this facet was that there were basically 3 monstrous pieces of pork and then a few slivers and chunks elsewhere. They were tender enough that biting into a huge chunk caused it to split cleanly, avoiding the «string of meat falling from the bun and hanging from your lips» moment that I’ve admittedly experienced in the past during my many years of BBQ-​pork-​bunnery. No gristle, but some extended chewing on those larger bits of meat.
Overall presentation: 2 out of 10
The buns were maybe 75% dough, and with dough like that it was not a lot of enjoyment to be had. One thing that struck me was the piece of green onion stuck to the bottom of my test sample — which could only have come from cross-​contamination on the shelf or on the utensils used to extract my bun and place it in the paper bag, which developed some spottage sometime during the trip home. The overall experience was negative, aside from the sauce that I enjoyed and found to be quite little of in the grand scheme of things.
Total Score: 20 points of 50 (40%)
The complete/​ongoing results of the BBQ Pork Bun Off can be found on my blog.

I’m a fan of Maxim’s for mainly one set of products: moon cake.
When the season is on (near the New Year in February), this bakery produces a nice variety of the usual types of solid little moon cakes: sweet red bean paste (adzuki beans, I believe), sweet ground lotus seed paste (paler inside), and traditional variations with whole cooked egg-​yolk inside one of the two fillings (a traditional detail (it’s the ‘moon’ in moon cakes), and an acquired taste. Frankly, I happen to dig odd stuff like this, but they make versions of the cakes without the yolk for a reason.)
They make a show-​stopping coconut sweet-​top bun and they have a nice variety of other savory buns; BBQ pork buns, ham & egg buns and other handy breakfast items.
Like many of the bakeries on Wentworth, Maxim’s has an ‘eat-​in’ back room. And cash only; the ATM outside is not maintained well and is often out-​of-​order, but don’t let that stop you from dropping in for a classic of Chinese bakery — one of Maxim’s moon cakes!

I wouldn’t say that I’m a pastry aficionado, but I know a good sweet bun when I try one! When I first moved to Chicago, I’d take the red line down to Chinatown for a cup of coffee and 2 Coconut Sweet Top Buns nearly every Sunday morning ($ 3.00).
I soon realized that I’m not the only one with a hankerin’ for Maxim’s coconut buns as they are typically gone by 1 PM. When they are good, they lady usually «You shouldn’t have slept in…» How does she know my sleep schedule? But, if you missed on them something else. When most items are 60 – 70 cents, it’s worth a trying something else. The BBQ pork bun is also good.
Put down your Little Debbie Snacks and go to Maxim’s instead…

I don’t have a great opinion of Maxim’s Bakery. Chiu Quon and Captain Café and Bakery do a far better job with baked goods. I tried the apple pie at Maxim’s, which I can only describe as tasteless and needlessly greasy. I don’t like the overall appearance of the bakery which is rundown. And I don’t know if I want to buy baked goods from a place that sells lottery tickets. I dunno… All in all, there are far better bakeries in Chinatown than this one.