Manna House Bakery

A little more pricer than most bakeries in chinatown but for good reasons. They have the best egg tarts, buns and coffee/​tea. Its always fresh and consistent. For 10 cents extra, it’s worth coming here than the other competitors. (Im writing this as i scarf down a fresh steaming bun) but i must resist this place because ill easily look like a bun if i continue coming here

Okay.
–Pineapple bun: pretty good. The bread is really good, but I wish the cookie crust was slightly sweeter, thicker, and crispier. When I took my bun out of the bag, some of the crust was sticking to the bag.
–Cocktail/​milk bun: pretty good. I wish the bread was the same as the pineapple bun, but it wasn’t. This bread was a little drier. The filling is more of a milk, cream filling which was pretty good. I just wish the filling was a combination of milk, cream filling and coconut filling. Also, these do not have any sesame either in the filling, or on the top of the bun. Pretty good amount of filling.
–Egg tart: not good. Though they use a flakey crust, I found it a bit soggy in some parts, and hard (almost like it was undercooked) in other areas. And it seemed to be more crust, than egg filling. Not only was the egg part sunken in, but when I cut it in half, their was a large air pocket from the crust. The egg filling itself wasn’t very smooth, and was lacking in sweetness. I took a bite and threw the rest away. It was really disappointing after reading such great things about the egg tarts here.
This place is small and has a single step leading into the bakery. I think their might be a couple tables in the back, but this place is clearly intended for take out. Because of how narrow and busy this place is, I would not recommended bringing a stroller and/​or wheelchair inside. They sell pastries, so it’s obviously kid friendly.
Like most Chinese bakeries, though their is a line, their is no real line. People come in, shout their order, and leave.
Cash only.

Their bread 3for $ 1.25 not bad n taste good but the service aren’t good they need to hire extra people.

I’ll just put it out there: I love Manna. I’ve been to every single one of Mannas in Chinatown and none of them has disappointed me. Challenge me: is there anything here not good?
This location, like any other Manna, is busy. Every time I go in, there’s a line (yes, lines do exist in Chinatown; but people just don’t order in order). They want you in and they want you out; if you don’t order right away, they will stare at you and they will stare into your soul. If you can’t decide or are confused, just point at whatever is before you. The chances are they would be delicious good. That’s how solid Manna is. Their custard is one of the best in Chinatown and anything with custard are my usual orders.

Egg tarts were average or below average. Plus its a C… for a bakery? How grimey could a bakery really be (don’t answer that).

I’m not sure how their egg custards compare to Eldo’s in Boston since we’ve never tried Eldo’s fresh out of the oven but wow they were good. The pineapple bun, holy shit, best one I’ve ever had. Definitely coming back here next time we’re in NYC and bringing back a boat load of those back home.

PINEAPPLE BUN RATING: 5 out of 5 stars.
In my lifelong mission to locate the world’s best pineapple bun, Manna House Bakery in Manhattan’s Chinatown deserves the top honor in New York City. When straight out of the oven, the bread is soft, the dough is delicious, the topping is sweet and crusty, and the combination of it all is heavenly. I can devour five of these at first sight if I lacked any better self-​control. They are usually consistent in the deliciousness of this bun, though like all other bakeries, they occasionally have their off-​days. They also include a few other varieties, like the custard, but it’s the original that is easily the go-​to item here. As of August 2014, the price of one is $ 0.90.
I haven’t explored too many of their other items, particularly the drinks. The egg tarts are pretty good here, but not spectacular. The white toast is also alright, a bit on the thin and dry side. Most other pastries are presented well though and do look appealing!
Bakery is pretty cramped and narrow. Very small seating area in the back, but I rarely see people hanging out there. Customer service is good. The ladies are local but helpful and generally quite nice. I’ve been coming here for the past 3 years and never once had a bad experience.
I highly recommend Manna House Bakery!

Their Egg tart was quite good, and the selection other than that was impressive enough.

limited selection of breads — there are better bakeries in chinatown.
breads avg $ 1 each and those available are pretty good /​fresh.
I prefer the bakeries along grand street — there’s a lot more variety and options at places like Sweet House or Good Century Café

PINEAPPLE BUNS. i think i’ve finally found one that is exactly like the ones i LOVE back home in LA. Double Crispy bakery is a close 2^nd
DISCLAIMER: yes, they display a C health grade rating… C for Chinese? i guess i look past that grade rating because i’m a fan of the pineapple buns
i’m not sure if they speak english. i only heard my dialect of Cantonese here BUT i’m sure if you point at your selections you’ll survive!
—pineapple bun w/​custard filling: $ 1, so if you want the one w/​o filling point to the pineapple bun that costs 90 cents… crumbly yellow top, thick pasty filling, just the way i grew up with
they’ve also got lots of cakes, cake rolls, & drinks!

My favorite chinese bakery! We should all know the ladies that work behind these counter are usually grumpy bears, but not at Manna. For once, the ladies are nice, and they don’t let people just skip you. Love love love their egg tarts, and their minced pork sponge cakes. Delish!

There are a a lot of Chinese bakeries my mom goes to by bread and pastries for the family’s breakfast the week ahead. There’s no rhyme or reason just which ever one is nearby that sells a god variety. I’m usually her mule/​ox who follows her at every stop and carries the grocery and food.
We came here on a Sunday afternoon and noticed that this place was very busy and didn’t have a seating area. The place is small but was cranking out a lot of freshly baked goods.
The ladies behind the counter are fast and i think understand English well. I’m not that picky when it comes to the breakfast options as long as its not savory or meaty because having spoiled curry chicken bun is not a good way to start a Wednesday or Thursday.
I’d come back here for more.

Before leaving to visit family out of state, they always reminded me to bring them «dan tat» also know as egg tart from this location. Once you walk into this location it lack tables and a place to sit. People usually place the order and hit the busy Chinatown streets or head to work. These four stars are based on the egg tart and service.
When you walk in the door the servers will say good morning and ask for the order. Before you are done they will also recommended pastries that just came out of the oven. I usually order in Cantonese but I’m sure you could just point and say a number and they will be able to understand.
Last time I was here I order two dozen egg tart to go. The custard was sweet and kept constant in each bite. Next is the flaky crust which is not dry but just right compared to other bakery. I highly recommend you try the Egg Tart since it is made very fresh!

If you don’t like Egg Custard Tarts like me, this place will change your mind, like mine. I realized how good a Tart could be after eating one from here. But enough of that.
The real star is the Pineapple Bun with Custard in it. It’s delicious. Fantastic. A-​Prus. Seriously, it’s great. And, if you go there before closing, like all restaurants, they have to toss away all unsold baked goods. One time I went with a family member, and we both got $ 5.00 worth of buns, normally costing $ 10.00 (each cost a dollar), but we got 10 for 5. Wow, my grammar’s shit.
Anyway, go there and let that Pineapple Bun complete your Manna House shrine at home.

Always packed, little old ladies rush in and scream out their orders no matter who is ahead of them.
Their egg custards are one of the reasons why I come here but today they were sold out and new batch was another 20 minute wait. They are good but didn’t want to stand looking like a I haven’t eaten in days.
Walnut pound cakes are also very good as well as most of their other bake goods. Worrth the stop for a quick bite or to take home.

We ordered buns from here and well the reviewers did not lie. This place rocks. I had never had a pineapple bun before bu these rock. The warm roast pork bun was also absolutely banging. The prices are Chinatown cheap and I am going there soon.

A small hole-​in-​the-​wall type store, Manna House is literally a hidden gem. Their pastries are so good with pretty affordable prices. Let me just say — their egg tart is amazing. Please eat it. I really feel like it’s better than the ones that I’ve had in Asia… lol. I can confidently say that no egg tart comes close — this was the best egg tart I’ve ever tasted. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. But it’s really, really good. We got some other pastries, too, all of which were delicious.
The lady helping us out at the counter was super friendly and nice as well, something I was surprised about since I was in New York. She was so nice about our complicated selection of various pastries, and she made our drinks after we ordered (no lukewarm coffee, thank goodness!)

There is simply no contest when it comes to Chinese pastries. Manna House is the best of the best. My mom has been buying bread and pastries from here for over two decades and I grew up eating their fresh and warm pineapple buns. Forget Taipan or Fay Da with their mass-​produced, shoddy baked goods and surly servers.
At Manna House you are guaranteed an authentic experience completely void of tourists. The servers are always friendly and greet you with a smile. You won’t find your green tea or papaya flavored egg custard tarts here, only the traditional goods are offered and that’s how Manna House has been since it’s inception. They are constantly cranking out breads throughout the day so there is a good chance of landing a warm roast pork bun at any given time. Speaking Cantonese is a plus, though pointing would suffice.

It’s surprisingly difficult to find good cocktail and pineapple buns in NYC… but this place does it right. I’m not actually an eater of buns but everyone I bring here has transcendent, orgasmic experiences as they bite through a doughy, sweet, fluffy bun from Manna House. I guess the name is fitting… buns like manna from heaven.
I bought an egg tart here, forgot about it and ate it the next day and I’d say it was a clue to the goodness of this bakery. Cheap cheap cheap, too :) $ 1/​item usually.
The only downside is that it’s next door to a fish market. Just make sure you run in and out as quickly as possible so as not to dampen your baked goods devouring experience.

Manna House is one of the bakeries in Chinatown that serves up very good-​quality baos. My favorite bao is their gaiya (pineapple bao with custard filling). So well done and it retains its quality no matter how long it has been sitting out. I have eaten these 3 days after purchase and a quick ding in the microwave tastes as though it just came out of the oven.
They have this extremely fluffy and soft sponge cake (almost as light as air) — not filling whatsoever, but delicious all the same — that I love to order. Haven’t tried their bubble teas or drinks before, but I suspect that they are quite good.
The people behind the counter are friendly, but in typical Chinatown fashion, they talk and act very fast. Space gets cramped very quickly since it is very limited — don’t make plans to dine in here. This will be one of the cheaper meals in the area as things are usually $ 1 or less.