Kim G.
Yelp
Oh, Mei! The savory and sweet buns are scrumptious! From the first bite of the scallion, bacon & cheese bun, I was craving another bite and instantly regretted not buying more. Now that I have experienced their deliciousness, it can never be erased from my memory and I will be going back to Mei Sum. Often.
For those that have never been to a Cantonese bakery, give it a try! Unlike American donut shops filled with uber sweet doughnuts topped with super sweet icing and filled with and then topped with even more sugary stuff, the sweet buns and cakes here are on the low end of the sweet spectrum. They have a hint of sweetness and the buns are very light, airy, even sponge like. Which is what I prefer. When I visit a doughnut shop I get the unglazed plain, to give perspective.
This tiny store contains a lot of goodness. Sample several, at $1.00-$1.50 a bun, getting 6, 8 or even a dozen to share is totally affordable. Heck, American doughnut shops charge $3-4 or more per doughnut!
For the savory, definitely get the popular baked pork bun (Char Siu Bao) which I prefer over the more common steamed version. With its golden yellow exterior, soft bread like interior and sweet minced bbq port filling, I'd have 2 of these for lunch any day of the week!
The real show stopper is the scallion, chopped bacon & cheese bun, with the delicious combination piled on top. I selected one and couldn't even wait to get home to eat it, devouring it in the car while driving home. Almost made a u-turn to go back, then realized I could go back anytime, so released the irrational "scallion bun shortage fear" and continued driving.
The hot dog buns, with and without cheddar cheese, are wonderful. The delightfully sweet dough encasing the savory hot dog, were reminiscent of the classic hot dogs wrapped in Pillsbury crescents that I used to make for the Super Bowl parties and other gatherings. Soooo good!
For sweet, I tried the pineapple bun which is appropriately named because of the crisis cross pattern on top. Inside was a light and delicious cream.
Since it was my first time at Mei Sum, I wasn't sure of the process and communication as a bit challenging. When I selected a bun the woman put it in a tray, and I thought she was going to heat it up and I tried to explain I wanted to heat it at home. All this conversation was unnecessary as they don't heat them up! They put your selection on a tray so they can then determine how best to package.
Bring cash. Or spend at least $10 since that is the minimum to use a card. Surprisingly, unless you are buying buns for a few people, it's challenging to hit the $10 minimum. When does that ever happen? My selection of 2 pork buns, 1 scallion, 1 hotdog and 1 pineapple bun came to $6.50. That's crazy good!
Located in the Powell Street Station strip mall on the corner of SE Powell and 82nd (with the Winco) this unassuming bakery needs to be on your list. I'm doubtful that I could ever drive down SE 82 without stopping in for a bun or several. Impossible to resist.