The Boss Bakery @ Chinatown

On our way back from Mother's Day Dim Sum at Victoria Chinese Restaurant, we needed to make a stop in Chinatown. I'm usually quite apprehensive in any visit to Chinatown for a multitude of reasons. First, I'm not particularly enamored in having old men hork and spit right at my feet. Second, I really don't like being pushed around by little old ladies (they're vicious!). Third, I won't buy something just because someone yells out, "Hey loh sai, yee dee gai lan ho leng!" Roughly translated it means: "hey boss, this Chinese Broccoli is fresh." On the topic of "boss", the real reason we stopped in Chinatown was to visit The Boss. No, not a loan shark (well, with all this eating, I may need a loan); rather, The Boss Bakery & Restaurant. We needed to pick up a Mother's Day cake for Viv's mom.

Actually, The Boss and Maxim's are the same company; thus, many of the products are similar. Usually parking in Chinatown on a weekend is a bit of a challenge; but I found one almost right away. Well, I had to pull a u-turn to get it. Hey, when in Rome, do what the Romans do! Of course, while picking up that cake, I decided to grab a few bakery items as well. I got some Pineapple BBQ Pork Buns, Egg Tarts and Ham & Egg Buns. Yes, I didn't get as many this time. It was probably because during Dim Sum, we were discussing how much lard goes into Chinese pastries. I think that sickened me a bit. But not to the point I wasn't going to eat! C'mon, it's me!

As mentioned before, Maxim's and The Boss are the same company and it's evident in their products. They look and taste similar. What does that mean? Well, you get middle of the road Chinese pastries and cakes. They are not the worst and certainly not the best. At least you know what you are getting. The egg tarts are a bit on the small side, but they taste alright and the tart shell is relatively flaky. You still can't beat the ones from New Town Bakery. The pineapple BBQ pork buns are essentially pineapple buns filled with BBQ pork. There really isn't any pineapple in the buns, the top is suppose to look like the outside of a pineapple. The bun is decent, the top is crusty and the BBQ pork is a bit sweet and savory. However, there is not a lot of filling in them. The ham & egg buns are essentially a plain bun with a slice of ham and egg inserted into them. The funny thing about this bun is the egg. If you ever wondered how those plasticized Japanese food displays taste like, just try the egg in this bun. I'm not sure what they do to it, but it looks like a toy piece of egg. Regardless of that, I do like eating the bun; at least they don't put a big slice of butter in it anymore.

I did not visit the restaurant portion of The Boss today; but you can read all about it on my post of The Boss at Metrotown. It's essentially the same, minus the grouchy lady and the food is a bit more consistent in size.

The Good:
- Consistent cakes and pastries
- Inexpensive
- Good Hong Kong-Style Cafe food

The Bad:
- Middle of the road quality - nothing more, nothing less
- Buns lack filling

The Boss Bakery & Restaurant
532 Main Street
Vancouver, B.C.
604-683-3860