Mashion Bakery

Bakery: Mashion Bakery
Address: 345 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON
Website: n/a
Style: Chinese
Price: $ 

Damn it, the Torontonian in Montreal Chinatown was indeed right: there are bakeries in Toronto's Chinatown that do sell buns for 3/$1, though this is really the first place I actually saw that had it, at least being advertised on the street and not that hard to miss. That being said, not everything in Mashion Bakery is 3/$1, with deep-fried, savoury or larger buns going anywhere from 2/$1 to 3/$2. Of course, it's all amazing, price-wise (really, are there Chinese bakeries that aren't? ;DDD), and it seems the crowds flocking here seem to think so, although I can now understand why people tend to stick to the savoury products and, most specifically, the steamed pork buns (the awful photo) which are big and stuffed with pork and onions, which were deemed by the guinea pigs as being tasty, but nothing overwhelming "wow", though they did have to add it was pretty stuffed for a bun.

For the rest, you're paying super (super) cheap (btw, taxes are also included with your purchase ;)) and you're pretty much getting the same in return. Because of this, I personally think I'd be willing to pay more not necessarily for bigger buns (since, naturally, the cheaper the bun, the smaller it is), but with more actual stuff.

Nonetheless, taking full advantage of the 3/$1, I got three buns, two for the brothers and one for myself. The first up was the coconut twist for one brother, which ended up being a flop seeing as there was close to no coconut in it and you just got the sweet dough.

The other brother got the black bean bun, which was a sweet-ish dough (not as dessert-like as the others) stuffed with a bit of black bean filling and then topped with a few sesame seeds. This was "alright", but then again, isn't everything okay for brother #2? :/ How come no one can help me out with this~~~?!?! *sighs*

Mine was the "butter rough" which is always a favourite of mine, the good old sugar bun. Though everyone laughed at my saying so, since what's in it, I personally thought it the best and most worth the money, especially given that it was simply a smaller version of the same sugar bun purchased elsewhere, and it was pretty amazing and very tasty to find that the sugar had been stuck on with butter (the taste is unmistakable), something which I've only encountered one or two times. Sugar was generous and really, there was nothing more to expect. Perhaps it wasn't the absolute best, but I can say, without a doubt, it's in the top three. And yes, the list is pretty long. I love my sugar buns. ^^;;;;

Overall, the sweet buns, especially the cheapest ones, are a bit of a hit and miss. The price knocks your socks off, but at the same time, it may be better to pay a little more somewhere else and actually get some stuff (though, to be fair, there are some places where you pay more, but you don't get more...). With two out of three not-so-stellar reviews this time around and the savoury goods (we also bought 2/$1 green bean dumplings, deep-friend and filled with well, green bean paste, which were also pretty good) getting a lot better opinions in this household and getting a lot more business with the customers, I'd say it might be best to stick to the latter. Unless you like sugar buns. :P

Rating: **