Bakeries
The Richmond branch of the Chinatown institution, best known for steamed baos in more than a dozen fillings alongside egg tarts, buns and apple tarts. It sits steps from Brighouse station, which makes it an easy stop straight off the Canada Line.
Steamed baos come over the counter in more than a dozen fillings, sold to people who mostly already know which one they want. The Richmond branch carries the reputation of the Chinatown original for exactly that, with egg tarts, buns and apple tarts filling out the case behind the glass.
What makes this branch useful is where it stands. Brighouse station is steps away, which turns it into a legitimate Canada Line stop rather than a drive. If you are coming down from Vancouver and want something in your hand before carrying on to Steveston or the airport, this is one of the few places in the city that works properly on foot from a platform. Richmond is not a walking city by default, so the addresses that need no car are worth flagging.
Bakeries of this type run on turnover, so timing does more for your experience than any other advice could. Late in the day the case is thinner. That is true of every Chinese bakery worth the name and it is not a criticism, it is simply how the format works: bake, sell, bake again, and let the trays run down rather than sit. Go earlier if a specific filling is the point. Buying a box to carry somewhere is the standard move, and it is the right one if you are bringing something to an office or a family gathering rather than eating on the spot.
In the Brighouse neighbourhood of Richmond.
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Other bakeries and nearby businesses in the Richmond directory.
A long-running Cantonese bakery near Brighouse station where you grab a tray and tongs and load up from self-serve shelves. Portuguese egg tarts, pineapple buns, pork buns and sausage rolls come out through the day, and it stays open until 9pm. Cash only.
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An old-school Chinese bakery on Westminster Highway where prices have barely moved. Honey cakes, plain buns, butter cookies dipped in chocolate and some of the cheapest egg tarts in the city. Selection changes daily and thins out late in the afternoon.
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A cake boutique and small cafe on Alderbridge Way doing custom celebration cakes plus neat single-serve mousse and entremet desserts, with coffee to sit in. Order ahead for anything specific rather than counting on the display case.
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A tiny Japanese-French cake studio on Alexandra Road, open Thursday to Sunday only. Chiffon-based entremets and choux in flavours like matcha yuzu, restrained on sugar and finished carefully. The popular ones sell out, so it is worth calling first.
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An Asian bakery on Alexandra Road built around softball-sized meat floss cakes, savoury cream inside and floss outside, in flavours running from seaweed and salted egg yolk to Oreo chocolate and lemon yogurt. Unusual enough to draw people across town.
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The Parker Place branch of Richmond's best-known Cantonese bakery, running the same tray-and-tongs format with rows of sweet and savoury buns, egg tarts and cocktail buns. Handy if you are already at the mall for groceries or the food court.
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