Vegetarian goes bad. Can't wait to try the offering from AA Bakery, 1068 Stockton.
By Tara Duggan, Staff Writer Feb 16, 2026
Char siu bao are the ultimate to-go snack. The baked variety, with chopped barbecue pork stuffed into a fluffy wheat bun, is ideal for wandering around San Francisco’s Chinatown during Lunar New Year festivities that begin this week.
Char siu bao are not a traditional New Year food, but the neighborhood is full of bakeries and to-go dim sum spots that make both the steamed and baked variety. (many are crowded around the same two blocks of Stockton Street.) However, not all char siu bao are created equal, and Chronicle staff set out to find our favorite baked pork buns on a recent rainy morning as Chinatown was gearing up for the Year of the Horse.
We ate pork buns all over S.F.’s Chinatown. This was the best one
Greg
Quick and Dirty
Char siu bao are the ultimate to-go snack. The baked variety, with chopped barbecue pork stuffed into a fluffy wheat bun, is ideal for wandering around San Francisco’s Chinatown during Lunar New Year festivities that begin this week.
Char siu bao are not a traditional New Year food, but the neighborhood is full of bakeries and to-go dim sum spots that make both the steamed and baked variety. (many are crowded around the same two blocks of Stockton Street.) However, not all char siu bao are created equal, and Chronicle staff set out to find our favorite baked pork buns on a recent rainy morning as Chinatown was gearing up for the Year of the Horse.
The Cantonese specialty starts with the char siu itself, succulent pork with origins in the Zhou dynasty, when the meat was spit-roasted over a fire. For modern-day bao, cooks chop the meat and stir it into a mixture of hoisin, oyster sauce and other ingredients, often thickening the sauce with corn starch. Steamed pork buns feature an airy, white bao while the baked ones are in a sweeter, glazed dough.
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During our crawl of Chinatown bakeries, we looked for three main things: succulent chopped meat with a balanced sweet and savory flavor; fluffy but not too soft buns that hold up well as you bite into them; and a satisfying ratio of bun to filling.
With that in mind, we headed out to six bakeries and to-go dim sum spots to find the best char siu bao. Here is how they ranked.
Cross section of a char siu bao from Eastern Bakery.
Janelle Bitker/S.F. Chronicle
6. Eastern Bakery
This venerable bakery is the oldest in Chinatown, founded in 1924 in what is still a prime corner spot on Grant Avenue. The char siu bao didn’t start off with a good impression, with filling more gray than char siu’s traditional dark red and moisture seeping into the bun. The sauce was overly glutinous and thick, making this our least favorite char siu bao. But a slice of the bakery’s coffee crunch cake, a version of an old-time San Francisco favorite layered with fluffy coffee whipped cream, helped make up for any disappointment.
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720 Grant Ave., San Francisco. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. daily.
Cross section of a char siu bao from Yummy Bakery.
Janelle Bitker/S.F. Chronicle
5. Yummy Bakery & Cafe
Yummy is a Hong Kong-style bakery about a block off of Grant Avenue that specializes in pineapple buns and egg tarts with flaky shells. The char siu bao’s filling leaned on the salty side, with a strong rice wine flavor that could have used more balance from five spice powder or sweetness.
607 Jackson St., San Francisco. 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily.
Cross section of a char siu bao from Garden Bakery.
Janelle Bitker/S.F. Chronicle
4. Garden Bakery
This bakery has a lively ambiance and a classic look, with wood-paneled walls and a retro sign. Its char siu bao was a strong contender, though the filling was slightly too boozy from rice wine and the bun collapsed a bit. It was still enjoyable.
765 Jackson St., San Francisco. 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily. https://www.gardenbakerysf.com
Cross section of a char siu bao from Stockton Bakery.
Janelle Bitker/S.F. Chronicle
3. Stockton Bakery
In the middle of Stockton Street’s busiest shopping area, this bakery makes a char siu bao with a welcome balance of sweet and savory. It’s a solid choice if the lines are too long at one of our other top picks – which are right nearby.
1049 Stockton St., San Francisco. 7 a.m.-6:30 p.m. daily.
Cross section of a char siu bao from Good Mong Kok Bakery.
Janelle Bitker/S.F. Chronicle
2. Good Mong Kok
On the same block as Stockton Bakery, Good Mong Kok often has a long line, and Chronicle restaurant critics named it the best place in the Bay Area for takeaway dim sum. Its baked pork bun had a dark golden exterior, and both the bun and filling were excellent, but it leaned on the bready side compared to our No. 1 pick.
1039 Stockton St., San Francisco. 7 a.m.-6 p.m. daily.
Cross section of char siu bao from AA Bakery in San Francisco.
Janelle Bitker/S.F. Chronicle
1. AA Bakery
Founded by Henry Chen, this bakery specializes in custom decorated cakes and pastries, and has a large sit-down area that’s a respite from busy Stockton Street. The char siu bao here was warm from the oven and had all the right elements in ideal proportions: deep flavor in the pork, a brioche-like bun and a satisfying balance.
1068 Stockton St., San Francisco. 6:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. daily. https://aabakerysf.com/
Feb 16, 2026
Tara Duggan
Reporter