Mei Lai Wah

If you’re coming to Chinatown for a food crawl, definitely make this your first stop. The pork buns are worth the hype, worth the wait. The line will go pretty fast and they have them ready so once you get to the window they’ll just hand them to you. We tried the pineapple roast pork bun, and the steamed roast pork bun. The roasted bun was crispy and filled with a sweet fatty pork mixture. The steamed bun was so soft and they’re both filled with a good amount of pork. I recommend bringing cash but there is a card option with a separate line

I ordered the pineapple pork bun, steamed pork bun and one Chinese bread. The pineapple pork bun is their signature item. It’s good but didn’t surprise me though. The line up was long. Here is a tip for all of you. You might see two lines in front of the store. One is cash only line. The other is cashless line that has a computer for you to place your orders. Go with the computer line. You place your order and u can leave the line. They will text you when your order is ready. It’s much faster than cash line because cash line customers will have to order face to face.

The pineapple roast pork bun is so so good. I’ve had steam roast pork buns my whole life but nothing ever came close to how good this one was. I was skeptical at first about the pineapple bun with roast pork inside but I had one bite and instantly loved it. The pineapple outer was perfectly crispy and the pork inside was flavourful and savory. Perfect balance of sweet & salty. Must try!! Came the day before Thanksgiving so the line was really long. There were two lines: one for cash and the other for card payment. The cash line was significantly shorter, so I stood in the cash line. Despite being shorter, I waited for 40 minutes total (from waiting to ordering to getting my food). I’m not a big fan of waiting for food but I honestly think this place is worth it. Make sure to note that it’s takeout only!

Very busy spot for their pineapple buns. The bun was great, but I didn't like the pork filling (other stores have a better taste), I would just get the plain bun. I probably wouldn't wait again for this (over 30mins). You have to order first (either in the cash or the card line) then wait for your order to be called.

This place is going to be my new favorite snack spot when I come through. I got hooked on baked pork buns when I was in high school, but when my favorite spot closed down, I couldn't find anything like them. This spot not only has the ones I enjoy the most, but they even do it so much better with the pineapple bun. I had to try a little bit of everything. You should, too. You will not be disappointed, and on a cold winter day, that soft warm bread and that savory, meaty bite is unlike anything else.