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The Boss Bakery & Restaurant
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 10 am - 7 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
18 reviews for The Boss Bakery & Restaurant
18 reviews in English
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Review from Mandy N.
Vancouver, BC
5/4/2012
Just went for lunch today at this place.
Been here like multiple times with different people.
From what I remember from years ago their plates are a lot bigger for the same price. Then again I never can finish them anyways.
It's your average Hong Kong style food around.
I had their mini baked spaghetti minced beef in tomato sauce. Not bad i would say.
The boss was pretty friendly and have checked up on us. -
Review from Yvonne C.
3/17/2012
The Bakery:
Lots of tasty buns, from sweet to savoury and everything in between. The danish buns are 3 for $1.20!!! SO CHEAP (Chinese accent)! They run out of buns fast, so better get them while they last. Their cakes and pastries are yummy in my tummy and they aren't overly sweet at all. I can't get enough of it!
The Restaurant:
Huge selection of HK style dishes and meals for good value. All of their afternoon tea meals comes with a hot drink, for cold drinks add $1. No age limit for the kids meal; You can still order it if you're 65. They got Chinese/Caucasian style breakfast all day which I usually get. The breakfast comes with a drink, dinner roll/pineapple bun, eggs with bacon/steak/sausage, and a bowl of hot noodle soup, all for $6.50. Their french toast is what I order when I want something crispy and sweet. This is not your typical western style french toast. They use two pieces of white bread with some kind of sweet orange colour spread in between, dipped in batter then deep fried and served with syrup. LOVE IT!Listed in: Budget Meal for under $10
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Review from Kenneth E.
Vancouver, BC
12/30/2011 2 photos
Ok, i'm probably a bit tougher than most, simply b/c these type of HK cafe's are a dime a dozen but like everyone says, it's an institutional, and it's got the hustle & bustle, nice comfortable long booths, and a place to be seen lol.
It's good value, fast service, provided you get in there before or after lunch 1pm, otherwise, you'll be waiting for a good while, standing too.
Recommended:
1. sponge cake
2. shredded pork/preserved vegetable vermicilli noodles
3. glutinous rice paste, coconut w/ some peanut & sugar filling
4. any of the black-forest-style cakes, fruit ones too haha
5. congee
6. grilled chicken w/ lettuce sandwich -
Review from Annie W.
10/15/2011
My early childhood years were spent in the Strathcona neighborhood. It was a shady place back then, but amidst the memories of our friendly neighborhood drunks and crack addicts...there are memories of weekends spent walking around Chinatown with my grandparents, working up an appetite, and then stuffing our faces with fresh "Bo Lo Yau" (Pineapple Buns w/ a thick slice of butter), crispy hot pan noodles, warm egg tarts, and cups of steaming Horlicks or icy lemon tea.
Even after we moved out to the 'burbs, my family would make weekly trips to Chinatown. I still come down to The Boss for lunch every other weekend or so with my Gramma. I love how so little has changed here, and we always leave with boxes of buns, cakes, and cookies from the bakery. I LOVE their mini almond cookies, they go perfectly with a cuppa tea on cold days.
The Boss is a Chinatown institution. It will be a sad sad day for many generations of Chinese Vancouverites if this place ever closes their doors. -
Review from Edward L.
I used to come here all the time in the 80s and 90s. Now Chinatown is definitely slowly dying off, but the Boss has been around for who knows how long.
I haven't had the buns from the bakery section up front, but in the past they have always been awesome. Today we went to the restaurant in the back.
Normally you don't expect too much from the "cheap" $6 menu, but the food was actually quite bland. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. But it looks like they've renovated the place in recent years, and the washroom is clean.
It's worth checking out, but don't have high expectations. The bakery still looks (and smells) great though. -
Review from Annie W.
9/26/2010
Pretty good place for on budget eating! Their combo meals start from $4.50 to $8.50. I recommend to always order combo A+B on the breakfast menu; you get more for your money. All these combos come with a free hot drink or you can have a cold drink with an extra $1 charge. Another note is that the breakfast menu can be changed to your liking. If you do not like turkey meat, you can have steak or if you do not feel like vermicelli noodles in soup you can change it to flat rice noodles, etc. I've eaten there for about 15 years, so if you want something but do not know if it is available, you can always message me :)
Parking Note: If you decide not to park on the street (or if there isn't any), you can always park at the Chinatown Plaza (where Floata Seafood Restaurant is). If you eat $15+ at The Boss, they give you a token that will pay for your parking at Chinatown Plaza...but usually I can never eat more than $12!Listed in: Cheap Asian Meals
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Review from Kim L.
Vancouver, BC
11/4/2010 3 Check-ins Here
This is a 3.5 star review.
Cafe: This is a solid place for HK Cafeteria/Diner food. The prices are very reasonable (lunch specials and combo deals), the service quick, and the place is clean. The real reason I come here is for...
THE BAKERY! I'm a huge fan of sponge cakes/rolls, and it's the first thing I usually try at Chinese bakeries...I must confess I am now a huge fan their mango sponge cake, coconut buns (3 for $1.20), and their coffee cake! Their pineapple buns and egg tarts are also good, but not the main reason why I go. I was debating whether to share this with you all, but what kind of yelper would I be if I held out on vital info?
Drum roll please...
Starting at 5pm they have $4 goody bags that are filled with the buns/tarts/goodies from the day. This time, my mixed bag came with:
-Pineapple Bun with Taro
-Bun with Hot Dog
-Three Spring Rolls
-Three Fried Balls with Meat Filling
-Red Bean Bun
-Chicken Pot Pie
I think that this is a great deal, especially for anyone with big families. Since my household consists of 2, I freeze the buns and pop them in the oven as I wait for my morning coffee to brew. For any of the fried goodies, I wouldn't store them in the freezer, but I find that reheating them in the toaster or frying pan revives them to original crispness for up until 2 days.Listed in: HK Cafes
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Review from Jon L.
12/31/2010
Let's face it. The Chinese bakeries in Seattle are no match for the ones in Vancouver and Richmond. Rating the ones in Seattle is pretty much rating them on a curve. A 4 star bakery in Seattle, is more like a 2 or 3 in Vancouver, which I perhaps unfairly have higher standards for.
The Boss Bakery is fairly known in Seattle because a selection of their products are sold in the Seattle area at numerous Chinese grocers. Even Uwajimaya carries them. Although they are imported from up north and have travelled some distance, they are still on par with the ones found in the Seattle bakeries. So logically, if you go to the source which I did, my hypothesis would be that the baked goods would taste even better if I bought them at the actual storefront.
As I concluded, I was indeed right. The stuff here is great. The selection which interestingly looks similar to the Maxim's nearby, is pretty standard for a Vancouver Chinese bakery, but you will notice the pricing here is cheaper than in Seattle. For instance, a slice of their cakes actually costs less than a BBQ pork bun in Seattle. Unreal.
And even so, that does not mean the quality is bad. Somehow it is better. The mango sponge cake is so good. Reminds me of Japanese castella cake except with a coating of mango puree in the small openings.
I have not visited a Vancouver/Richmond Chinese bakery I did not like thus far. They don't call it The Boss for nothing you know. -
Review from Gloria H.
4/15/2009
Before we discovered the Richmond area, we used to come to Chinatown to get our fix on HK styled food, specifically the HK milk tea.
Now what I remember most and best about this place is the "bor low yao" - a warm pineapple bun slice in half horizontally w/ a thick slab of butter in between. The warm bun softly melts the butter and each bite is absolutely sinful...I can still remember it after all these years.
The place has aged and the quality has gone downhill. However, I will always remember this place w/ super fond memories. -
Review from Rachael T.
Toronto, ON
4/5/2010
It was good friday.. i woke up and got to the Aritiza sale at 8am.. and after almost two hours of screaming vicious girls fighting through piles of clothes, I was extremely hungry.... not to mention it was raining and the paper bag I was carrying was drenched, causing it to rip... anyways... i was hungry.
I walked into the bakery and the ladies behind the counter were very nice. The buns looked frreshly baked and there was a large abundance of them. From large pinapple buns to mini, taro or bbq pork filled, you were sure to find something that meets your tastebuds. I looked at their restaurant menu to see if there was a combo I could get to go, but everything included soup and noodles so I went with a childhood favourite - ham and egg sandwich, with a chinese ying yang tea/coffee.
The manager was super nice and was willing to substitute if I wanted to.... after about 5 minutes, everything was ready to go. The sandwich and even the drink was packaged in plastic wrap to conserve the heat from leaking out. I got a couple of mini buns for bf and he said they were very good.
As I bit into my sandwich, the softness of the white bread was so satisfying.. just the way chinese bakeries make them! There were pieces of lettuce in the sandwich, which was surprising and I did not mind it at all. Part of the sandwich was overly buttery but I didn't mind too much.
My ying yang was piping hot and they let me add my sugar myself, instead of the usual over sweetness that is presented to me. Overall it was a damn good breakfast. Although a little overpriced - almost 6 dollars, I think it's okay once in a while.Listed in: Bo Lo Bao and Cha Chan Teng
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Review from Anthony F.
Vancouver, BC
3/16/2010
Background: I'm Chinese raised in Vancouver. I've known all the joints in Chinatown since I was a kid.
Food: This is as good as it gets in Chinatown. The bakery is MONEY. Try the taro-filled pineapple bun. The egg tarts are decent. The diner has awesome lunch specials, where you can get soup, a pineapple bun, and an entree such as baked creamy chicken on fried rice or HK-style pork chop on rice; all for $8.50. Afternoon tea here is also good. My only complaint is that most of the dishes are scarce on the vegetables.
Ambiance: It's a diner.
Service: Yell out "m'goi!" for prompt service, or no one will give you a second glance.
Pricepoint: You can eat for $10 here usually, including tea or coffee.
Overall: Once again, this is as good as it gets for HK food in Chinatown. It's a reliable choice and the buns are fresh. -
Review from Mercedes G.
Vancouver, BC
11/26/2008 1 photo
I have yet to try out the restaurant side of the Boss Bakery and Restaurant, but with the lineup at the cash-only bakery, I thought it a safe bet to try out some Chinese baked goods for now.
The Boss Bakery shows all signs of being a great bakery, from the scent wafting out onto the street, to the hoards of people coming in and out. Never mind that at 2:00 in the afternoon, many of the items were sold out. Boss Bakery sells the ubiquitous buns filled with all sorts of goodness, from meat to sweet and everything in between, as well as an assortment of other treats. I had to do a double take on the prices...70 cents for a BBQ pork bun?! Three coconut buns for $1.20?! I didn't realize it was possible to purchase food, GOOD food, at these astronomically cheap prices but Chinatown always surprises.
The coconut buns are definitely tasty and for that price, anyone can treat themselves to a few delicate, light and sweet (or savoury) buns! -
Review from Tanya S.
5/31/2011
Don't be turned off by the appearance of this cafe/diner. It's (relatively) clean and decent for a restaurant in any Chinatown. Whenever I'm back in Vancouver, I'm itching to come here for a savory snack or a piece of Chinese pastry/cake and a cup or two of HK-style coffee.
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Review from Ott p.
9/1/2009
this review is for the bakery only:
"I found heaven and it in the shredded pork bun." -
Review from pete h.
3/21/2010
The only thing I get here are the wintermelon cakes, also known as the wife's cakes. These are the pastries that are given out when someone gets married, they are round pastries with a flaky skin. They are a dollar a piece but they are worth every penny. I've also eaten at the Cafe a few times in the back of the bakery, the thing that I always get the Pineapple bun with butter and a hot cup of Hong Kong Tea! Yummie in the Tummie!
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Review from chantal m.
Vancouver, BC
3/15/2011
ok, admittedly, this rating is on the almond cookies. THEY ARE FAB.
the hot food, you could take it or leave it. but if you're looking for a good (cheap) chinese bakery, this is the place. all things bread/dough-related here are awesome. also: roll cakes! -
Review from Leroy L.
6/9/2010 1 Check-in Here
I remember coming here when I was a kid when my family would visit Vancouver. I would always get a BBQ Pork Bun or an Egg Tart to have with my Vitasoy soy milk box, but that was a long time ago. I now come to The Boss for their incredibly delicious Fruit Cakes! Fruit and whipped cream layered between delicate sponge cake with more whipped cream as frosting and garnished with more fruit. There are two kinds of Fruit Cakes. One is made with fruit cocktail, which is like canned fruit. The other is a little more expensive, but is made with fresh fruit and definitely worth it! They're perfect for any occasion. Try one, you won't be disappointed!
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Review from S H.
4/10/2009 4 photos
If you are craving for HK Cafe food when you are in Vancouver Chinatown, try this place for its tasty Asian & Western style dishes. The Swiss Chicken Wing is yummy and worth the 20mins wait. We had fried Noodle, Fish Fillet in a gravy and Pregnant fish. The HK tea taste like those you get in HK with the right consistency. At the front of the shop there is a bakery where you can get cakes, bun and pastries.
Listed in: Vancouver
