Celestial Bakery

This is the WORSE dim sum I’ve EVER HAD! It was Nasty – NaStY – NASTY!!! So I originally heard they had sweet rice cake, like the Hawaiian style back home, but they didn’t have it so we got a few things because well, I heard it was good. First of all it was Disgusting, no Flavor, Bland and just Gross!!! YUCK!
BBQ pork bun — F-​, the bun wasn’t even sweet like I’ve had EVERYwhere else! I’ve never tasted such disgusting Manapua in my life and I grew up on this stuff in Hawaii and Asia. The inside was more than ½empty and the mean was flavorless!
Shumai — was disgusting and taste like what I think bland rubber shoelaces would taste like. I tried flavoring it with soy sauce, but it still didn’t help. Besides good dim sum especially shumai doesn’t need any shoyu or sauce.
Moon cake — was the only actual tasty thing, wish got more than just one.
Pineapple Custard — there was NO custard inside of it. It was Completely Empty! Disgusting, no flavor and it was like just eating raw flour.
Sticky Rice — this was atleast full of filling, but again NO flavor! I mean I know my Chinese and dim sum, they should be bursting with flavor and tasty, but these were just a Disgrace to part of my heritage!
Char Siu– we bought a lb. to use in the Saimin I’m making 2nite, but honestly I’m too scared to try it on it’s own. Hopefully my homemade tasty broth will mask what faults it may have, since the char siu int he bake bun was barely edible.
Never Again will I subject myself to this place and such pure torture! Now my taste buds are whacked and I’ll have to get me good dim sum on the morrow just to not be traumatized, but such an experience.

I wish there were Chinese bakeries here in Colorado Springs. Whenever my mother and I do decide to go up to Denver, we always stop into this place. The food is phenomenal and my favorite thing here is the baked bbq pork buns. There is a wide variety of pastry to pick from and the store is fairly clean and easy to locate. I’ve noticed the women behind the counter are a little rude and have a tendency to rush the customer and snap at them. Pretty good bakery in my opinion and I suggest you to check the place out.

This was a good place to stop in and pick up a few desserts and some dim sum items when there’s no time to sit down for dim sum. They used to sell half chickens (Shoyu style, or Cold Ginger) for $ 6. Hadn’t been there for a couple of months, so i stopped in on the Lunar New Year (Gung Hee Fat Choy), and was told they only sell them whole now for $ 18.00, but the old menu was still taped to the butcher window. Wasn’t worth arguing, instead i texted myself to look up cold ginger chicken recipes.

We have been coming here for 20 years now, a real off the wall, family owned, authentic taste of China, This year we actually enjoyed «Moon Cake» usually we choke other places’ cakes down, but the home made moon cakes at Celestial rock! delicious!

20 years baking and it shows. egg custard, coconut buns as good as they come. Lady in front nice speaks good chinese. dim sum shu mai and haw gow good. Will be back. from an Asian who has eaten a lot of food this place is good.

To start off, I’m not local. I grew up in Denver, but left Denver more than 20+ years ago. I still visit Denver often as mom and sister are local.
Anyway, came here because of my sister’s recommendation as we had lunch nearby.
Typical hole in the wall set up in a Chinatown shopping center. I wanted egg tart, but the ones they had just didn’t look well made. We ended up getting some sesame and basic sweets, and 2 bbq ducks.
The bakery sweets are just OK as it was nothing special to write about. My review is more on the 2 ducks we bought. They had several ducks lined up, but the lady working the front (maybe the owner) insist that these 2 are the best. Since I can’t tell one from another, I agreed.
After she had her helper cut them and boxed up, I drove for the next hour to Ft Collins as that’s where we’re staying for the Thanksgiving week.
That evening for dinner, the ducks was obviously one of the highlight. We heat up the ducks in the oven briefly. The overall taste was bland as there was little flavor or that freshness. As my mom started to complaint as she always does, she asked if we had picked out the ducks ourselves. I told her as a matter of fact, we did not as the store clerk insist these 2 are the better ones. She said that they would do that as they usually have to sell the older ducks first, or maybe the day old ducks before the other fresher ones.
Oh…ok, that makes sense. So basically, I paid full price for leftover ducks, which is why the taste is just not right. It didn’t have that full smoked flavor, or that richness (from the fat and skin) of the typical Peking duck. Lesson learned.
Bottom line is that their fresh ducks may taste better, but I doubt it would be that much better than a 3 stars. The 2 stars rating was for the fact they had sold me the older ducks at full price, and the fact that it was just not that fresh to begin with. I would avoid this place as there are other places that sells better ducks… per my mom that is. Probably won’t buy any more ducks when I visit Denver the next time. I’ll just leave that to my mom so I don’t get blame for it.

The woman who runs the front counter treats you as though you are a huge inconvenience for her. She is rude, curt and unfriendly. Don’t reward her behavior by giving her your business. There are plenty of other places with roast duck, dim sum or baked goods where the people treat you nicely and smile.

Awesome traditional chinese pastries done well. Along w/​smoked duck & pork that are as equally good. This places makes you feel like you are not in Denver, but more NYC or Chicago Chinatowns.

I come to this bakery when I’m looking for some authentic Chinese baked goods. Cakes, pastries, and a good selection of savory stuff. Usually, I come here when I need (err… want) the fried crullers (kind of like a fried dough stick, you tiao) to make a special Chinese breakfast at home (fan tuan/​rice rolls). But then I end up getting a bunch of other stuff that looks/​smells too delicious to pass up and the prices are cheap.
This visit, I got a chinese tamale, a few shrimp dumplings, a couple chicken buns, and one sweet bun. Cost? $ 7.50.
You can also get roasted duck, bbq pork, and other items here. I hear tell that they’re pretty good and very fairly priced.
Yes, the interior looks kind of dingy. But I’ll overlook all that for some yummy cheap goodness.
Also, since it’s located in the Far East Center, parking can be difficult. Just be patient.

EXTREMELY RUDE SERVICE. Woman was extremely grumpy and unhelpful. Good thing my mom speaks the language or ordering would be out of the question. The only reason we return are the long fried breadsticks, the football shaped pastries, and sometimes the pork buns.
We don’t stop by often. I wouldn’t support service like this otherwise.

I was roaming around the area with my parents and we stumbled across this place and decided to go inside. At first glance at the pastries, I thought they looked really orange. Either way I decided to try to Pineapple custard bun and the layered sponge cake (which I would usually get in California).
The sponge cake was layered with a little bit of cream and it was very moist. The cream went well with the moist cake. I’d would come back for this another time if I was in the area.
As for the Pineapple custard bun, It was dry and the custard was not very custard like. It looked like medium cooked egg yolk. I do not recommend getting it.
Service was also mediocre.

Two words. Almond Cookies. At 4 for $ 1, you have to get 4. And then eat them in one sitting because one or two of these flaky, melt in your mouth, perfectly made almond cookies simply isn’t enough. Our friends get the BBQ pork buns which they swear by but I haven’t been able to get past those almond cookies.

I’m spoiled with all the bakeries in CA.
My choices are limited when it comes to Egg custard tart. They have them here. And it tastes pretty good too.
The pineapple bun was gross. We also go the BBQ steam pork bun, that was okay as well.
The price is okay, but it’s so dang far away from me. There are always chinese ladies in there talking up a storm. Communicating might be hard, I wouldn’t even think about asking questions lol

I should’ve known better than to try and find roast pork ON Chinese new year day. Pacific Ocean was closed for the day and the other place I know of isn’t done with theirs yet so I figured I’ll try my luck at this place.
The dim sum actually looked pretty decent but since I’m in a rush, I only bought some BBQ pork, roast pork, and the green onion chicken. I also got some turnip cake and new year cake. All the food was awesome (and cheaper than other places). Only thing is that the green onion sauce was a little too salty. The turnip cake is better than any other ones I’ve had at the dim sum restaurants. The new year cake tasted awesome after frying it crispy.
Overall I loved the place and prices. I don’t what took me so long to try them out, now I’m mad at myself. I’ll definitely go back and get some dim sum next time.

Cash only for anything below $ 5 but they take credit cards for anything above that amount.
This is pretty authentic Cantonese style pastry. They definitely have really good anything baked. Like Ran T. said, I don’t really care for their steamed items either unless I want some steamed ‘man-​tou’ which is just Asian steamed bread with nothing in it. Sometimes I would fried an egg and put some soy sauce in the middle of man-​tou and eat it for breakfast. But I can always buy it frozen from Pacific Ocean Market and steam it myself at home.
Anyway, I love this place for it’s sponge cake dessert. It’s always located on top of the case all the way to the left when you are facing their cash register. It’s basically layered vanilla cake with slight cream in the middle between layers… and it’s cut in a triangle. They always sell it in 2s and it’s light and delicious. Asian pastry is known to not be too sweet and I like them like that.
Definitely a place to check out for their char-​siu and ducks. Great food at great prices!

Addictive bakery goodness Oh My! From Egg Tarts ($ 1 each), Almond Butter Cookies (4 for $ 1), bread buns and those bakery delights that just melt in my mouth. are the reasons why I came coming back to this establishment. Did they put something «ILLEGAL» here for my addiction of sweet stuffs?
Furthermore, if you are in this neighborhood or the strip mall with ASIAN GOODNESS GALORE, how can you miss those BRIGHT YELLOW SIGNAGE?
Talk to one of the staffs for a big order, and she said just call ahead like 2 days in advance or come in person. Still deciding whether should I not get the big order in the future…

They make really good authentic Cantonese pastry, as well as roasted duck and BBQ pork. Go there before noon to get fresh pastry. My favorites are: red bean bun, pineapple bun, sesame balls, and almond cookies. I don’t really care for their steamed buns because they don’t have much flavors. Their roasted duck is on the fatty side. I think maybe that’s just their style. All the pastries are under $ 1.00 and $ 5.00 is enough for two people. If you buy less than $ 5 worth of stuff, you have to pay cash.

Quick! What’s smaller than a shoebox, and sweeter than a Mon Thong durian? Why, it’s yet another paragon of yumminess on Federal Boulevard. A veteran of the Far East Center, Celestial Bakery boasts a wide array of treats to tickle your collective fancies.
So, you’re pining for some Dim Sum, but don’t want to deal with crashing carts, and wonky service, and erratic hours — oh my! Well, you’ve come to the right place. At Celestial you can get succulently sweet Cha Siu Bao (barbecue pork buns) right alongside moist, dense Lo Bak Go («turnip cakes», actually made from daikon radish). Or why not sample a glutinous rice roll, rich with pork and dried shrimp? (Now, I know you really, really want to eat it right away, but unless you’re trying to add extra fiber to your diet, I strongly suggest removing the paper on the bottom of the roll before consumption!)
If your sweet tooth is sending out a distress signal, never fear! The bakery can help with that too. How about a dense, eggy Dan Taat (custard tart), or a crispetty-​crunchetty sesame ball stuffed with sweet red bean paste? You could even try one of their signature delights, the Bo Lo Bao (pineapple bun). In a similar situation to its Japanese cousin, the Melonpan (melon bun), this item is actually named for the design on top of the bun, which generally contains no pineapple whatsoever.
You can also avail yourself of the juicy roast meats (pork, duck, etc.) hanging in the window! So visit Celestial Bakery, and you’ll be praising the heavens too.

This store reminds of the markets in China Town back home in Honolulu. It’s small, cramped, and there’s cooked dead things hanging on display. I walked in and was teary-​eyed from the nostalgia. Or maybe I was teary-​eyed from the nasty perfume of one of the customers. Hmmph.
I only had the appetite to try a handful of their offerings. I ordered 6 siu mai, 6 har gao, 2 large almond cookies, and 1 slab of rice cake. The total was $ 11.20 which is damn cheap for the amount of food I got.
The siu mai was decent at room tempurature. It probably would’ve tasted better if I had heated it up. The har gao was okay, but I didn’t have any chili oil or hot mustard to eat with it so it was a tad bland. I love the almond cookies. They’re the real deal here, not that fake junk you get at chinese buffets. It’s almost like the almond cookies we have back home: Big with a nice and sugary crunch. The rice cake aka bok tong go was also delicious and you get a huge slab for really cheap.
All in all, I am glad to have found this place and will most definitely be back.

(The conversation here went like this:
Lady: «HELLO?»
Me: «Two custard tarts, please.»
Lady: «HOW MANY??»
Me: «Two.»
(pause while she bags them)
Lady: «HELLO?»
Me: One butter cookie.“
Lady: «HOW MANY??»
Me: «One, please.»
(pause while she bags it)
Lady: «HELLO?»
Me: «Two plain buns»
… And so on for another 6 items. Amusing).
I had some absolutely fantastic BBQ pork buns in a super dirtyass hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant in SF Chinatown a few months ago, and hoped I could find something similar here. I did indeed find BBQ pork buns at Celestial Bakery but, surprisingly, they really weren’t that good (fatty, hardly any pork, not much flavor). Bummer. Among the various buns, cookies and pastries I bought (less than a dollar each), the highlights were the almond cookies and the egg custard tart thingies. Now those were delicious!
Had I not been a bit intimidated by the lady shrieking at me, I would have taken the time to check out the barbecued chicken, duck and pork hanging in the case… Hanging, that is, next to the sad-​looking pigs’ heads :(But with the sight of a bucket of raw chicken legs on the floor by the cookie counter, and «HELLO?» ringing in my ears, I paid for my cookies, and left.
Edit: I’ve been back a couple of times since this review, and still LOVE the egg custard tarts. The «Chinese Tamale» is tasty but a little weird (and watch out for bones in the chicken. I nearly broke a tooth with the first bite). The turnip cake is absolutely horrible.