Carnation Bakery

Reasonable price. One of the lowest price even in Flushing. Dried shredded pork cake, taro, red bean, BBQ pork n chicken buns are very good. Balanced salty n sweet stuffing in each creation. The texture of bread itself is not overly dedicated， chewy n nutty. Nice.

After dinner at T&T Restaurant, I was still craving for something else and decided to try that Fried Chicken Bun ($ 2.50) that everyone has been raving about. There were two left but I brought one to try. I wish there were more Fried Chicken but overall its a yummy bun.

LOVELOVELOVE their chicken buns, pineapple buns, and cakes! The chicken in the chicken buns are perfect – not too dry and relatively moist. The pineapple buns are better than the ones in any other asian bakery. The cake is light, soft, and smooth, and melts your mouth. Nothing here is overly greasy or sweet – the flavors and textures are balanced. Everything here is made fresh and straight out of the oven. Every time I walk inside, it smells so good. Although this bakery may look plain on the outside, don’t underestimate its baked goods!

Hands down the best buns ever. My first time there I was a little concerned with the cleanliness but haven’t gotten over that.
The buns here are made fresh (like every hour or something) because every time I go the pineapple butter bun is warm or hot. The buns are soft and airy. Try everything but if you had to pick — the pineapple butter bun, the hamburger bun, the taro bun.
Also really good yin yong drink! (Half coffee, half tea).

Best bakery ever !!! Cheap and their buns are freshly baked every morning !!! Always come here for my morning coffee and dried pork bun!!! Their pineapple buns are pretty good too!!!

They recently increased their prices. You can’t get anything less than a dollar anymore. Now I like their butter bread the most. The Denmark twist shrinked in size and also got expensive. Other breads are so so. I feel they just take a plain pineapple bread and just put stuff over it or inside of it.

I frequent here because I like their cakes and coconut bread. The price is good and the quality is good. I will definitely come back here.

I lovvvveee this bakery. No ambiance, limited seating and some rude people shove their way in front of me sometimes, but I keep coming back. The service is courteous and swift and the manager is very hospitable… All the beverages, buns, breads and cakes are delicious and more reasonably priced than their competition in the same shopping area and also compared to others in Flushing. I live a block away and the sweet smell of freshly made buns is always enticing! I would especially recommend the chicken bun, roast pork bun, cheese danish, hot dog bun and butter buns but it’s hard to go wrong here!

This was the first chinese bakery I got the chicken bun from, and it really is great considering it costs less than a tall blond roast from Starbucks. Breaded chicken with lettuce, mayonnaise and sriracha hot sauce, and anyone who is able to breathe on their own knows that the mayo+sriracha combination is a sauce that can’t be beaten. It’s wrapped in a pineapple bun (if you’re a newbie to Chinese bakeries, please know that pineapple buns have no pineapple in/​on them; it describes the way it looks on top). It really is delicious and it’ll definitely fill you up (as Chinese bakeries tend to use lard to shine their pastries and buns).
Their other pastries and buns are quite good, but there are a couple of bakeries 2 – 3 blocks away that have far superior ones, so don’t expect too much.
The reason this place gets 3 stars is because the customer service ranges from «Ugh, what do you want?» with a dirty and exasperated look to «what do you want» with a dirty and exasperated look. They see a lot of foot traffic because it’s right on the way to the 7 train station, and one of the main bus stops is a couple of blocks up. As a result, it’s crowded, and as one reviewer noted, the customers aren’t big on manners, so you will get shoved or cut off by someone who believes that he/​she is in more of a rush than you are.
But it’s so gosh darned convenient during the commute.

Please learn how to shove, push and stand your ground. There will be ruthless people to cut you on line. The Chicken Bun is worth they hype… Both times, I got there around 7:50am and my bun selection was limited. How early do these people get up to buy BUNS!
Give it a try, but be patient (I’m still trying…).
Good luck out there…

Asian bread here is awesome. Papa Lee says it’s better than any other «chain» bakery.
But the Chicken Bun — Holy Ba-​Kaw!
This delicious bun is no regular bun, it is on a Pineapple Bun (Like this
) We start off with a layer of lettuce and occasional jalapeño. And then there’s the fried breaded chicken, and THAT’s topped off with Mayo and Sriracha. YUM YUM YUM! This thing is HUGE for under $ 2, what a steal!
FYI: Do not park in the Gold City supermarket parking lot, you will be towed.

Fresh and cheap pastries baked throughout the day. Frequently get their coffee/​tea with mik, boba included, for $ 2. Can’t beat that!

I read the reviews on the chicken on bun. I decided to give it a try. No one mentioned that the bread was sweet. The bread tastes like the dunkin donuts glazed donut. They also added the sauce which I didn’t know what it was, like a ketchup type. They put lettuce and cucumber which made the taste a bit fresh.
Thw bun is made in advance like McD or BBK so don’t expect the chicken to be hot or even warm.
But for those that like a bit of sweetness to their food. This chicken on bun would be good for you. I’m more of a spicy person rather than a sweet one

This bakery rocks! I haven’t been back awhile since moving to the Bayside Hills area, but the breads and buns are still fantastic!
You get a great deal on all the baked goods in this place. If you go early in the morning like 6am, there is no rush or fuss, but once you hit the 7am mark, watch out! People get pushy and it gets chaotic.
The pineapple and chicken fried buns are legendary here, the fish bun is not bad either. You really can’t go wrong in this place. Seating is extremely limited and they provide wax wrappers for you to put the baked goods in yourself.
If you want to save time and get out quicker, just put all your stuff on the tray, they will help you wrap it up much faster and neater.
Coffee and tea is also very good here.

Location: When visiting people at New York Hospital Queens, there are rather limited choices in the immediate area. You can walk 0.6 miles to downtown Flushing, but it’s also the same distance to Carnation Bakery, since there is a path that cuts through the park.
Food: I bought a couple of different things, so I will update this review as I eat through the bag of goodies. First off, everything was super fresh, because of the high volume they do… items were piping hot. The egg custard was perfect… the crust was crunchy, yet still flaky, but not too flaky. Custard itself was smooth and just lightly sweeten. Perfect with a cup of coffee.
I also purchased some char siu boa, pineapple bao, and a piece of fruit cake (really a two-​layer sponge cake, with some fresh fruit on top and in the the filling.
… okay, char siu bao… not amazing. The bread was nice — good texture, slightly crunchy top from the bake, but a chewier bread center. The filling… a bit disappointing. Not gooey redness, but chopped bits, but I miss the days when you actually got some piece of actual chopped char siu (that you could identify). I feel like I am now in search of a good char sui bao (had one about a year ago in San Fran, but that seems a bit far to go from the east coast). :-)

This bakery is a hop, skip and jump away from my current GPS location.
I stopped in here in the morning to grab a cup of coffee and to just see what they had to offer.
This place is a carb lover’s Heaven. If you love Chinese pastry items, this place is definitely for you. They have hot dog buns, croissants, raisin buns, chicken sandwiches, etc. Sadly, I just ogled the pastry case, wondered what life would be like to indulge in those buns and walked up to the counter to purchase a cup of black coffee.
The woman at the counter was curt, but not unfriendly. I guess that is the Chinese way. She also handed me a copy of today’s World Journal newspaper. I told her only the coffee. She smiled and said, «the newspaper is complimentary.» That’s pretty sweet.
I would definitely come back when I need a caffeine fix since this is so close to home. Throwing in a copy of today’s news also helps to get the customers in too!

One of my favorite bakeries in Flushing. Every time I’m there, there’s always an aroma of freshly baked breads and a possibility of nearly bumping into the ladies refilling the case with sheets of fresh breads.
Their specialty bread is definitely the pineapple bread. They use that as the basis of their chicken sandwiches (fried chicken thigh with mayo, sriracha, lettuce, and cucumbers) and various other breads (stuffed with red bean, etc). I also like the bread that has a top made out of puff pastry, but contains a middle filled with sweet powder milk filling. The breads here are very fresh, making it the key to their tastiness. Decently priced (pretty cheap).
If you’re bringing the breads back home (ie: if you have a long way to go or something), I’ve asked them to pack them in a box for me. They’ve lasted 7 hour car rides and across several state lines.
This is a very small storefront, so at certain times, it can be quite packed here.

Carnation Bakery makes some delicious baked buns. Forget Taipan and Fay Da Bakery. You can expect to spend a little less on buns here at this local mom and pops shop, that ranges from $ 0.75 to $ 1.75. Because of their cheaper prices and quality buns, the place is always busy (granted that it’s a small 10’x10’ room with racks of buns all lined up against the right wall. It can get a bit hectic and daunting but stick it through for some delicious baked eats.
The Chicken Bun ($ 1.75) is one to try here. It is a breaded fried chicken thigh complimented with chopped lettuce and cucumber slices in between a sweet bun like bread. The dark meat definitely makes it moist and very flavorful. But part of that is also from the mayo-​butter spread that they use. A very small squirt of hot sauce is also used to give it an ever so subtle hint of heat. It’s probably the most expensive bun in the bakery, but it can make for a meal all by itself.
The Hot Dog Bun ($ 0.85) is also a very good one here, simply a hot dog baked inside bread. There is also a scallion version for $ 0.90.
I also believe after 6 PM, they discount the buns a little bit in order to try to get rid of everything they have, so you may notice people buying them in larger quantities at this time. From what I noticed also, I believe senior citizens receive discounts here, but that may be more or less when you become a regular as well.
And cash only!

I’ve been to probably *hundreds* of Asian bakeries, in NY, Hong Kong, Taiwan. Carnation’s buns are way near the top. So fresh!
Asians wake up early. So, the bakery is always crowded in the morning. On weekend mornings, you get a free Chinese newspaper with purchase — but get there at 7am or earlier, before they run out.
Crowdedness makes for a not-​so-​pleasant ordering experience because of all the voices shouting. On the plus side, it also means a VERY fast turnaround for buns! Many of the cases along the wall are filled with buns hot from the oven. You walk in and you are hit by the smells of breads cooling in their trays. Indescribeable!
Carnation’s buns are bigger and cheaper than other bakeries. Favorites like the roast pork bun (char siu bao) or pineapple bun were 80 cents (comparison: Fay Da charging $ 1+ for their salty lumps). Both are killer when still warm.
Also recommended: chicken or fish sandwiches (Asian bakery style). Under $ 2 for a delicious and absurdly cheap lunch!
I feel bad about the comments regarding their counter ladies. I’ve never had a problem. They don’t smile and they do rush you, but with Chinese food you’ve just gotta learn not to take it personally.

Legendary bakery my aunt (PICKY eater), and cousin (ex-​bakery employee) spoke of. Couz: Even though I work for [insert big Chinese bakery chain here], I gotta say Carnation’s bread is better than ours.
Me: Le gasp! O_​O
First off, the place is small and crowded. There’s something about the setup that just isn’t very spacious-​looking. (cuz there are small bakeries, but can still appear comfortable) The bread labels and wall menus are all handwritten, which I was iffy about, but on with the bread!
Their buns are very aromatic and the bread itself tears very nicely with layers in-​between. The pineapple bun has these crispy chunks on top of the crust that adds an interesting texture (I call them little tumors), and the sweet filling balances nicely with the bread. I may never eat pineapple buns from anywhere else again.
The hotdog bun is different from the ones they make for pineapple bun (no actual pineapples used), so the only thing my boy & I complimented on was the hotdog itself. Definitely thicker and better than the «cheaper» ones used by other Chinese bakeries.
My usual favorite, the dried pork bun was disappointing =(I was very pouty because this bread is hard to mess up. They had so little dried pork sprinkles and it was so bland, I was sad I saved that for last.
I haven’t hit the annoying crowd that doesn’t understand the concept of waiting in queue yet, but I’d probably only return if somebody was ever craving unique pineapple buns.