The Year For Chinese Pastries

Are you familiar with Chinese bakeries? They're pretty rare outside of Chinatown. Chinese bakeries are awesome because they offer such a wide range of baked goods and pastries and it's also common to find some dim sum stuff there too. There are some old school bakeries that will mostly sell the basics (hot dog buns, roast pork buns, almond cookies, wife cake) while there are some fancy new ones that have included western pastries like eclairs and croissants. Wikipedia has a great list of baked goods that are common in Chinese bakeries while Serious Eats has a nice list that includes pictures. I had a thought last year. With all the people going crazy over cronuts and donuts and babkas and rugelachs and pies and cupcakes....where are all the excitement for Chinese pastries?! Do we need someone like Ansel to make it popular? Does it need to be updated? Re-invented? I have to say that the hot dog bun I had when I was a kid, taste the same as the one I had couple days ago. Maybe it is time to update it.

So here's a thought. What if I get all of you to just make something. I have put together a list of the most common pastries and baked goods I could find and included recipes from the internet to help y'all get started. I wasn't able to include ALL the pastries but you're welcome to make something else. It's up to you if you want to keep it traditional or make it your own. Keep it simple or go crazy. Let's make Chinese pastries popular, yeah?!

February 8th is Lunar New Year so I thought that would be a GREAT day for all of you to post (blog/tumblr/instagram) your results. And please tag your instagram post with #bakewithdonny

Hot Dog Bun Recipes: i am a food blog, The Woks of Life, Flavours of Asia (Video)

Roast Pork Bun Recipe: The Woks of Life, Thirsty for Tea, Chubby Hubby, Baking with Mi (Video)

Chicken Pie Recipes: Ivy Ngeow (Video), 號角月報加拿大 (Video), Day Day Cook (Video), The New Art of Baking

Egg Tart (Cookie Crust) Recipes: The Woks of Life, Kitchen Tigress and video, China Sichuan Food

Egg Tart (Puff Pastry) Recipes: Wantanmien (Video), Pop and Wok (Video)

Hot Dog Scallion Bun Recipes: Fresh From the Oven, Awayofmind Bakery House

Pork Floss Bun Recipes: Fresh From the Oven, Yin's Homemade

Pork Floss Roll Recipes: Angie's Recipes, Corner Cafe

Pineapple Bun Recipes: Lady and Pups and The Woks of Life

Roast Pork Pastry Puff Recipes: Dim Sum Central, The Tasty Bite Blog

Curry Beef Pastry Puff Recipes: Use Real Butter, Corner Cafe, Yu Chiang (Video)

Sponge Cake Recipes: Baking Mum, Nasi Lemak Lover, Siu Kitchen (Video)

Cream Buns Recipes: The Moonblush Baker, Siu Kitchen (Video)

Wife Cake Recipes: Siu Kitchen (Video), Guai Shu Shu

Cocktail Buns Recipes: Wantanmien (Video), The Woks of Life

Almond Cookie Recipes: China Sichuan Food, Table for Two, Chao Li Zhang (Video)

Swiss Rolls Recipes: Winse's Wee Wok, Mandy's Baking Journey, Siu Kitchen (Video)

My End Of 2015 Fried Chicken Post

- My 2015 FavoritesManhattan InnIf I had to pick the ONE fried chicken that just totally blew me away, this would be it. I can't believe none of the food media people wrote about this. Forget fuku, forget Root & Bone, forget everything...just go here.

Howlin Ray's

Egg

Federal Donuts

The Breslin

Yafa Deli

Ma Peche

Gentry Chicken

*For more info on any of these places, check out my fried chicken project website

- Places Food Media People Are Not Talking About But Really Should All of these places serve EXCELLENT fried chicken yet I have never seen any of these places in any fried chicken lists. Manhattan Inn - See above J'eatjet? - I hate sausage gravy but the one served at J'eatjet? changed my mind. Egg - Looking for something simple and delicious and just a solid plate of fried chicken? Ma Peche - Yes, the food media loves David Chang and gets load of press but people mostly talk about the fried chicken dinner at the noodle bar and fuku. The habanero fried chicken at Ma Peche is crazy good and should be getting a lot more press. 44 & X - I had low expectation for this place but it surprised me. Marietta - Peaches HotHouse, the sister restaurant, gets most of the love because of their Nashville inspired hot chicken but Marietta does a better job. Yafa Deli - Anyone that loves fried chicken, knows about Yafa Deli but I rarely see it on any "Best Of" lists. Broadway Bakery - Feeling nostalgia? The fried chicken here tastes just like old school Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sidecar - A solid plate of fried chicken at this local Park Slope spot.

- Favorite Sandwiches Cheeky Sandwiches Wilfie & Nell Parson's Chicken and Fish Delaney Chicken The Commodore The Meat Hook Sandwich

- All The Places I've Been In 2015 -Manhattan The Breslin Hudson Common Maharlika Filipino Moderno Ma Peche Mighty Quinn's Barbeque Delaney Chicken The Smith 44 & X Wilfie & Nell Root & Bone Egg Shop Cheeky Sandwiches Birds & Bubbles Spitzer's Corner Bian Dang Pies N Thighs Seoul Chicken fuku+

-Brooklyn J'eatjet? The Commodore Wilma Jean Egg Yafa Deli Pies N Thighs Red Star Sandwich Shop Abilene Manhattan Inn Shake Shack Wangs Marietta Beehive Oven Esme Mayfield Endless Summer Sidecar Fawkner Keg and Lantern

-Queens Broadway Bakery Queens Comfort Sweet Afton Mister Chicken to Go BocBoc Chicken Delicious Engeline's Restaurant and Bakeshop

-Los Angeles Tokyo Fried Chicken Co. Ledlow Howlin Ray's Gentry Chicken

-Philly Federal Donuts

-Chicago Parson's Chicken and Fish Honey Butter Fried Chicken Longman and Eagle

Behind-The-Scenes At Black Seed Bagels

Every morning at 5am, the oven at Black Seed Bagels is already on. When I arrived on a Friday morning at 5:30am, Dianna Daoheung was already tending to the oven, setting things up, sweeping, getting the place ready to open at 7am. Most of the crew rolled in around 6am. Waking up at 4am that morning, I was thinking to myself.....WHY?! Why did I decide to wake up this early in the morning to go photograph at a bagel shop? But I really wanted to see what actually happens before the shop opens at 7am. I wanted to experience, even though it was just that one day. And I wanted for you to see as well. Bagels and croissants and pastas and pulled pork sandwiches don't magically appear. There are hours and hours of work that go into making it. Bakers are up at 3 in the morning to get that delicious bagel ready for you at 7am. Working on this project really made me appreciate the work that goes into running restaurants and the people that are running the restaurants.

Behind-The-Scenes At Margot's Pizza

After taking a bit of time off, Adam Kuban stepped back into EMILY for his bar pie pizza pop-up, Margot's Pizza. I went and spent a good few hours in the kitchen with Adam, Emily, and Matt as they prep for the pop-up.