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Carol's Bun

4.3 (71 reviews)
InexpensiveChinese
Open 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

Carol's Bun Photos

Business Info

CAROL'S BUN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Divey
Casual
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Carol's Bun

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Emily C.

Carol's Bun is a hidden gem in Chinatown. It's a small hole in the wall shop that's a great lunch/dinner takeout spot. They have a good variety of different Cantonese dishes and prices are very reasonable. I've gotten food from here several times, along with ordering specialty dishes like their soft shell crab and it's delicious. Every time I come, I have to order some of their freezer items to bring home too! Some of my favorite freezer things to get from here are their stews - curry beef brisket, lamb, oxtail. All delicious.

Fish Shumai
Amber R.

This place was like a food hug for me. It was just the right price, and I've been dying to eat dumplings. Absolutely dying. And their rice cakes are actually like rice mochi patties. Their chili oil isn't too hot and it's amazing to eat each bite. I got fish shumai, chili oil dumplings, and the rice cake dish with came with mushrooms. I have leftovers and I'm guarding them with my life. I made songs about the dumplings because I'm so emotionally attached to them. There's a tiny sitting area outside, you order ahead, I was sad they ran out of steam pork buns for the day but alas - that shows how legit they are and also I ordered too much food anyway. Carol's Bun will forever be the One that got away.

Jing K.

A really good steam table serving no frills traditional Cantonese style cuisine. They also do specials like soft shell crab, albalone, etc if you call ahead or order ahead.

Too good to go box ($4.99)
Heidi M.

This hole in the wall eatery has been a reliable lunch/dinner spot by the F train for yeaaars. When I was younger my fam would always pick up an order of the general tso's chicken for dinner. I finally got to try a Too Good To Go box here this weekend, and it was pretty decent! A jam packed box for only $4.99 got me fried rice (though I would've preferred white rice), veggies, chicken, general tso's, and steamed minced pork. Definitely enough for two to share! I have to say there must be some msg in the food as I felt pretty thirsty after this meal. Still, a really solid option a casual, affordable lunch box.

Outside
Phillip R.

Nothing fancy/ cheap food- with a spin. Grab some takeout and eat it in the park nearby.

Betty Y.

This place is so out of the way and I only know about it because of my cousin. She said I have to try their tripe and scallion pancakes. I had been craving for scallion pancakes but never found a good place so I was really excited to give them a try. I finally had the chance when I had to run some errands for work and went to the post office right across the street. Here is what is funny...I went in and placed my order for scallion pancakes only to realize that I only had $1 in my pocket!!! I had left my wallet at the office. I was so embarrassed and asked them to cancel my order but they were so nice and told me its OK, that I could just come back another day to make my payment. This was very surprising to me because it was my FIRST time ever here but they were so willing to believe that I would be back (or maybe they are just THAT confident in their own foods). I don't like the feeling of owing people anything so I immediately went back after work to pay off my debt. While I was there, I ordered some tripe and fried fish. When I was waiting for my food, a homeless man came in and begged for food. I offered to buy him a meal and this is where I can once again feel the kindness of the people in the store. In light of the meal being purchased for the homeless, the lady seemingly gave me a discount on his meal. Very sweet of her! Now onto the food. I enjoyed the tripe, fried fish AND the scallion pancakes oh so very much but they were all so greasy. I feel like everything was made on point but the grease made me feel full very quickly. I will definitely be visiting this place more often.

a take out container of food and a cup of coffee
Phyllis L.

Tried out this local takeout spot in Chinatown called Carol's Bun - the name may be misleading, but it's not a bakery! This place serves up plenty of Cantonese-style dishes, and their lunch special definitely allows you to try some of the best of the cuisine! For lunch, their special is $8.50 and you get to pick 3 dishes over a generous portion of rice. I got the Salt and Pepper Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, and the most delicious Stir-fried Eggplant I have ever had! The portions were aplenty and service was great, and it left me with a full stomach for sure.

Pig's feet reheated
Rich R.

I got the pig's feet. It wasn't tender, they could cook it longer. It was flavorful though and plenty of sauce. I don't need it to fall off the bone but it was chewy,

Elsa C.

Very tiny old space. I saw people recommend this place for lunch combo or dish to take out. I got fried shishamo 炸多春魚 $8 and 豬耳 pig ears $7.5 Both dish was amazing. Everything is fresh made everyday. The deep fried fish they cook after I order so I wait about 10 mins there. I ate a few right away, Crispy outside, and seasoning was amazing! definitely worth to wait! While I was waiting, people start to line up to get lunch combo. Only $5.75 ! Goos place to grab quick and cheap lunch!

Cheap lunch
Daniel M.

There was a bit of a line as usual and no parking but I suppose when the menu is extremely affordable and you can still buy a meal for under $5, I shouldn't be telling the whole world. However, i have to give them props for the A grade NYC sanitation grade, the affordability factor and the fact that we need to keep giving them our business so that "Carol" can keep her kitchen open. I should mention, i am assuming the name of this restaurant is that of the owner or the chef but regardless we want to give this place business because they have tasty treats at an affordable price. I bought soy sauce noodles with a little vegetable and it was delicious. The person behind the counter is very nice and willing to accommodate any request.

Salt and pepper shrimps
Lily T.

Finally visited the infamous Carol's Bun after hearing about all the rave reviews among the Chinese community. And yes it definitely did not disappoint. Price was decent , food tasted good and portion was more than reasonable for the price. However damn, the woman that answered the phone and took my order was very rude! Not sure if she was having a rough day since it was New Year's Eve and they were busy but come on! I couldn't communicate with her in English so I spoke with her in mandarin. I wished I can speak Cantonese but unfortunately no. You got to cut me some slack here instead of yelling on the phone Orders took way longer than they promised given how busy they were. People were lining up outside. This is a hole in the wall kind of place. Anyhow, I got the sautéed crab with mined pork and that was excellent. The crabs were big and meaty. They also cleaned out the crabs very well and you can taste how fresh it was. The salt and pepper fried shrimps were really good as well. We didn't get to eat it right away after getting our food until 2 hours later and it was still crispy and very tasty Also got an order of the small crispy fried fish and that was great. A great dish to eat while having some beer Overall, everything we got here was delicious. I can see why they have good business. I'm hoping the woman that answered the phone was just in a bad mood. Definitely have someone who speaks Cantonese order ahead for you if you want something prepared fresh or go in person and point and get their lunch combos

Kiyoshi S.

Compact Chinese hot food takeout restaurant. They offer lunch special $8 for three hot dishes on rice or two hot dishes on noodles. Quite a bargain for a cheap and filling meal. They have over 20 choices with fish, vegetables, meats, chicken leg, etc. Got their shumai ($9), turns out it's fish paste steamed shumai. Got their imitation shark fin soup too. All okay. Not blown away but really nice to have in the neighborhood. There's usually a short line. Cash only I believe. Food tastes homemade.

Kitty H.

Our family continues to be a fan of Carol. She now has new dishes like lamb casserole 枝竹羊腩煲, deep fry pig intestines 炸大腸 on top of all time favorites. Ask Carol what she recommends. Many of the time she has dishes that's not on the menu. She has frozen dishes you can take home to freeze and enjoy days later. I like her frozen beef stew, regular or curry, 滷水牛腩或咖喱牛腩,salted pork belly 梅菜扣肉, and 滷水牛雜beef organs. Don't forget to ask her for free peanuts on top of your dishes and her free homemade hot oil!

Fried soft shell crabs. Large size crabs.

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4 months ago

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What a great, local, scrumptious place with plenty of options on a quiet street. I am a big fan

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Ask the Community - Carol's Bun

Are they still doing 3dishes for $7.50?

Yes but now it is $8 and comes with soup.

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As the name implies, it really is an excellent dumpling house!…read more Me and my buddies were in Jersey and New York for some hockey games, and wanted to go to a deli, get some Chinese food, and a slice of pizza. Got off the E train and when we looked for Chinese food, this place popped up with good reviews and it was just a short walk from where we got off the train. My buddies ordered the special lunches and we also got two types of xlb's, beef chow fun, and some fried dumplings. The special lunches come with a little fried rice, cold garlic flavored noodle, choice of egg drop or hot and sour soup, and main side. My buddies all enjoyed their meals. The beef chow fun was also really good and beef was nice and tender. The xiao long baos were excellent and is comparable to any place in California like DTF. Nice and juicy and great with some ginger, soy sauce, and spicy chili. Friendly service and food comes out pretty quickly. Credit card is accepted. Bathroom was also very clean, which is sometimes rare in some Chinese restaurants I have been to. If you're looking for a good Chinese meal, stop here when you're in the Chelsea area.

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Absolutely delicious! Gorgeous fresh ingredients, super friendly and prompt service. We had the…read moredrunken noodle and the coconut curry. Both were 10/10. Can't wait to have it again!

File under "Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover" - because you'd never even realize this was a…read morerestaurant when walking by and even after you knew... you might be inclined to keep walking to find something a bit more 'bright' and 'inviting'.  (And you'd totally miss out on a great little joint.) I'm a lower middle-class Jersey guy - what the heck do I know about cocktails?  But I dove right into one ("Jade Collins") and it was firing on all cylinders.  Crisp, clean, strong enough to knock over an ox. Then we got a handful of apps - everyone else swore by all the ones they'd had - but I just tried the Salt & Pepper Shrimp and... sweet baby Jesus, this little plate had a wicked amount of flavor from every angle.  "Aggressively seasoned" might be an understatement.  Wild. Onto the mains and I ventured towards their Spicy Drunken Noodle (my go-to whenever I'm hitting a Thai restaurant on my home turf) and... yeah, you probably guessed it - incredible. Not the biggest portion but they made every single component sing with flavor. With so much going on - of course I needed to indulge with another drink (hey, I wasn't driving!). There were six of us, it came to about $100 a person... welcome to NYC. But we did get a wide selection of plates/food and those two drinks accounted for about $40 of my tab. (And you'll never see such a heavy wine pour at a restaurant... they filled the glass almost to the rim - which was not even something I'd do for myself when I'm home.) Definitely recommended.

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Philippe Chow is why Yelp exists. You would otherwise never know that this upscale Chinese…read moreRestaurant blasts club music and mandates 20% gratuities. The food is all over the place but the main theme is that everything is over-seasoned to please the crowd of people who all were gulping down colorful sugary cocktails with dinner while wearing athletic clothing. Peking duck (for 4-5) had great accompaniments (rare to actually get bao with it) but it was a lackluster portion of duck. Salt and pepper shrimp were offensively salted. Special "mignon" was great. The hand-pulled noodles *gasp* weren't hand pulled. "BBQ" chicken in the other noodles was very dry. Sea bass portion was very small. Scallion pancakes were good. Shrimp dumplings were the highlight. I recommend skipping this restaurant.

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