You barely even notice that there is a restaurant here. You can walk by it and not see anything, just an old ragged looking staircase down to a couple old doors to the best buns in Toronto. 100%, the best buns I've ever had were from here. You don't have to go anywhere fancy for good buns, this little hole in the wall is where it's at! read more

*I am a Xiao Long Bao (XLB) enthusiast. I only tried their XLB (Crab & Pork), thus my review is quite limited.　 The area (Spadina X Dundas) is a mecca for XLB. Chinese Traditional Buns used to have a good reputation among many XIB fans. Yes, about 4 years ago, I visited here and was very impressed by their XLBs. However, about 2 years ago - in the midst of the COVID pandemic, (the time I missed XLB most!) I did take-out order for XLB - I was disappointed. The XLBs were thrown upside-down in the container, all of the XLBs were torn and all the soup ran out of the wrappers. So, I complained. The staff (who is the owner/cook) agreed to replace the order with a better one. The replaced one was good. But then, recently, I ordered XLB take-out again. When I called, the owner/cook recognized me. Again, I asked him to be very careful when transferring XLBs to a container. "Yes yes yes," he said. I arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before the XLBs were done. This place has an open kitchen so I was observing how XLBs are handled. I again asked him to be very careful. He said, "Yes yes yes". But I observed him putting the bamboo steamer upside-down to inconsiderately throw the XLBs into a container and SHOOK it (WHY?!). I do not understand! I wanted to scream! As I expected - all the XLBs were torn and the soup was running out and pooled in the container. AGAIN. So sad. Also, the XLBs lost crab flavor significantly. And the soup pooled in there was mysteriously oily. The wrappers were rubbery. They were not like this bad before. I respect XLB's delicacy. I do not think the person who makes it understands it. I do not know about the other items in the restaurant. But I do not recommend XLBs here at all anymore. Very very disappointing, and sad losing one of the better XLBs in Toronto. read more

Chinese Traditional Buns - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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This is a dumpling place down the scary looking stairs on Dundas that you're always trepidatious to walk down. You might slip and crack your head open or maybe just never return to the city, who knows? I'm sure there are items on the menu that are outstanding, but I ordered some soup dumplings and they were average and not outstanding at all. The place looks super divey and smells funky. From what I saw it could have had a heyday at some point before the pandy and then left to rot as the time and business dropped off. Would it kill you to mop the place and tidy up?? There was the one guy there running the place on his phone and jumped up to provide whatever I wanted from the menu, but with him there it just wasn't appetizing. Maybe it was the too much information aspect of his open kitchen and that there was just nothing much going on there that was a turn off. I don't mind divey places but they need to have some kind of game, like friendliness, or great food you can't easily get elsewhere, or something... read more

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Literally a hole in the wall, about as authentic as you can get. We came here at 9 on a Thursday night and were the only patrons, it felt like we had a private chef. The handmade pulled noodles here are a dream; we got an order of biang biang noodles and also added an extra portion to the spicy &sour fish fillets. The buns and dumplings are also absolutely delicious. Definitely don't miss the pork sandwich: the pork is juicy and flavorful, the bun crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. I only wish it came in a bigger size. The owner seems to be very tired. If you pay this place a visit, be sure to eat and tip well :) read more

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The beef pancake is delicious! A sort of hidden gem tucked downstairs on the quieter side of Dundas (chinatown), definitely a place worth checking out when you crazeChinese foods: soupy dumplings, greasy pancakes rolled with beef, and other delicious options. Be warn, the table are sticky (lacks proper cleaning solution) but an overall great find! Recommendation to owners: great foods! Clean yourtable with "fantastik". read more

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I would have give Chinese Traditional Bun a 3 star. The floor is sticky..but is ok, I am not eating from it.. The deco is plain and non existent, but is ok, I am not eating that The food is decently good made fresh.. and I have fun with a group of my fellow yelper.. The dumplings are all made to order, served fresh and steamy hot!! But why 1 star?? Not only the ready made buns were lying around exposed and that lady that making the dumplings in the storefront didn't even bother washing her hands after she finishing using the bathroom... If I didn't witness.. I would say ok... anything can happen when I am not looking..but..... GROSS!! read more

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Hole-in-the-wall restaurants like Traditional Chinese Buns have a special place in my heart. Located down a set of steps (unfortunately not accessible), your first sight stepping in are the folks busy making the namesake items of the restaurant---buns! While posher folks might find some characteristics of Traditional a little rickety, i.e. an entrance door that sticks and some bins stacked on tables in an adjoining dining space, I find it unassuming, familiar and comfy--probably partially also because staff speak Mandarin and worry aloud about the marital status of the next generation while working. In terms of food, as a vegetarian, I was happy to find a handful of decent options (4 for buns) on the menu at a fair price. I was especially excited for vegetarian Shao Mai and decided on 6 for $9. Freshly made to order, the buns are satisfying and the service is fast. During my meal, I also saw some folks coming in to get takeout orders, and on the way out, I could see sizeable baskets of buns being churned out--mental note for future catering ideas. Overall, I liked the experience of dining here and would bring my friends to try more of their menu! read more

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This unassuming little dive-y chinese joint is literally my favourite restaurant. Cheap and Cheerful. The owners are lovely people, right when you come in they're at the front working away on their gorgeous buns, and sometimes the older men are sitting near the back, having a laugh. Great atmosphere. They make amazing fried dumplings, and the green onion pancakes are to die for. Their menu is surprisingly eclectic, and nothing I've had here has ever been bad. It's a fun place for a date night, the only downside is they don't serve alcohol. Usually, we get drinks first, or after (or both lol), and just have their comforting, hot tea while here. Definitely recommend. I really, truly hope they will still be around once restaurants aren't arbitrarily shut down anymore (Thanks, Ford..NOT). read more

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Went back this time to try the buns in restaurant this time!! Still tastes amazing Food (4/5) we ordered the Tian Jing Baos, which tasted delicious. My only complaint is that some of the buns got a little but soggy. We also got the steamed fried buns, which were SO GOOD. Crispy and juicy. Ambiance (3/5) I mean, I don't expect much from Chinatown ambiance haha it's a little messy inside but I like the design of this restaurant! Price (3.5/5) not the cheapest buns you'll find around, but it tastes great and is hand made! read more

Chinese Traditional Buns - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Do not let the grimy, sketchy entrance deter you from descenting those stairs into a quite nice looking restaurant inside. Space is quite small but it is a hidden gem of the city. The kitchen is upfront so you can watch the two chefs do their work. I believe the woman does the buns and appetizers and the guy does the noodles and main dishes. Anyways, we ordered an onion beef pancake, Dan Dan noodles and a beef brisket soup with Bok Choy. Onion beef pancake: - Outer shell was crispy but not oily (big plus! Hate super oily pancake), they used hoisin sauce to piece everything together, laid down one whole stem of green onion that flatten and lightly charred on the stove/grill. The beef was super tender, literally just melting away in my mouth. Dan Dan noodles: - Noodles were cooked to slightly higher than a al dente, toppings were minced pork, wood ear mushroom and something else...burdock root I think then all of that was nicely drowned in chili oil with extra chili chunks added. Super spicy but I loved it! Beef brisket soup with bok choy: - Broth was delicious, no MSG taste, it was pure beef broth, noodles were more softer almost soggy in texture but still good. Beef brisket chunks were also quite tender and had plenty of cartilage. Total came to about $34 for two people which to be honest is pretty good. I was gonna go to Swatow but they were packed and I'm glad we took the right path eating here. Definitely hit up this place if you want amazing Northern Chinese style food. Kudos to Uncle and Aunt cooking in the kitchen. read more

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Generally your hole in the wall Chinese restaurant serving more northern Chinese cuisine. They specialize in dishes you would not see anywhere else. My fav is the garlic eggplant. Not spicy and eggplant is soft. Also love their fried rice with pickled vegetables and chili. Not spicy at all even when they give it "1 chili" read more

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Just ordered off ubereats For the love of god don't order from this place. The packaging melted and the soup spilled everywhere, there were bits of styrofoam floating in the soup, the noodles we ordered was supposed to be veggie and what showed up were some of the saddest noodles I've ever seen- initially we thought it didn't come with sauce but realized that one of the "soups" that spilled was the sauce and it was full of rotten pork fat/chunks. The wonton soup had no flavour at all (and as I said, had bits of styrofoam that I kept fishing out). The buns tasted like playdoh and the dumplings tasted old and mushy. Literally not one good thing came out of this order except for ubereats actually refunding the whole thing. We had a few bites of everything but decided the potential food poisoning on the way wasn't worth it. Didn't even try to eat the sad noodles. Don't do it! There's so much good food in Toronto and this is not it!!! read more

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I was a big fan of their Biangbiang noodles but not anymore. There was a bit of extra protein in my beloved Biangbiang noodles today that has unfortunately turned me off their establishment. They were nice and made our food free though! read more

Chinese Traditional Buns - A piece of extra protein (juicy cockroach) - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

We went in at 8:00pm on a Sunday and no one was in there. Multiple tables had used dishes or steamer baskets that I'm hoping we're used from previous customers. We were ready to walk back out , but the owner(?), was sitting by the door watching videos on his phone and we felt bad if we left. Guy could have cleaned off the tables to make the place look alittle more presentable. Decor definitely needs an update. Food was nothing special. Boiled dumplings and steamed shu mais. Unfortunately, we came here because Juicy Dumplings was packed and this place wasn't. Should have been our first clue. read more

If there is option I would rate 10 stars! The name is very unappealing : Cvinese traditional buns. They simply translated their Chinese name to English. But what the restaurant sign really reads : Chinese Staple Classic Buns. Which is quite telling what they sell--- things that taste like mainland China. Judging how big the Chinese population is in Toronto u'd be surprised how Difficult to find Mainland Chinese food that is eaten by billion people back home. In Canada majority Asian population is Hongkong background related n they have complete different diet. This is a place that brings u straight to the alley way in China that has little dinners making fresh buns n dumplings and noodles from scratch! That you could smell the aroma from distance. U instantly feel like you are in China. They have the most DELICIOUS buns! And dumplings. I have tried true pork buns, red bean buns. All delicious and fluffy mouth watering. I have tried their beef and Chive dumplings, pork dumplings and egg Chive dumplings . All 5 stars ! My personal favourite is NO.7 called ----pan fried steam buns. On the menu they look boring (upside down flipped over with browned bottoms up) but when they are served they are Sooo moist fluffy, there juices flowing inside the pork with ginger n green onion inside is so delicate. The white buns are freshly hand made , steamed to perfection and then pan fried at bottom. I have brought 6 friends there n each of them r hooked on these. And since then they have been coming back on their own. My bf's first time here he refused to order saying he was not hungry that he ate already. When these were served, he tried one n ate all my serving saying it's the best thing he has ever had. Their Chive egg dumplings r so yum. I am a meat lover but these are so tasty that is one thing I order without meat. ---- how to make steam bun/dumpling dipping sauce: Sniff the sauce bottles( because they both say Soy sauce but one is soy, the other is VINEGAR!!!! Lol ). Mix 2 parts soy sauce, 1part vinegar, some chilly oil . I have since tried other locations in China town , still not one place has more authentic flavour than this one. This place specialize in dumplings too which is 100x better than the Dumpling House . The service here is very good. They are very polite and very attentive. The menu is old and sticky and non explanatory. So if you bring someone speaks Cantonese or from Hongkong expect them to help with the menu then won't be much help. lol but just trust that the food here is good. Start with Their beef noodles and dumplings and pan fried buns. They recently renovated the place entirely . So previous ratings saying they were dingy which was true ,you no longer need to worry. The place is very inviting now :):) read more

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Chinese Traditional Bun, a dirty little secret tucked away in a basement spot on Dundas across from Pho Pasteur. This place is surprisingly under-yelped but it kept coming up on Chowhound and Urbanspoon as a good place for dumplings and I thought it deserved investigation. When I say dirty, it really is. The floors were littered with food and was in desperate need of a sweeping up. The food was honestly so good that I'm still giving 4 stars regardless of it's dinginess. There are a few nice ladies running this place. One speaks English and is happy to make menu recommendations. There is another older lady who is making fresh dumplings and noodles when you enter. Chinese Traditional Buns has a very unique menu with lots of Northern Chinese dishes that I haven't seen on any other menus. First up was the Xian cured pork sandwich ($2.29, bargain). Looks like a CHINESE HAMBURGER!! The pork was served on a small thin bun which looked something like an english muffin, and was flavoured and garnished with green onion. This was really tasty. Next came the dumplings - egg & zucchini steamed ones. (12 for $4.99). This was my favourite dish, REALLY tasty and fresh. I want more! Next were some steamed buns "Gou-Bu-Li buns of Tianjin". Whatever that means. 6 meat filled buns for $3.99! These were good too but not as delicious as the dumplings. We also ate a delicious eggplant dish that was properly spicy in a sweet glaze sauce. ($7.99 for a giant plate) Tons of unique menu items here, I will be back to investigate further. read more

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I like to give hole-in-the-wall places the benefit of the doubt for being authentic, from past experiences elsewhere. This place was sub par...but at least it was cheap? Food: I ordered chive and pork boiled dumplings, tianjin style buns, Dan Dan noodles, and pickled cucumbers (from the Yelp check in offer of 1 appetizer under $4.50). Dumplings and buns were good, they are made in house. Pickled cucumbers were okay but came last. Dan Dan noodles were okay, good spice level! Service/atmosphere: there is a pile of random stuff when you walk in, so the restaurant does not look professional. On the way to the bathroom, I also passed another pile of stuff including a suitcase(?!). The bathrooms were out of toilet paper and one even has a broken toilet seat. The inside is freezing too. read more

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One of the most incredible places in Toronto. Truely a hole in the wall but a must visit place. The cold noodles are seemed and with chilies, garlic, cucumber and bean sprouts are devine. The soup buns are life changing. Any of them are perfection. There is a mung bean squares with chilies sauce that is unlike anything I've ever had before. read more

I'm not proud that I know or even eat at this restaurant, but the truth is out now. This dumpling place is located in a dingy basement. When you walk down the dirty flight of stairs you come to a clear plastic curtain at the doorway which keeps out the cold in the winter months. The space itself is not as bad as you would think (it could be worse) maybe a little scuzzy and don't even get me started on the restrooms. Moving on, the soup dumpling is what I usually order here. They are okayish albeit on the small side. The broth is flavourful and doughy wrapper is a tad on the thick side but you do get that explosion of flavourful soup with the pork & ginger filling when you bite into it. Overall a decent dumpling for the most part. Today I wanted to be adventurous and ordered something entirely different: soft tofu soup and mung bean noodle salad. The silky soft tofu is swimming in a soya based tasty broth with cilantro, seaweed & chopped pickled veg, not bad. The mung bean noodle salad is dressed with a garlicky sesame soya vinaigrette; tasty but the noodles a little over cooked. All in all a positive adventurous experience I do not regret. Maybe a little ashamed, now my dirty little secret is out but I will endure head held high. read more

Chinese Traditional Buns - A5 Mung bean noodle salad (add chili oil to kick it up) - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Came here with some Yelpers for the "UYE: Dirty Chinese" that Lauren organized (thanks!). We were a group of 6 which was just the right size to share a bunch of tasty dishes. Highlights for me included the chicken & mushroom steamed dumplings and the fried banana dessert (bananas fried and dipped in syrup, then quickly dunked in ice water so the syrup hardens into a crunchy shell). The green onion pancake, however, was disappointingly bland. The subterranean location is a bit shady and the whole place is kinda dingy, but I didn't see any bugs and dishes were clean. You can watch them making the dumplings in front, which is nice. Service was swift and accommodating. The bill came out to $10 per person for lots of food. read more

overrated or maybe food quality had gone down....whoever said this place was good....I don't know The place is located down the steps but look for the signs on top and you'll see. The entrance is kinda like crap with the ladies making the buns on the right and junk on the left. There are settings but the place pretty much look like a grimmcky Chinatown restaurant. I took my table for one and the server handed me the menu with a notepad. Confused since she didn't say anything and I was going to order in canto anyways, I still looked at the menu. She didn't even bother coming to get my order until 10 minutes when I just handed her my paper with the number of the menu choices that I want. I ordered the Dan Dan noodles and the steam buns. As I waited,I'm looking around and I literally felt dirtier. The condiments looked old and uncovered. The plates were stained and I saw a guy get some soy bean milk from what looks like the ground. My noodles came and it did look delicious! After mixing it all in and had my bite, it was good but not as good as it looked. The noodles were undercooked but fresh, so it was doughy. Some of the toppings were overcooked so it was like mushy. It needed some more vinegar or something. The buns though....I have to say...THE MOST SOUP I ever had in any buns!! It was overflowing! And the soup was delicious but everything else was okay. For 2 items, my total was 15.86...which is one of the more expensive meals I had out there. For the price and taste...I'm not coming back..there's way better options. read more

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Came here to have xiao long bao for my breakfast and good call on my part! Here they call their dumplings "soup-filled buns" and so I had their pork (B2) and crab (B3) both 6pcs. I didn't like the crab one and didn't finish it. But I LOVE their pork xiao long bao. It's so damn good. I was surprised when it came out because the dumplings were a lot bigger than a regular xiao long bao. I am definitely coming back here again just for the pork one! Not a 5 star because the crab one wasn't good and my original bowl wasn't cleaned properly. Inspect your dishes and utensils before you eat here! Flavour is good! read more

Chinese Traditional Buns - Bottom is their pork (B2) and top is their crab and pork (B3). The B2 is way better. - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Went a few day ago around 3 pm...the owner is very friendly but really care more about the food. See photos attached for those Very tasty buns tasty Jian Bing like from that movie Jian Bing Man Very good price Get pickup to go if you want a nice place to eat. This place is designed for making good food not sit in extravagance. Will try Dan Dan noodles next time read more

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I've made an account on Yelp specifically to post this review. DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE GOOD REVIEWS. I went today for lamb skewers and noodle soup. 1. Lamb meat was rotten. Like actually stinky after bbq and heavy spices. I had one bite and left them as is. Even then I got sick when I got home (took about 30 min travel time). I have reported them to the Toronto food safety commission. 2. Noodle soup was basically salt water and noodles. It took an hour to get that because the server told me "we don't have noodles made, so our chef made noodles fresh just for you". I'm sorry? It's not my responsibility to ensure you have basic ingredients like noodles in stock...for a restaurant! Soup base was basically salty. It tasted like they dumped water and bean curd sauce (the type you get from the Asian supermarket around corner). 3. Look at the recent Google reviews on this place. The ones that are NOT sponsored by the restaurant all had 1 star reviews. Do your research before going to this place. For the area, you can get MUCH better quality and authentic food literally next door. Oh, of course the server demanded a tip after. When all I ate was literally 2 bites (one from lamb skewer and one bite of the noodles). This was the first time in my life that I did not tip. read more

I wish it was even possible to give negative stars. There was not a single good experience with the place. We ordered soup dumplings, which took forever. When we got it, there was no soup but just oil. We were going to pay with our credit card and they don't accept American card OR American debit card, only cash or Canadian debit card. We gave them American cash and was short 20 Canadian cents and they still wouldn't let us go until we pay extra 10 USD which is like a 1:1 ratio. Worst service I ever had as they never even came to check up on us or even provide any service. Soup dumplings took more than 30 minutes. So if you're considering this place, even McDonald's would be a better option that this place. These two place probably aren't even comparable since McDonald's is so much better. Bad service, bad food, bad experience. You have been warned. read more

Truthfully speaking I was hesitant to go into this semi-underground restaurant in the heart of Chinatown. Upon first impression the place is....sketchy from street level. Plastic strip curtains cover the door, you can't see into the restaurant from the street. Upon entering though, the place is surprisingly clean and even decorated pretty appropriately for a Northern Chinese dumpling house. The dunmplings were such a treat! The meat fillings weren't overly fatty or salty but very flavourful. We also tried the steamed buns which ended up being one of my favourites. The value here is exceptional and the dining space is actually comfortable and clean. You can see the ladies steaming and wrapping the delectable little dumplings and at the other end of the restaurant chefs are cooking up some signature stir fried dishes from the wok. Don't be afraid to step into Chinese Traditional Buns, you won't regret the visit. read more

I ordered through Just Eats. My order was 100% wrong and when I called the restaurant they refused to admit that they sent the wrong order. They were not willing to do anything to help my situation - send the correct order or help with a refund. I called Just Eats who followed up with the restaurant on my behalf and they denied knowing anything about the situation. read more

MUST TRY: Chili tofu appetizer Recommended: Soup Dumplings (buns) Sliced potato appetizer OK: Cumin Lamb Chili Tofu was a good start. It's like a savory and spicy version of Tofu Fa. Cumin lamb surprised us because it is lightly breaded. We love lamb, especially cumin lamb, and this is not what we expected at all. We would order lamb skewers instead. The soup dumplings / buns are good. We liked these. Note that the check in offer for "Appetizer under 4.50" is limited to sliced potato or cucumber salad. You need to ask them for this up front. Sliced potato was a good version of this traditional dish. Note: For all the discussion of this place being dirty, they have renovated with the last year or so. It's not bad at all. Also, the kitchen is at the front, so you can see what they're doing. I didn't notice anything unsanitary. Prices have already increased in recent years read more

Chinese Traditional Bun is this tiny hole in the wall in downtown Chinatown. The place itself is in a basement on the small strip of Dundas near the corner of Spadina. This is certainly a place I would have walked by 9 times out of 10, but the girlfriend stopped me because she definitely wanted to give them a shot. The place itself is small, dank, and a bit dirty. The menu offers a wide variety of steamed buns and dumplings. The dumping soup was actually not that bad. The dumplings, though small, tasted pretty good, and had a good amount of fat in it. The broth was fine as well. The steamed buns were decent, but much better could be had uptown. Not an ideal place for a date by the way. If you are looking for some place nice to take a date, get out of Chinatown. Otherwise, if you are alone (aren't we all), feel free to drop by to satisfy any quick dumpling or bao cravings. read more

I was a bit apprehensive before going, due to the polarized Yelp reviews. However, I'm definitely glad I did since the wide variety of food was decently priced, and quite yummy, and hit all my cravings. Good items: - Pan friend buns - Soup dumpings - Garlic/Spicy Potatos - Rou Jia Mo (meat bun) - Lamb bread soup - Liang Pi (cold noodle salad) Price was great, interiors were clean (and probably reno'ed) and I had enough leftover for breakfast the next day. read more

Authentic street baozi in every sense. Food will spoil your mouth , ambiance will spoil your immune system. Toronto Western Hospital within walking distance. Yes, there are more gourmet and photogenic buns uptown, but they are not within walking distance to Cold Tea and warm hookahs. Pros: Accurate street bun mouthfeel. Dan DAMN mien. Cons: Tuberculosis. Maybe haunted. read more

Their service is terrible, food is dirty and makes you sick, waitress would throw chopsticks on your table. I am a chinese immigrant and loves Shanxi style spicy cold noodles. i found this place last month and thought their cold noodles were the best flavored in toronto. However, everytime i eat their noodles i get a diarrhea. Literally everytime. after three visits(one of which I only ordered cold noodles), I could only conclude its the noodle thats making me sick. I would continue to go to this place just for the noodles, but honestly, the prices are very steep for what you get. you can easily spend over 45 for two if you want any variety at all. restaurants on korean town cost no more than 20 for two... On my second visit, the kitchen staff had a huge argument... they were in a quarrel before i came and lasted for another 30 minutes while i was dining. there is a family with a newborne baby in the restaurant too, everytime the argument gets loud the baby would cry... and no one of the staff bothered to tell the two kitchen staff to cut it out or argue outside. Completely inappropriate behaviour for staff to be arguing that long. they were threatening each other to call cops... horrible dining environment. will not be returning. read more

Chinese Traditional Bun is literally a dirty little secret. It's filthy. It's small. It's hidden in a basement in Chinatown. They pull their own dan dan noodles and have an extraordinarily long menu of soups, noodles, dumplings and buns. The staff doesn't speak much English, so if you have questions about one of their dishes and don't rock Cantonese, you're screwed. Write your number on the piece of printer paper and hope like hell. PEPPER TAKES PAUSE: It's really dirty in here. My kitchen has a better chance of getting a passing health code grade. read more

This place feels like home. There is no where in downtown Toronto that truly has authentic Northern Chinese Food. Yes their menus are a bit sticky, the basement stairway is pretty precarious and they leave meat lying around but if you mind that, then good luck eating in China for real. My favorite order is usually pan fried buns, cucumber salad and a soup (Hot & Sour, Mutton and actually any of them are solid choices). What makes me sad is the handmade noodle master has moved back to China, I pray for the day he returns. Overall, my favorite place to eat. read more

This place is not good despite its promising name and appearance. I know a lot of you *cough*nonasians*cough* might think that this is one of those hole in the wall places that look disgusting but the food is amazing and authentic. Yes, this is a whole in the wall, and its physical appearance is a direct reflection on the quality of the food. Your reverse psychology just backfired! I tried two kinds of their buns, they were soggy and looked sloppy. Making buns is like an art form; they should be beautifully made and uniform. The buns here are more towards the home made side, and not by a great home cook either. The fillings were overly processed to the point that the meat has lost its texture. Their handmade noodles were no better; they were doughy but lacked bite (signs of staleness). To add insult to injury, this place wasn't cheap! I got an order of buns, noodles, and an orange juice; my bill came to over $20! This place is typical to the restaurants that you would find in the run-down parts of China, where even the locals may have reservations about. Their transplant here doesn't make them any better. The bun store at the Finch and Midland plaza in Scarborough is waaaayyyy better. read more

Oh CTB...where shall I start? We've been through a lot in the past few years. I still remember when I first found you, a small underground treasure that served the most delicious Northern Chinese street/comfort food. You felt like "home" when Ness Y. and I would share a big bowl of hand-pulled noodles and dumplings after strolls around downtown and talks of race, equity, politics and boys. At first, I guarded you. Only my closest friends got to meet you, and they were warned, "you'll probably end up sitting on the toilet all night but don't worry, totally worth it and only happens the first time...consider this an initiation". When my dating got serious, you would vet the boyfriends and their level of spice tolerance - many did not make the cut. You were there when my then-boyfriend pulled out a ring and proposed, I nearly choked on a mouthful of crispy spicy beef - those tears were not just tears of happiness. We wanted you at our wedding, but then... Then that horrible thing happened, so horrible that I could not face you for years. I was shocked, sad and confused. What do I say? How do we move on from this? A few months ago, I came back. It was nice seeing you again and I'm glad you're back on your feet. It was awkward, but I think we can do this. Your crispy beef is just as tantalizing as ever, the buns are fresh and juicy, the cold noodles are still my favourite. It's good to know that you haven't changed and we can pick up where we left off. It's like dining with an old friend. read more

I'll be upfront in saying that when it comes to restaurants, I have a preference for dives 9 times out of 10. Dives seem more honest, almost as though the food is so important that the interior isn't. Well, this place is a dive. Almost literally. It's a small dumpling and noodle house, at the bottom of a steep set of stairs. Watch your step! I'd read a friend off of Yelp's review of this place and when I read that the noodles here are hand pulled, well I just had to go. This place really is a dump. Others have said the same so I won't keep beating that drum, but its simplicity was something I sort of took to. The lack of music, not so much. Even if I don't understand the music played at most Asian restaurants, it's still nice to have something in the background or if there isn't any background, something to fill the air space. So, there's things they could work on. But that's not what's important. The food. Those hand pulled noodles. I'll cut to the chase: They're quite good. A nice chewy consistency but still cooked all the way through, I got the fried noodles with beef and it was awesome. I was impressed. Lots of flavor, and a generous heap for $9. They reminded me of the Midnight Market Noodles I'd had in New York at the only Burmese joint in the city before it closed down. We also got the soup dumplings, pork and chive. Good, but not great. They were a little bland overall, but the filling was good, maybe a bit too much ginger. Last but not least, we got the beef and potato and onion pancakes. Pancakes were a bit too thick and overall the flavor on this dish was also a bit bland, but they were $8 and still good. The beef was fatty and tender, the way it should be. Service was okay. Nothing crazy here, the staff doesn't seem to speak a lot of English and you essentially take your own order down, but thats not new to me as I eat pho quite a bit and am used to it. I've almost come to prefer doing my food orders this way! I'd come back here as the prices are pretty good and the noodles too. It offers something most of the other Cantonese places on Spadina don't. Check it out! read more

Where I'm from, there is no Chinatown, and the available Chinese restaurants offer typical American-Chinese faire. Whenever I am in a big city, I make sure to check out real Chinese restaurants, which led me to this place. My favorite food, arguably, are soup dumplings. Checking Yelp reviews, I noticed this place had soup dumplings. Then I discovered, "The Incident." I immediately knew I had to come here. It's a pit: basement level, dusty, open containers, sticky tables, the most cluttered kitchen I have ever seen. I took my fellow Yelpers advice to not look around and just trust it. My friend and I gave each other several of the, "Should we just leave" looks before deciding to bite the bullet and order. The tea they serve was delicious. I think I drank two pots just myself. We ordered some type of noodle dish, soup dumplings, and soup buns. I discovered (when my food came out) that this place calls what I know as soup dumplings soup buns. Luckily I ordered them. And they were delicious. We were full so did not finish everything, and one of the workers came over and thought we did not like the food. She was apologetic, although we tried to tell her we loved the food, it was just that we were full. Very nice and caring. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal here, and I would recommend this place to others. Just follow everyone else's advice: don't look around, just order. read more

This restaurant serves Chinese steamed buns as their specialty. The ones that are front and center on the first page of the menu are best. They also do other stir fried, noodles, etc. miscellaneous Chinese food. The buns are the only things really worth having but it's hit or miss. If you happen to be there when they are hand making the buns then and there they are delicious and delicate, packed with flavor. If you show up on a day when they are pulling them out of the freezer and steaming them they are mealy and stick to the cloth that lines the bamboo steamers. Earlier in the day there is free soy milk available on a serve yourself basis but when this runs dry from the large carafe they do not refill. The waiters are terrible, speak very little English and mumble when speaking Chinese. They are slow and sometimes do not bring all the dishes you ordered. The decor is terrible and the hallway to the washrooms are lined with chest freezers that take up half the hallway. The restaurant is in a basement and in winter it can be treacherous to get down the stairs after a snow storm. This used to be a great restaurant and would make the buns on a rolling basis so they were always fresh. I still go back occasionally hoping to catch the just made buns. read more

I am a New Yorker, very familiar with Traditional Chinese Food from eating in it's suburbs of Flushing, Queens, where the population is heavily chinese. I came here expecting real authentic scrumptious food based on the reviews. Quite to the contrary. First off, the establishment/location didn't turn me off at first sight as you migrate your way through the steep downward stairs to reach the basement level "restaurant".. Then you situate yourself at one of the 12 various-sized tables. My issue comes with the cleanliness of the interior & quality of the dishes. When you sit down, you lay your hands upon the table. Sticky... Nope. Worse- sticky is not even the proper word to use. Use your imagination. Whatever.. I kindly proceed to ask the server to wipe down my table. No issue. She was actually very sweet, despite the language barrier. (Unlike the 30-something year old man cooking, very rude) Second, we damn near ordered everything from the menu. Pork/Chive Buns, Pork/Shrimp Soup Dumplings (unappetizing extremely thick dough), dan dan noodles, cold noodles, off the menu chicken broth with noodle soup, my husband ordered biangbiang with added "shrimp" (+$5 surcharge)--no joke, they charged $5 for 6 minuscule shrimp, you know, the ones that come in a microwavable noodle soup (cup-o-noodles/maruchan) All in all, we ended up getting everything wrapped to go & paid $70. We had to throw away the food and walk around to find anything to fill our growling bellies. My husband and I are not cheap whatsoever. We usually pay north of $70 minimum for a decent meal (Not including drinks) Though here, I have never had such regret going to an asian restaurant. We barely touched the food. One small bite and done. Never again. Very unclean, food laid out, soy milk in a bucket on the floor, and food had no flavor whatsoever. Ohh and the wait for food to come out while we were the only ones there: almost 50 minutes. If your hungry and have taste buds, do yourself a favor and go somewhere that's not here. (P.S- I am a kind reviewer but I truly felt the need to be transparent and detailed about this place. They need an overhaul. Fast.) read more