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A little preparation. A much better adventure.Independent travel advice · Made for China
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A taste of Harbin

Zhang's Bun Shop

张包铺

A one-dish shop in the Daowai old quarter making pork-rib-filled steamed buns by old method: meat cut and mixed by hand, filling bound with aged stock, dough risen with alkali, wrapped and steamed to order over a coal fire. Daowai is the pre-war Chinese half of Harbin and the most atmospheric breakfast walk in the city, so pair the buns with the surrounding streets.

Price not confirmedDaowai District, Bei Yidao Street (老道外北头道街)
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Why come here

A place worth making time for

Known locally for its spare-rib-filling steamed buns made by traditional coal-fired method; no verifiable award.

The house favourites

What to order

Point at the Chinese. Staff will understand it even where the menu has no English at all.

  • Pork spare-rib steamed buns (排骨包子)
  • Thin-skinned pork buns (猪肉包)
  • Hot soya milk or bean curd (豆腐脑)

What it actually tastes like

The filling is made with bone-in rib meat and aged stock, so it is much richer and gelatinous than a plain pork bun, and small bone fragments can be present.

Allergens in this kitchen

gluten/wheatsoy

This is the kitchen, not one dish. Woks, fryers, blanching water and utensils are shared in almost every Chinese restaurant, so for a serious allergy treat the whole premises as the unit rather than ordering around it.