While in South America, I was saddened to learn that one of the oldest and long-standing bakeries in Manhattan Chinatown is closing at the end of July. Once upon a time in the early 1960s, New Golden Fung Wong Bakery opened on Mott Street. Manhattan Chinatown was predominantly Toisanese and Cantonese due to restrictive immigration law and early immigration patterns. They became known among those who know (this is another case of #iykyk) for their moon cakes, winter melon cakes (lao po bing), and hopia, various flaky snack cakes filled with black bean or scallions with pork fat. I am embarrassed to say that while they had been on my radar for a while, because I always had so many places I wanted to try (and repeat places to return to) every time I went down to Chinatown, I did not actually step foot into this shop until the pandemic period, so 12 years after I first moved here. I loved their non conventional mooncake filled with black sesame ($7.50 is a steep price to pay for a moon cake, but given I knew it was all black sesame, I was happy to pay it and its rising price). And their lao po bing, aka old wife cake, aka winter melon cakes, were probably the best ones I’ve had outside of the ones my dad used to buy me at a specific bakery along Stockton Street in San Francisco Chinatown. Most places use a lot of cheap filler for their lao po bing; New Golden Fung Wong puts all the good stuff in to make this cake extra special for those who appreciate it.

I went into their shop today and after ordering my black sesame moon cake and lao po bing (fresh out of the oven, still on the baking tray!), I told the worker that I heard they were closing at the end of the month, and I asked why. She sighed and responded that the owners were retiring and had no family members or kids who wanted to continue the business, so they had no choice but to fully close down. It was really sad to hear this news in person, as well as to see the signs written in Chinese on the front that July 31 would be its last day in business.

New Golden Fung Wong is a no-frills bakery. They don’t sell anything trendy or any new bao that’s being developed by up and coming pastry chefs in Hong Kong. But it’s the type of bakery my grandma would have loved and frequented, and also the kind of place my parents would appreciate and want to give business to. Times are changing, and tastes are evolving. But it makes me sad that this institutional bakery is closing because it could mean that for the next generation, like Kaia’s, they may never even know what these classic, nostalgic Cantonese treats were and how delicious they are. I’m seriously tempted to go back to the shop one last time to get my fill of black sesame moon cake and lao po bing before July 31 to not only support the owners in their journey to retirement, but also to quell my own sadness that I won’t ever be able to enjoy New Golden Fung Wong treats ever again after July has ended.