Bun Factory

The Pouch is gonna do something different on this review... I'm gonna start with the most recent visit and work my way backwards to the first visit. Why? Mostly because I'm too lazy to write 3 reviews for the same joint. My stubby sausage fingers can't take all that punishment pounding on the keyboard... I might break the casing on my sausage stubs and squirt fat juices all over the keys due to the heat generated from typing more than 120 characters. Hmmm.. I just had a hot flash for a hot Eyetalian sausage and peppers hoagie. Back to work you lazy fat fuck! Your one reader and fan ain't getting any younger... In the Pouch's case, it ain't getting any skinner.

For the porkers who remember this location in the Pinetree Plaza, it was originally Chef Liu who moved from that trailer in the middle of the parking lot that Little Caesars now occupies. They were good when they were in that small latrine because they could control the volume and quality. Once, they moved to the larger space they shat the bed with their quality. And then eventually closed up and became Hot Melody... Which was a hot pot mess. That dump was a total shithole but the Yelpers ate that shit up like the usual pigs they are. They didn't last too long with the VID running amuck for 3 years. 

Then Bun Factory appeared from behind the mask with a plethora of Asian grubs. These motherfuckers had it all on their menu- dim sum, Cantonese, Sichuan, Malaysian, Thai and Gringo-Chino... A real crap-in-a-bowl kinda place. The only thing they don't have on their menu is a proper English Breakfast. But with time and new cooks coming and going they have removed a lot of the extra baggage cuisines. 

Take a gander at their online menu- It's full of wacky shit... Like: 

Pen Fired Pork Bun: They make pen sized flame-throwers? Need STAT.

Leek Zygote: I don't think I have ever fertilizer a leek before... A tube sock, yes, but a large green onion, no.

West Lake Beef Soup: I prefer the East Lake version, it's more funky with all the hobo seasoning.

Barman Tofu Hot Pot: I prefer Rye for a spicier broth.

Horn Pepper Beef Throat: I'll pass on this blowjob, even with your dick.

Distillers' Grains Fish Fillet: I prefer a Jack and Fish slushy from a Super Bass-O-Matic '76.

Let's go back in time like in the movie Tenent... This way I will lose weight instead of gaining it... 

The most recent and third visit...

Pickled Vegetable with Beef. Looks so fucking Americanized doesn't it? But when you're boozing the brown juice all day, this tastes like heaven. 

Seafood Tofu Hot Pot. It's really not a traditional Chino hot pot, it's more like crap in a bowl heated up. It's obvious that all the ingredients were cooked separately and then dumped into this warm bowl... But it still tasted pretty good.

Sauteed String Bean. Classic and dericious. Always get this.

Beef Chow Fun Wet. I don't do chowfun wet, ever, because it looks like a sloppy pussy... But there were a couple of geriatrics at the table and gumming their food was the preferred method because it's soft like wet gas station bathroom tissue paper. I pretended it was a noodle soup and it turned out pretty decent.

On the second visit, it was much better than the first visit... Went in for a quick lunch with most lunch items for $9.50 which were pretty tasty.

Fried Pork Buns... aka Pen Fired Pork Bun. The crispy crepe-like skirt was a bit darker than I would like but it was serviceable. But they only give you 4 buns.

Fried Fillet with Bitter Melon. This was a good dish. The fish was tender and the black bean sauce with bitter melon gave it that funky kick. 

Stir Fried Beef with String Bean. Can't go wrong with the beef and string bean combo.

Beef Chow Fun Dry. This is the proper way to eat chowfun, dry not wet. It needed a bit more seasoning but I still gobbled it up.

Mini Pork Soup Buns aka Soup Dumps. The skin is bit on the thicker side and the soup was lacking but if you need a soup dump fix this will do.

Mapo Tofu. Ok, now this looks really good. Big chunks of soft tofu with a vibrant bright red chili sauce. I 

On the first visit, things didn't goes as well.. 

Soup Dumps. The skins were too thick and not enough soup but the pork filling was pretty hefty. Drown in black vinegar and it tastes so much better.

Fried Pork Buns. The crispy skirt had pretty decent color but the quantity of four buns was kinda a let down. It was acceptable overall.

Fried Saltwater Pork Angle (aka ham sui gok). This is a classic dim sum dish but their literal translation makes it sound fucking awful... And they tasted even worse. The give away was the crust, which was way too thick, overcooked and hard as a rock. They used the wrong glutinous rice flour. Let's take a look inside and why this was a total failure.

This looked like a failed boob job in Tijuana. They couldn't even get the nipple back on... Who the fuck wants to suck on that gelatinous blob... The pork filling was actually ok but the packaging was all wrong. I told the server about this abomination and he was nice enough to take it off the bill. He should have known better when he brought this out but I bet he thought I didn't know any better or just to wanted to see if I noticed.

Eggplant with Garlic Sauce. This is a good looking dish. The Japanese eggplant were just beautiful, shiny bright purple along with a plethora of other veggies. This is one dish that doesn't need meat. 

Beef Chow Fun Dry. I had to get this classic on the first visit to see what they can do and this first swing was a foul ball... The color was dull, the beef slices were tough and the flavor was bland. It had all the components but they couldn't pull it off. What a disappointment.

Overall, all visits averaged out to be acceptable... I would come back and try more dishes. Hopefully, they have worked out the kinks and all the dishes prepared becomes more consistent... But  I'm still skeptical of the "dim sum" offerings...

5283 Buford Highway, Doraville, GA 30340

https://www.bunfactorydoraville.com/