Now for Bao, the second contender in the battle of the bao, which you can find in the centre of Soho. You will probably see a long queue of people before you actually spot the restaurant, which does not take reservations. Before you join the long queue in the cold winter, here's a quick review.
The relatively small restaurant has a great ambience, feels busy and not cramped. The staff are friendly and know the menu really well. In my previous post I commented that the starters at Mr. Bao were not that great. The same cannot be said for the ones at Bao, which were all wonderful (except the sweet potato fries).
We started off with scallops, which were delicious. They were large, perfectly cooked and served in a deliciously tart sauce, which cut through the salt. The scallop was served in a shell which was lightly dusted in a fine seaweed power.
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| Scallop |
We then shared 'Trotter Nuggets'. Crispy, hot and well seasoned nuggets were delicious. They incredibly indulgent - I could have eaten a dozen. The pork trotters were tender and fell apart like shredded pork rather than processed meat in batter.
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| Trotter Nuggets |
The sweet potato fries were pretty poor. The potato was battered and on some fries it was far to thick, which resulted in some fries not being cooked properly. Additionally, the chips had a lovely sauce drizzled on top, however frustratingly it meant that only the fries on top got any sauce. With so many interesting starters available, I wish that I had selected something else.
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| Sweet potato fries |
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| Thick batter and undercooked |
The last side was far better than the fries, it was a rice dish which was delicious. Tasty mushrooms, crispy onions, generous amounts of tasty guinea fowl and an egg yolk were served on top of steaming rice. When mixed together, the small bowl of rice was a delight.
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| Guinea Fowl Rice |
We tried four different baos (there are five on offer and they recommend two per person). I will start with my least favourite bao which consisted of lamb shoulder, seasoned with curry flavours, coated with a thick velvety coriander sauce and topped with a slice of pickled chilli. The flavour was strong, but not one that I particularly liked, and the textures were too soft - especially when the filling is in a pillow light bao. The bao desperately lacked an element of crunch - the pickled chilli was too thin to contribute any texture and was too small to add a real depth of flavour.
The chicken bao was far better in terms of texture and flavour, however I was less impressed with the bun. Instead of the typical white bao, the chicken bao was served in a burger bun styled bao. This bun, while innovative, lost the lightness of the typical bao. That being said, the chicken was crunchy and not too greasy. The spicy mayo and kimchi, added good variety of flavour to the bao.
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| Lamb Bao |
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Chicken Bao
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The classic bao, like the lamb bao, was also texturally disappointing - with lots of soft textures and not much contrast. A peanut powder, that almost dissolved in your mouth covered a generous portion of pulled pork. The bao was not great. Sharp crisp pickle would have been a good addition.
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| Classic Bao |
Finally, the pork belly bao. This was tasty and had lovely elements of texture such as crispy shallots and the soft pork. The pork sauce was tangy. According to the menu the bao also had a hot sauce, which I couldn't detect. As I said before, the bao tasted good, but I don't think they compare to the ones at Mr Bao.
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| Pork belly bao |
Bao is a friendly restaurant with a great atmosphere. The service is very good and the prices are reasonable. Excluding the sweet potato fries, the starters are carefully thought through and well executed. The bao were generally all good but none were exceptional and many lacked the finesse that I had expected, given all of the hype. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant meal.
Bao
Rating: 7/10www.baolondon.com
53 Lexington St, London, W1F 9AS (Soho Branch)
There is also a branch in Fitzrovia
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