BAO

Taiwanese

13 Stoney St, SE1 9AD

££

BAO is one of those restaurants that everyone has heard of. A former street food operation by three friends, now calls 6 permanent London establishments home almost 10 years later. The restaurants name derives from gua bao – your typical fluffy white steamed buns, though the food served here is far from ordinary.

After a Saturday trip to Tate Modern to see their latest Surrealism exhibition, I decided that it might be about time I saw what all the fuss was about. I’ve tried many Bao Buns around London – (notably good ones being Daddy Bao and Bao & Bing) in my time, but I had never actually been to what is known to be the ‘original’ place for authentic, Taiwanese buns. Given the close proximity, we went for the Bao Borough joint, a mere 10-minute stroll along the river after our exhibition. When we arrived at 2pm the place was pulsating with energy – so much so that we had to wait at the bar for a few minutes until our table was ready.

The menu consists of half Bao or bao-like options, and half Xiao chi (small eats). These small eats are staple in Taiwan, where street food still reigns supreme and influences much of the restaurant scene over there. It took a decent while for our order to be taken, it was busy but there were also a lot of staff buzzing around so it felt a little frustrating at times. To drink, Asta went for a Taiwan Gold Medal beer (£5) and myself a Ice Tea (£4) as I was still nursing a hangover from the night before. For food, we both ordered the same of a Classic Bao (£5.5), a Fried Chicken Bao (£5.75), and a Prawn Shia Song Bao (£6.75). None of the smaller plates grabbed my attention quite as much, aside from the 40 day aged beef (£11) which we ordered one of to share. The prices seem to have almost doubled since opening, I heard you used to be able to pull a bao here for a mere 3 quid. But this is only to be expected in London… (you can imagine my horror when I saw that Padella’s Cacio e Pepe had crawled from £6 to £10.)

To start with, the Ice Tea was bloody delicious – it was a sweet green tea, and was poured over some mammoth ice cubes. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much when I was told the bubble tea had ran out and this was my other option, but it was exactly the refreshing compliment that I needed. The Fried Chicken Bao was the first to arrive, and was immediately smaller than I’d imagined. It had a delicate sesame bao, wrapped around some PFC: perfectly fried chicken. It was juicy and flavoursome meat, encased with the thinnest layer of batter which was so crispy but also barely there; a mere hard shell. The sichuan mayo and kimchi were the perfect sharp and spicy compliment to the indulgent chicken – overall a great start to the meal.

We were faced with another fairly long wait before our Pork Bao arrived, complete with peanut powder, fermented greens and coriander. A pork bao is always my first choice, but I’ve never had one quite like this. Again, it was smaller in size than what I’m used to, but the filling was packed in and more than made up for it in flavour. Tender, melt in your mouth meat cut with the saltiness from the peanuts and sprinkled with freshness from the coriander. A dream in a bun. However, the best Bao by far HAD to be the Prawn Shia Song. Picture a thin, deep fried brioche – crunchy and light, sweet and shiny. In this was an almost prawn-pate – it was a thick, rich, fishy paste dotted with larger, more solid bits of prawn, and interlaced with carrot and celery. It was quite simply sublime, and like nothing I was expecting or have tried before. The other star was the 40 day aged beef – charred but rare steak, thinly sliced then placed on a bed of buttery, garlicky rice. Nestled on top was a brilliantly orange egg yolk which had been doused with shards of black and white salt. The whole thing was naughty. The type of mouthful that makes you close your eyes so that you can focus purely on the heightened taste in your mouth. The type of dish that makes you wave your arms in a kind of embarrassing glee at the table.

Despite the slightly shoddy service, BAO truly did live up to its reputation as the best place in London to get your hands round some fluffy buns. You would think that due to the expansion of the brand, the quality may have suffered but I assure you this is no place for mediocrity as every dish strives for perfection. The price point is higher than some, but I promise you it’s more than worth it. If you’re in either North, South, East, or West and find yourself hungry – go looking for your nearest BAO and you truly will not be disappointed.

OVERALL RATING: *****

https://baolondon.com/