What I Got: Buddha Bao, Pork Belly Bao, Sesame Noodles

Price: $$

Location: NYC

Review:  

These are definitely some of the best baos I’ve had. The buns are perfectly soft and sweet, and the fillings are delicious.  I love how there is the option to create a combo of any two baos with either spring rolls, dumplings, sesame noodles, or popcorn chicken.  

Buddha Bao – The Buddha Bao is vegetarian.  It includes fried tofu, red cabbage, red onion, cilantro, black sesame seeds, and sweet chili sauce.  The tofu is amazingly crispy, and the fresh ingredients alongside it balance out the fried exterior.  The sweet chili sauce is absolutely delicious.  It is light and has the perfect amount of spice.  I made sure to soak up every bit of sauce that dripped out with my bun.  

Pork Belly Bao –  The Pork Belly Bao includes braised pork belly, scallion, cucumber, radish, crushed peanuts, and hoisin sauce.  The pork belly was cooked to tender, falling apart perfection, with just the right amount of fat.  The scallion, cucumber, and radish balance out the deliciously decadent pork.  The hoisin sauce and peanuts bring an amazing sweet, spicy, salty harmony to the bao.

Sesame Noodles – The sesame noodles include Taiwanese cold noodles, cilantro, red cabbage, crispy shallots, black sesame seeds, and homemade special sauce.  The cold noodles were a nice contrast to the warm baos.  The cilantro, red cabbage, and shallots added great textures and flavor to the noodles.  They were cooked perfectly and coated in a light and delicious (not spicy) sauce.  The sauce is really as special as they say. I really enjoyed these although I’m not usually a fan of cold noodles.