Bao Wow | Hong Kong

Rating: ❤❤❤1/2

I came here once to try their Original Taiwanese Gua Bao when Bao Wow first opened but unfortunately it wasn't love at first sight as I had found the pork belly to be too fatty for my taste. I was still curious about the other bao flavors though so I was glad to received a tasting invitation by the restaurant recently! I had a chance to chat with the owner who actually got the idea for Bao Wow from food trucks in the US, and wanted to bring the growing phenomenon to Hong Kong. It's hard to have actual food trucks here obviously but the fast food concept was replicated as customers order and pay first before grabbing a seat at the counter and high tables. Prices are reasonable at $58 for 2 baos and you can get even better deal with the Bao Platter for $168 with 6 different baos. We got the Bao Platter along with some sides and sweets to try a bit of everything on their menu. 

Original Gua Bao - served with braised pork belly, Chinese relish, cilantro, crushed peanuts and red sugar, I still found it to be a bit fatty and heavy with too much sauce. The condiments were more balanced this time with a good amount of relish, peanuts and sugar through out. 

Kimchi Bulgogi - I loved this bao and I think fans of Korean food will love it too! With grilled sliced beef, kimchi, and homemade bulgogi sauce, it tasted just like a bulgogi dish but in a bao form which is a great way to shake things up sometimes. 

Pangpang Chicken - I was pleasantly surprised by the refreshing flavors of this bao! Filled with shredded chicken, cucumber, crushed Sichuan spicy peanuts and homemade sesame sauce, the bao was slightly spicy while balanced by the sesame sauce perfectly.

Sesame Ginger Pork Chop - the flavors of this fried pork chop bao were quite interesting with its homemade sesame ginger sauce which was similar to a Asian salad dressing.

Thai Fish Fillet - this bao featured an exciting combination of fried fish fillet, Asian slaw, and homemade Thai fish sauce which was salty and tangy to eat. 

Teriyaki Tofu - vegetarians are not left out with this bao which was filled with fried egg tofu, shiitake mushrooms, and teriyaki sauce - perfect for those who wants lighter flavors. 

Kimchili Cheese Fries ($48) - besides regular and taro fries, they also had this kimchili cheese fries which turned out to be pretty good! Instead of chili, kimchi was used instead for that spicy kick in the flavors. What an interesting twist! The only thing I guess was that the cheese could have been more flavorful though. 

Bao Fries ($28) - onto the sweets! The first dessert was bao fries with Ovaltine condensed milk as a dip. It's similar to those fried buns you dip into condense milk at dim sum so I was impressed that they adopted that dish as dessert here. I love the concept but just not a fan of eating fried things for dessert though.


Ice Cream Baowich ($38) - who can resist ice cream in fried bao! The vanilla ice cream was decent but this was pretty messy to eat as it was hard to take a bite of the ice cream with the bao as well. 

Verdict - the menu at Bao Wow is probably as creative as you can get for Taiwanese gua baos with many different and creative flavors. They also have a monthly special flavor to keep people coming back and for July, it's Takoyaki Sausage Bao! I think what would be great is if you can mix and match 2 different bao flavors when you order their baos since the price you pay includes 2 baos anyways. Instead of 2 of the same flavor, let customers try more flavors in one visit. Can I have 1 kimchi bulgogi and 1 pangpang chicken please? =)

Bao Wow
28 Tai Wong Street East
2528 9505
http://www.baowowhk.com/

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