Bao Munchie Bar

Bao and poke bowls in PR? Had to go visit at least once. The restaurant seems really uncharacteristic for the area – it’s surrounded by unassuming PR shops, none that really stand out compared to the unique idea of Bao Munchie Bar. Bao is part of the Cholo Bistro restaurant, and is only available from the hours of 11:30−3, then the restaurant closes for a bit and reopens with their dinner menu. I ordered a tuna poke bowl, which wasn’t on the menu at the time but they had enough ingredients to make one bowl and a watermelon juice. The bowl was very fresh, maybe a little too much rice but I liked that the spicy mayo came on the side. A little less flavorful than the poke I’ve had in NYC, but still very good. And the taro chips were awesome! Fresh, still a little bit warm and perfectly salted. The watermelon wasn’t what I was expecting – it was a slushy consistency, and a little bit too sweet but still yummy and the waiter refilled my cup, which I wasn’t expecting for a specialty drink. My friend got two baos, a chicken and a pork one. The pork was a little bit sweet but still okay. Her soursop juice was also very refreshing. The bill came out with two asian candies (is one of the owners/​chefs asian??) which was a nice touch. A nice lunch.

This place gets 5 stars for creative, unique food.
I have been having a craving for baos for about a month now but since I’m on the island, it’s hard to find unique Asian food. So imagine my surprise when I found this little hole in the wall that serves, what do you know, baos.
Just as a note, I added a tip that this place was open from 11:30−3 monday to Saturday which are not the hours on Unilocal.It’s cash only which was a little bit of a downer but there’s quite a few unique places in PR that only take cash so I’m used to it. Just putting it out there for the non locals who may be a little put off.
Anyways, I dragged my boyfriend here and we ordered pork belly, adobo chicken and ropa vieja baos. I have to say that ranked from best to worst the ropa vieja bao wins by a mile. It melts in your mouth and has a hint of coconut that adds to the flavor in a suprisingly awesome way. I loved the pork belly bao cause it was crunchy and soft at the same time. The adobo chicken bao was good but it lacked a little seasoning so it wasn’t my favorite. They also have some sauces on the side (mustard vinagreta and chili tapioca) which I loved loved loved. I put the chili tapioca on the chips that came with the baos.
My boyfriend and I also ordered Aguas frescas. Mine was parcha (passion fruit) and his was Jamaica (hibiscus). The waters aren’t juice per say but more like a really flavorful infusion. I loved both of them. They’re not to sweet but super refreshing next to the mild spice of the baos.
Finally, we finished with dessert of fried nutella bao and a fried dulce de Leche bao. Both were delicious and the perfect ending to the meal.
The service was great and quick. The server was very nice and and answered all our questions about the food.
The place isn’t very expensive in my opinion. If you’re only ordering two orders of baos it shouldn’t be more than 20 bucks (not counting IVU tax which is a pain and I won’t even get started on that).
I highly recommend this place for its uniqueness, friendly service, quaint and quiet atmosphere and the great food.

Super great food. Had all the Bao’s and guess what they are all my favorite. You cam mix amnd match, off menu items like fish nuggets are great! The Agua Frescas are a great option. Also has some plantain soup tasty. New customer!!!

Such a cute little place! The food was ahhhh-​mazing!!! Hubby and I had the agua fresca, his Tamarindo and mine Melón… Both were refreshing and like taking a bite out of a fresh fruit. Hubby ordered the soup of the day which had carrots and coconut milk in the ingredients. It was sooo flavorful and creamy! We both ordered Baos which did not disappoint! When they say pillowy-​soft, they mean it! They were the perfect vessel for the wonderfully seasoned meats we orderd. Hubby had two Adobo Chicken, which he loved and I had one Ropa Vieja and one pork belly. OMG the Ropa Vieja was seasoned deliciously with a slight sweetness to it and the Pork Belly!!! The Pork Belly was crunchy where it was supposed to be, chewy in other places and overall just plain delicious!!! Definitely will be coming back!

Everything was great! The chef and staff delivered an excellent service. Love the Pork Belly Bao, texture and flavor wise amazing! Will definitely go back soon.

Everything was great– my favorite was the pork belly with the house vinaigrette. I didn’t get a chance to try one of the desserts, but will definitely go back to try the fried Bao with nutella.