Bao Bar

Everyone loves bao. If you don’t love bao then I question why we are friends (OK we’re not really).
They are quick, delicious, little fluffy clouds of joy with juicy, moorish pork or crumbed dyacon or fried chicken. Simple with three options, and you can’t go wrong with any of the flavours (unless you’re veggo).
They are snack sized so you can grab one of each. Or have one as an entrée before you try some other amazing street food offerings around the market. They’re around £3 each.
The set up… It’s a tiny stall in the corner of Netil markets that has seats for four, and is best treated as takeaway. It’s the perfect morsel to grab and eat whilst walking around. They also have a shop in soho that offers a large menu which I also HIGHLY recommend.

Loved it! Can’t get enough of those little buns! Had to wait in line for about half an hour though, quite a small space.

They just opened a new restaurant in soho, serving food similar to the Netli Market pop up stand. Food was excellent, including all the baos and small dishes. The fried chicken was good, but a candle in the sun of all the other small plates. Price was about £60 for loads of food and a few teas. The tritip cap with white soy was a personal favourite.

I’m pretty obsessed with bao of all kinds — hirata buns, Chinese char sui bao… it’s my favourite thing! I had the classic pork bun when I visited Bao and it was sensational. Just try it! I am SO excited for their restaurant opening!

Everybody is talking about Bao, so obviously I had to try it, even if it meant spending 1 hour in the tube to go there.
There was the longest queue I’ve ever seen, but then we were able to order two «classic» Bao with pork, peanut and coriander. Then… Yeap, you have to wait in line AGAIN ! But I have to admit, it was totally worth it :) The bun is soooo light and fluffy, the pork so juicy and all the flavours are amazing.
Then again, you know you’re really a foodie when you decide to spend 20 minutes in line only to have a delicious pork bun that lasts 20 seconds in your hand before disappearing in your belly.

Went on a mission to Netil Market (a subset of Broadway Market) searching specifically for Bao. About a 15 minute wait later at their small stand, it was well worth it.
I feel that it’s difficult to find quality Asian food in London, so I can see why the queue for Bao was so long. I chose the classic pork bun with peanut shavings and coriander, and it didn’t disappoint. The pork melted in my mouth while the bun was perfectly sweet. You could order 3 or 4 of the little guys and make meal out of it, or have one as a snack on your food tour through the market.

Awesome, I went to their six seat bar at Netil Market today and had the Pork Belly and Daikon. Loved the atmosphere of both the market and their stall. Food was excellent, I´ll be back!
I have to admit I´m not a BAO expert by any means. I can only say that it was great to my middle european taste buds.

Best pork bun I’ve had in the UK!!!
Believe the hype and get one now! In the world of melt in your mouth pork, this one sits atop the pile. Nice sauce, good garnish, amazing meat; you have to try one ASAP! It’s a bit small for £3.5 though.
Also tried their fried chicken; a pretty standard chicken karaage really.
Finally, I tried their duck noodles. Wasn’t quite expecting them to use the vermicelli type noodle and it didn’t really go. Noodles didn’t really pick up the flavour and the duck itself was a bit meh.
Those buns though…

Bao is a street vender that specializes in Gua Bao. Apparently a Bao is a bun, and they fill theirs with slow braised pork belly. I’ve been wanting to try them for ages, but every time they were somewhere where I could try them, the queue was way too long.
When I saw them at Kerb at UCL, I was super excited because the queue was really short. So I ordered a bun. It was tasty, but to be honest, I’m not sure what the fuss is about. The filling was tasty, but a bit too much for the size of the bun so it kind of just overflowed and left my hand a very sticky mess. The meat was tasty, but the sauce was really powerful so I’m not sure it makes a difference if it’s pork belly or another cut of pork.
I’m glad I tried it, the bun was a tasty snack. Not quite enough for a meal on its own. They’re often at Kerb, so find a Kerb location and give them a whirl.