Harbour Artisanal Food Market (Feb 2014)

I had an absolutely lovely afternoon yesterday at the Harbour Artisanal Food Market. Two of my friends and I ventured into Fire Dragon Path (no jokes, that was the name of the place where it was held) to indulge our food cravings for the weekend. The food market was from 12PM-6PM and we came at 1:30PM to find tons of people already lining up at booths. I wanted test out food/drinks from every single booth, but alas, my tummy could only take so much. I'll have a little blurb below at the end of my post of all the vendors I missed out in case you want want to check them out. I'd like to thank my friend Yi Wei for letting me steal a few of her pictures (I was too busy stuffing my face).

Credits to Yi Wei Lim for picture on the far left

SUGO, sushi-to-go
This was our first pit-stop and I was excited to try their sushi rolls because some of their combinations aren't quite "traditional" and I liked how they gave a cute spin on their names.

Photo Credit to Yi Wei Lim 

We decided to go with four of their rolls, from left to right.
SPY-DA (Spicy soft shell crab), everybody I know loves soft shell crab sushi! This roll had a crispy soft shell crab with spicy kewpie and some veg to add crunch. It also had of their signature spice blend. Great combo!
No Way Jose (Spicy Beef with Mexican Sauce and Cheese), unfortunately our cheese was at the bottom of the box when I took this picture.The flavors are quite strong in this roll, not for the faint hearted I would say. If you like your food with a bit of a kick, No Way Jose should be your pick.
Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ beef with Burdock Root), this one was my favourite. It had that distinct Japanese BBQ beef flavor which is a little bit sweet and the burdock root, peppers and lettuce added for texture and crunch.
Ebi Ebi Prawn (Tempura Prawn with Wasabi Mayo),  this roll needs no explanation, can't really go wrong with that combo.

If you want to have a go and try one of these rolls their address and website is below, you can buy a few to take away. I'm pretty sure I'll be running there for some of my lunch breaks. I had a look at their menu and they have a lot more rolls to offer!

G/F, Hop Hing Building, 30 Gilmans Bazaar, Central, Hong Kong
www.sugosushi.com.hk


The Dutch, Cheese and More

Credit to Yi Wei Lim for picture on the left.

We made a quick stop at The Dutch and they had three flavours of cheese out for tasting. I am no expert when it comes to cheese, but hey, who doesn't love cheese! The far left was their Special Pesto cheese and wow, it really felt like you were eating creamy pesto, I've never had anything like it. The one in the middle was their Special Goat cheese, this was softer in texture and quite creamy. The orange cheese on the right was their Gouda Aged cheese, this had a stronger flavor but still creamy in texture. I liked them all so much I bought their little sample box with all three cheeses (and I finished the whole box yesterday).

If you check out their website they have a large selection of cheese to offer and so many under their "Specials", like their chilli cheese and red pesto! If you are a cheese lover they sell Dutch Pancake's every Saturday in Sai Kung (check out their website for more details). I will have to make a trip there one of these weekends to try them out. 

232 Queens Road Central, Hong Kong

www.thedutch.hk

MANA! Fast Slow Food

I am sure there are a few of you who already know about MANA! This was not my first time eating their food, I've had their flats quite a few times and I've never been disappointed. For those who haven't heard of MANA! they focus on a  healthy organic vegetarian, (mostly) vegan and raw food desserts. Please, please do not categorize them to just another "healthy food" joint where you have to sacrifice tasty food for health. You'll really be surprised when you eat their because their food bursts with flavor.

We decided to go with the combo which was a flat of our choice, lemonade and raw chocolate truffle. 

Our Flat had, hummus, roast veggies, baby spinach and pickled peppers. They were testing out a new sauce they had just created, chipotle-ayonise, and we had that on our flat as well. Quite a tasty wrap, creamy from the hummus, nice spicy kick from the chipotle sauce and pickled peppers and the roast veggies were a good addition for texture and crunch. (Yay us for choosing a good 4 combo!) 

Their Lemonade is no ordinary lemonade, yes it is full of sharp lemony goodness but it has a bit of spicyness to it too! They have cayenne pepper in it and it surprisingly tastes good (who knew lemonade and spice went well). I was told by the MANA staff that cayenne pepper helps clear up arteries. A small side note, their cups are all biodegradable!  

The Raw Chocolate Truffle had a nice hard crunchy exterior and a soft creamy interior. Raw chocolate or cacao (not to be mistaken with the processed version of cocoa) is chocolate in it's rawest form which hasn't been processed. You can feel a little less guilty when indulging yourself in one of these. You can google the nutritional facts about raw cacao, there are tons. 

92 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

www.mana.hk

Kussen 85

It's hard not to love all things sweet, so we had to stop by Kussen 85 to try out some of their handmade chocolates. They were handing out small species of their flower/fruit infused chocolates (picture on the left below). Really some interesting combinations of chocolate with jasmine, chocolate with orange and chocolate with violet. Each had a very distinct strong flavor, I think they would be great to gift to someone. I also want to point out that the macaroons (picture on the right below) were significantly larger than the standard macaroons we get in patisseries in Hong Kong. 

Credit to Yi Wei Lim for above to two pictures

I ended up buying their their heart shaped raspberry macaroon with raspberry buttercream filling (couldn't resist, it looked so cute!). Had a very sharp raspberry flavor to it and was crispy on the outside and chewy marshmallow like on the inside. 

They do cupcakes too I don't think I could have eaten all four in the box. If you want to try something new or just want to gift someone something sweet check out Kussen 85.

They have four shops located all over Hong Kong, you can find their addresses in their website below. 

www.kussen85.wix.com

Flying Brats

Till now Flying Brats have only been serving their "brats" at food booths at events here and there but will be opening their store in April later this year. Their sausages are made out of pork, chicken and a blend of herbs and spices. I had my first taste at the Harbour Artisanal Market and their sausages are meaty juicy goodness. They don't server your standard ketchup with your hot dog but a german curried ketchup which is sweet with a hint of spice, very interesting. I enjoyed it, good sausage, crispy hot bun can't think of how I could complain?

www.flyingbrats.hk

Saffron Bakery
Walking down the lane we saw a booth with all these novelty bottled drinks and candy and decided to linger for a few minutes. Apparently these drinks were served back in they day in England and US. One of my friends got a Moxie and we all got old school american smarties (I am munching on them as week speak)! I tried Moxie and it was kinda like Dr. Pepper on crack, but if that's what you like now you know where to go! Saffron sells all kinds of baked goods at their stores and cafes, and do gluten free breads and cakes too.

They five locations all over Hong Kong, you can find their addresses at their website below.
www.saffronbakery.com

Fresh Gourmet 
Last but not least we had about some good quality Iberico Ham at Fresh Gourmet's booth. Their store in Causeway Bay sells wine, cheese, ham, oysters and other gourmet food. Our Iberico ham had thick marbles of fat and had it's distinct nutty flavor.

Credit to Yi Wei Lim for picture on the left

G/F, 28 Sheperd Street, Tai Hang, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
www.facebook.com/freshgourmet.sales

PAPABUBBLE
My friend decided to pick up a a little packet of candy from this booth. The two on top and the two at the bottom were sweet but minty at the same time, personally not my kind of thing. The middle one (white with the heart in the middle) was nice and sweet I think the flavor was strawberry.

Photo credit to Yi Wei Lim

34 Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
www.papabubble.com.hk

Food Booth's I couldn't make it to because I was suffering from food coma
There was one booth that I was extremely upset about, The Butcher's Club. Their food were sold out at 2:30PM! Their beef sandwiches were selling like hot cakes and I didn't go soon enough, sigh.. They do not have a restaurant but do private dining, cooking master classes and even bring dining straight to your home. I guess I will have to resort to one of these options to try out the quality of their beef.
www.butchersclub.com.hk

KC Coffee
www.facebook.com/pages/KC-Coffee/165144560167257

Yisheng Organic
www.yishengorganic.com

House of Wines
www.hofws.com

Genie
www.thegenieconcept.com

La Rotisserie
www.larotisserie.com.hk

Stone's
www.facebook.com/stonestaihang

Hop Leaf
www.hopleaf.hk

Moving Coffee
www.movingcoffee.com

Jones Artisanal 
www.facebook.com/JonesHongKong

Spicebox Organics
www.spiceboxorganics.com

The Bellbrook, bistro oz by Laris (Lunch)

Hello fellow foodies! Thought I'd share my lunch experience at Bellbrook which I went to on Thursday. It had an open kitchen (if you've read any previous posts you'd know I love open kitchens!) and the restaurant had a very rustic relaxed dining vibe. If you have been to Australia you will know it is very rich and diverse in culture; you have Italians, Greeks, Malaysian, Indonesians, Chinese, Vietnamese and all sorts of ethnicities that have been living there for generations. Food from all these wonderful places have become embedded in Australian culture. To me, that is what Bellbrook represents.

I had a reserved a table for two for 12:30pm, was going to have a nice lunch date with a good friend. I found Bellbrook to have very reasonable lunch sets. They are available during weekdays and this is what they currently have up. My friend and I decided to share our lunch sets, we went for the Haninan Chicken Salad and Grilled Pear for our starters, for our mains we ordered Blackened Salmon  and Beef Terderlion. We also ordered their Black Pork Scotch Eggs on their a la carte menu. I really wanted to have dessert after but I was just so stuffed after eating our mains, I had to pass.

 

Before our starters came in they served us some hot steaming bread with what seemed to be a tiny bucket of dirt (or so we thought) with a sprout. In my head I thought, "oh...kay, they surely can't have served dirt just for presentation..". I took my fork and picked up a few specks and it definitely looked like dirt. I wanted to try it to see if it was edible but then again, I didn't want the take the risk of eating dirt. I took the safe route and asked the waiter what it was and he was happy to explain it to us. This little pot/bucket had their edible soil which was made of black olives, mushrooms and pine nuts! Underneath it was some soft butter. Slather some of that on to your bread with the butter underneath and oh boy it tasted amazing! It had crunchy texture and you taste each component of the "soil". Food like this gets me so excited! Creations like this add a whole new level to your dining experience. It is not just the quality of food, service and atmosphere, it is much than that. I would say this added a tiny bit of excitement and theatricality :) 

Our starters followed fairly quickly and they both looked lovely. I really enjoyed the Hainan Chicken Salad, there was a generous amount of chicken on it, which was great. Very fresh salad packed with flavor and lots of contrasting textures. The meat was moist and I loved the addition of spring onion and sesame seeds on it, the peanuts added great crunch and hoisin dressing just made it all come together.

The Grilled Pear was my friends favorite dish of the afternoon. The pear was soft but still had a bit of bite to it (there was more than one piece, it's just not in the picture). The balsamic cream on it went really well with the sweet pear and added a bit of tang and it almost candied the pecans which was really tasty. Very light salad with great flavor composition, salty, sweet and tart.What else can you want?

Next came their famous Black Pork Scotch Eggs. Before we came, my friend was the one who said we better try this out. I read a bit online about it being really good, but I've had scotch eggs before and never thought they were anything special. Boy, was I wrong about these! The scotch egg was hands-down my favourite dish of the afternoon, I just couldn't believe how good this was! The exterior of the scotch egg was so crunchy and crispy it reminded me of crackling, the pork in the middle was super moist and that soft boiled egg just melted in my mouth. It came with a horse radish creme fraiche (you need to have each bite with it), very tart and a great compliment to the egg. I would like to make a side note here about their service. The waiter had placed the scotch egg on the table (we were still in the middle of eating our salads), after a few minutes he came to us mentioning that it would be best to eat the scotch egg first because it tastes better while it's hot. I thought that showed great attentiveness, kudos to the staff! 

Our mains took a little longer to get to our table than expected, but not too long. The salmon was cooked all the way through (my personal preference is to have it to be a bit underdone in the middle though). Over all flavors were nice, you could taste cumin on top of the salmon. I'm assuming that's why it is called blackened salmon? Not sure. The potatoes were soft with a crispy exterior, it had this sweet/smoky bacon flavor, I could have eaten a bowl of it on my own.

Their Beef Tenderloin was amazing! When I cut it, the knife went through like it was butter. It was cooked to a medium-rare, which is how I like it. The mash was creamy, super smooth and not too overpoweringly garlic. That sweet red wine honey sauce was just divine! It was thick and syrupy and coated the beef which left a nice sweet aftertaste in your mouth. It's one of those dishes that you just have to go back again for. Loooooveeeeed it! I think this one is probably a crowd pleaser, hits all the right spots. 

 I really really wish I had space for dessert, sadly my tummy could not take anymore :( I shall be back again some time, not sure if the lunch menu will remain the same but it definitely is bang for your buck. The quality of the food was great and staff were friendly and attentive. If you are going to Bellbrook, DON'T FORGET TO ORDER THE SCOTH EGG! I'm excited for my next visit when I come for dinner and try their a la carte menu!

The Bellbrook, bistro oz by Laris
2/F, 77 Wyndham Street,
Central, Hong Kong

Tel: 2530 1600

http://www.diningconcepts.com/bellbrook/

Tim Ho Wan

Can't believe I have lived in Hong Kong all this time and still not had Tim Ho Wan's BBQ Pork Bun! Had it last night and it definitely did not disappoint! For those who don't know, their BBQ Pork Bun is no ordinary Char Siu Bau, the bun has the exterior of a baked pineapple bun while the inside is the same as a traditional char siu bau.

I was so gobsmacked on how amazing this was I just had to share it (with the very few that don't know). The bun had such a crumbly short exterior that almost melts on your mouth and you get a very slight hint of that sweet pineapple bun flavor when you are done with your bite. The interior of the bun was what any good char siu bau would have, soft moist pork in sweet syrupy goodness! Just writing about it is making me salivate.

Other dim sums on their menu were good too, their Siu Mai and Har Gau had very well cooked shrimp (most yum cha's I have been to, the shrimp has a maggoty rubbery texture).  Their turnip cake was softer to touch and not as gelatinous and tough as the ones I've had (I'm no expert on turnip cakes, but this one seemed better to me personally). The translucent dumpling with bits of green in it was their "steamed dumpling in chiu chow style", very crunchy texture from the vegetables in it. The chueng fen with beef was okaaay, not bad but not memorable. In terms of price, we ate all of this in only HKD 125! Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised last night.

So happy to have finally eaten here, can't believe Tim Ho Wan has been in Hong Kong since 2009 and I'm just eating here now! If you haven't, better go, you are missing out!

Tim Ho Wan

Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), Central

Ground Floor, 9-11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po (this was the first one opened in 2009)

Ground Floor, 2-8 Warf Street, Seaview Building, North Point

Shop 49, Ground Floor, Popcorn 2, 9 Tong Chun Street, Tseung Kwan O (I went to this one)

Shop 72, Ground Floor, Olympic City 2, 8 Hoi Ting Road, Tai Kok Tsui 

Fish & Meat (Lunch)

I have heard so much about Fish & Meat and have been dying to visit since they have opened their doors last year in November, today I finally made it happen. They initially only had dinner service but this week opened up lunch, I booked a table as soon as I saw it on my feed (such a restaurant groupie). I'm  the kind of person that likes to read up on the restaurants I visit, usually it's just to find the menu so I know what to order before-hand. What I really liked about Fish & Meat before I even set foot in the restaurant was that they tell you where they source their produce from. I think it's nice to know where your food is coming from, especially if they are making the effort to source the best ingredients from all over the world. From doing all my "research" it seemed they focused on freshness and simplicity. As for the how the place looked, when I walked in got this whole "modern farm cottage" vibe. Not sure if that makes sense but if you go visit, you'll know what I mean.

When we were seated I asked the server which drink they would recommend and she told me that a popular one was their Homemade Lemonade with Blueberry Jam (interestinngg). I'd seen a post on their facebook page about a cocktail which was infused with the same blueberry jam so was couldn't wait to try it. It came in a little jar which I found super cute (random side point: if you look up at some of their lamps they are made from little jars too!). The lemonade was sparkly and tasted like what every good lemonade should, refreshing and zingy. I assume the jam gives the drink its color but the lemonade was quite tangy, so wasn't able to taste much of the jam. I asked the waitress if I should be tasting any berry flavor and she said she could add more jam to it if I wanted more. I liked my lemonade so I just left it as it was, (the color it was pretty to look at anyway).

They say their menu changes seasonally so I'm not sure how long this lunch menu will last, but it is exactly what is currently up on their website under "lunch". 

We started off with the Marinated Red Ahi Tuna, compressed watermelon, soy and basil vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was super fresh in flavor (I wish there was more of it, haha), very plump tuna and the watermelon definitely was needed to balance out the texture. I couldn't taste any soy but I did like the overall dish, nice  light start to the meal. 

Next we had their Crab & Jalapeno Crostini, I love crab and there was loads of it! This dish really exemplified Fish & Meat's overall vision. It was simple and the ingredients spoke for it self. I was really taken back by how fresh the crab tasted, and I don't know of you will get what I mean but I could actually taste the crab. There was a hint of cayenne pepper I think and the jalapeno added a little zing to the dish. The only thing was the crostini was a bit hard and not as crispy as I hoped, but I think the crab made up for that. 

For my main I ordered the Pan-fried sea bream with cherry tomatoes, fennel and pea puree. I was really satisfied with this. The skin was crispy, the flesh was moist and well seasoned. The puree was smooth and they even added some olives and calamari (not chewy at all) to the dish! Simple ingredients cooked well :) 

The other main ordered was the hand-ground veal and pork meatball baguette with mozzarella, pesto and tomato sauce. I did try a bit of the meatball and it was really hearty, juicy andvery strong herby flavor. I, for the life of me, can't remember what flavor herb it was, maybe oregano? I was told the baguette was crispy and crunchy. 

And finally to my favorite course of the meal, dessert! We had their Sicilian Lemon Tart and Chocolate Pot. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate mousse because it's usually super dense and is just too overpoweringly chocolate, but I really enjoyed the chocolate pot. It was topped with clotted cream (I love that you can see vanilla seeds in it) then had a nutty crumble underneath and then a very light airy smooth chocolate mousse. I was nice that they put it all in jar, made it more fun to eat :)

My partner preferred the lemon tart, don't get me wrong though, I liked the tart too but I loved the chocolate pot.  The crust was crumbly and the lemon custard was very "lemony" as my partner puts it. 

All and all, I'd give the restaurant a thumbs up :) Really liked their concept and how they jumped right into it, not only with the food but the restaurant decor too. Two favorites that I will not forget anytime soon will be their chocolate pot (so simple but genius!) and their crab jalapeno crostini. I have high hopes for their dinner menu!

Fish & Meat 

32 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong

http://www.fishandmeat.hk/

https://www.facebook.com/FishandMeatHK

Al Dente (Wan Chai)

Al Dente (Wan Chai) is a small cozy Italian joint with the most hospitable and friendly staff I have ever met. Regardless of the fact if you are a first timer or regular, the manager is always outside greeting you with the biggest smile and always takes a minute or so out of his time to chat with you. Since I started up Hong Kong Bites I have been itching to come back here so I'd be able share their food with you people on the interwebs. I've been here maybe 6 or 7 times in the past four months and I am never, ever, disappointing with the food and service. I always come here for dinner and I always end up getting their dinner set menu, which is HKD 228 + 10% service for a 4 course dinner. Not bad eh? They are not the kind of place that does unnecessary frou-fou with their plating, I think the food is simple, cooked well and just speaks for itself. That is why I love it.

In your 4-course dinner they start you with some homemade bread with the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. You have the choice to pick one appetizer and main. If you go with pasta as your main, you can choose any one on the al-carte menu! I thought that was pretty cool when I first got here. 

This time around I ordered their mini-antipasto and lamb fillet (I highly recommend this one). The portion for the antipasto is pretty decent for one person. I know restaurants that would serve the same portion for a whole table. It had smoked salmon, parma ham, salami, buffalo mozzarella, fetta cheese, olives (they were hidden underneath), some pickled yellow peppers and grilled veggies (zucchini, eggplant and artichoke). Great start to dinner. 

On to the main course, grilled lamb fillets, which is always cooked perfectly. Never over or under done, if I ask for medium it comes medium. Its juicy, succulent and all sorts of good. Their grilled lamb comes with a mint sauce kind of gravy and if you don't know already, mint sauce and lamb are the PERFECT COMBO! Compliments the lamb so well. Veggies, without fail, are cooked well and have rosemary on them too :) (Another great combo with the lamb). The the potato mash is super smooth (sorry if you can't see it, it's underneath the veg). 

My partner ordered their grilled steak with pepper sauce, and it was cooked to a perfect medium (so hard to find places that know how to grill a steak to your preference that aren't ridiculously expensive). Also, there was barely any fat around the steak, another bonus because places within the same price range tend to have lots of fat left on the steak because they haven't bothered to trim or render it.

Today for dessert they had the banoffee pie with ice cream. It usually rotates between the banoffee pie or tiramisu. Sometimes they have both, so make sure to ask! My partner told me that they serve apple crumble too (and I LOVE apple crumble), but when I asked the manager if they had any today he said it finished up at lunch. So there I was busy eating my dessert and to my surprise he comes with two plates of poached apples with cinnamon, raisins and ice-cream (in addition to our two plates of desserts) on the house! I think they ran out of crumble and had some apples left, but I still thought it was really nice of him to bring it out for us. 

(apples and cinnamon..om nom nom)

If you are to ever visit Al Dente in Wan Chai, as I said before, expect great tasting perfectly cooked food, the friendliest staff and lovely service. Do let me know about your experience at the restaurant in the comment section below :)

Al Dente 

153 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai

LOKALI

This past week I made a deal with myself that I would have to have at least two healthy meals a day (even better if they were organic). So while I was searching the web for organic stores in Hong Kong I came across LOKALI, which is run by Just Green (organic convince store). I checked their website, saw their cafe menu and thought I'd give it a go. Their fresh produce are organic, their coffee and teas are fair trade and meats are sustainably sourced. What I found great is that they have gluten-free breads and cake! It's so hard to find places that sell gluten free products over the counter. It's a small cute cafe located right at the corner of Wan Chai and is open 10:30am to 7:00pm daily.

I got there about 6:30pm, but I would recommend going there for breakfast, lunch or tea beacuse their set combos are quite reasonable. Their food is inspired from all over the world and they change their salads and hot food selection daily.

I decided to go with their "medium" salad (3 choices), it was only HKD 68. I went for the quinoa (on the far right), pumpkin and eggplant (second from the left) and Thai papaya salad (first on the left). Now don't you go thinking that the food was bland, plain or flavorless! I enjoyed each single salad; the quinoa was still nice and fluffy, veggies were not soggy and still retained their flavor, they were dressed with lots of of herbs (I wasn't just tasting plain pumpkin and eggplant) and lastly my favorite the Thai green papaya salad, it was zingy, crunchy, spicy (not too much) and garlicy. The portion in the picture below doesn't look too big, but that plate was the size of both of my hands put together and it was really filling dinner. Oh, and just letting you know, they only topped the salad with a bit of lettuce (not tons to be cheap), underneath the lettuce was still a mountain of the three salads.

If you are either trying eat healthier and work/live in Wan Chai, want to be support and be a part of the organic community, looking for a place that provides gluten free products or are around the neighborhood make sure to try this place out.  I know I will be visiting again :)

LOKALI
82A Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai

Bao Wow

Continuing my food journey this week, I'd gone to Bao Wow Thursday night before they closed for Chinese New Year. I was super excited to finally down these baos because I'd been following Bow Wow on facebook and their concept seemed quite interesting (and all their bao posts looked delicious!). Prior to hearing about Bao Wow I honestly had no clue what a gua bao was or tasted like, but I love trying new things, so I did my research and the place seemed promising. For all you gua bao newbies (like I was), the easiest way I can explain a gua bao would be a clam shaped/taco shell shaped fluffy white steamed bun.

I came in about 7:30pm and the place was empty (it was the last working day before Chinese New Year). They offer six types of baos on their menu, few sides and two desserts. You can make your order a combo that includes two baos plus a drink, with a choice to upgrade it with sides. We decided to go with the bao platter which gave us all six baos on the menu and ordered two drinks. This came to a total of HKD 198, which seemed pretty reasonable for me. It took them just a few minutes to prepare and the baos were served straight to us on our table in steamer baskets.

This was the Original Gua Bao (pork belly, chinese relish, cilantro, crushed peanuts and red sugar). The flavors were really nice and the pork was braised very well, but the fat was just far too much. I understand that the pork belly in a gua bao has to have fat, but there was more fat than there was pork and every bite had a very mushy texture. Not sure if it is meant to be that way, but this was not for me.

The Kimchi Bulgogi Bao (grilled sliced beef, kimchi, bean sprouts and homemade bulgogi sauce) below was alright. I was expecting the beef to be severed hot but it was cold and a bit chewy, the beansprouts and kimchi added a nice texture in the bao, but I think it might have tasted better if the beef was hot.  

Next on the list was the Pangpang Chicken (shredded chicken, cucumber, crushed sichuan spicy peanuts and homemade sesame sauce). Again, the flavors and textures were nice but, this too was cold. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be served cold, personally I would expect anything with a spicy sichuan flavor to be hot or warm. 

The Sesame Ginger Pork Chop (fried pork chop, shredded cabbage and homemade sesame ginger sauce) bao had a tender pork and was good to taste. 

This was the one I liked best out of all of the baos, their Thai Fish Fillet (fried fish, Asian slaw and homemade thai fish sauce). The fish was nice and soft and the exterior was crispy and not oily. The homemade fish sauce was creamy but had a nice tang to it, I would call it an asian tartar sauce. All and all, I quite liked it.  

Another nice one on the menu was their Teriyaki Tofu Bao (fried egg tofu, shitake mushroom and teriyaki sauce). The tofu was light and silky when I bit into it and the teriyaki sauce had a subtle flavor and was not too overpowering. 

I would say Bao Wow has great ideas up their sleeve but it could do with a few tweeks here and there. I wish them all the luck for Chinese New Year! I may drop by again to try their Bao Fries with ovaltine and condensed milk, really wanted to try them out but was too full by the time I was done with my baos. If any of you have been to Bao Wow and had a different experience let me know!

Bao Wow

28 Tai Wong Street East, Wan Chai,

Hong Kong