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2019-02-07
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After suffering the inevitable hustle and bustle of navigating through the annual Chinese New Year Market in Victoria Park, we were feeling a little peckish, pretty tired and wanted to escape the sweaty crowds around us during the festive period. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a familiar, neon baby face staring at me and as I focused my attention to that direction, I was pleasantly surprised to see it was the Little Bao's signature logo.I've never tried the branch in Soho as I wasn't a
I've never tried the branch in Soho as I wasn't a fan of the cosy bar-like seating but this new location was much bigger in comparison. It used to be the iconic Pacific Coffee (or pseudo-library) where floods of students would gather and take up all the seats with their study books sprawled across the tables as they shared a mocha between five. We went decided to give it a go and walked in with just a general sense of the type of cuisine served there. Basically, Little Bao is a fusion of 'East meets West' with a modern twist on simple dishes.
I'd say this place falls into the same space as Bread and Beast. Similar flavours, an Asian touch and typically catering to the overseas diners giving them a little taste of home away from home.
We ordered:
*Pork belly baos
Pork belly bao
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*Truffle fries
Truffle fries
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Beef Short ribs dumpling
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Fried chickens
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The baos were actually quite tasty, I felt they had the same moreish characteristic of the traditional 'char siu baos' in which they are derived from. The bun itself is a nice contrast to the usual bread/brioche by providing a light, fluffy 'pillow' for the pork to rest on, allowing you to enjoy the full taste of the filling with a hint of sweetness from the bun itself. It's hard for me to think back to the pork belly alone as the components of the bao have such a strong synergy as a whole, but from what I remember, I was surprised that it was not overly fatty and barely needed the gentlest of bites to break into the soft and tender meat. I could totally see why many of the diners around us were ordering several different baos right off the bat and then making a second order soon after. I look forward to trying the other fillings when I head over again in future.
The truffle fries came topped with mushrooms and truffle dressing. Rather than eat them the usual way, you toss the bowl together like a salad, albeit, a relatively unhealthy one. The fries were the crunchy-soft type I like, the mushrooms (which I usually don't like) were soft and not overpowering in taste and the dressing was a little tangy, which binded everything together ever so smoothly. Though I would say the portion size wasn't the most generous but I guess I am a glutton for fries so you can make up your own mind about this.
The short rib dumplings were good; the casing was crispy and chewy and I did enjoy being able to taste the slow-cooked, tender beef. I have to say again for 128 HKD, it would just be a dish you try out of curiosity but it was not substantial enough to be considered a real dish.
The Szechuan fried chicken was just mediocre if I am being honest. The fried chicken was similar to those you would find in a Korean fried chicken joint. Even though I don't eat Szechuan cuisine all too often, I'm still well aware that the authentic flavour takes more than just adding five-spice seasoning. There was none of the tongue-numbing spice of the Szechuan peppercorns and don't get me wrong, I certainly don't enjoy the dreaded 'ring of fire' the next morning that you get from somewhere like 'Chili Fagara' in Soho, but if you state something is a certain flavour then there should be some form of validation in the taste.
FINAL VERDICT:
COME PIG OUT ON THE BAOS
Ice cream bao
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