Bao Soho

Overall rating: 5 As a tourist coming from NYC, these are the best bao buns I’ve ever had in my life. On my last day, I saw another location near borough market & was so happy to see it again after being denied the infamous chocolate covered strawberries 🥹 $10 USD for ONE bao bun is absolutelllyyy insane. But 1 millionth percent worth it. I will admit, I was struggling a bit with liking London. But boy, oh boy, I would come back here in a heartbeat. Bao will always have a special place in my heart. Highly recommend!

Taiwanese tapas! This is what food made by Taiwanese hipsters is like! Creative takes on Taiwanese 小吃 (small eats) by people who actually care about Taiwanese food deep in their souls. The menu is hilarious. They have Taiwan Beer which is nostalgic to me. Come here for drinks and some snacks in good company. Sit at the bar! Don’t come here looking to make a meal of it (in my opinion). Treat it more like sampling night market food. It’s not extremely comfortable in the restaurant, but neither is sitting on little plastic stools in the back alleys of Taipei (and I’ll do that any time!) It not about comfort, it’s about the food!

I’ve been to the Borough Bao, and always wanted to go to the original. It’s exactly how I hoped it would be. Small and a great atmosphere. This Bao has a much quicker service time than Borough, we were able to sit down straight away, we were asked within a couple of minutes what we would like. And the food came quickly. Loved it, obviously the food was great, I’ve not had a disappointment with their food. Thanks :)

On a wet afternoon, I walked into this Taiwanese-inspired Xiaochi House. They super friendly arranged for me to take a seat by the window, and next to the lonely man sign. This small corner gives me enough personal space to enjoy my own food. I watched the hustle and bustle of people in Soho, here, I was able to take a break from the moiling and enjoy the pleasant moment... Soon the Xiaochi was served one by one, so exquisite and artistic, like a performer on stage. The small counter is their stage. In this performance, there are a total of 7 performers. I'm both a diner and an audience. The scallop completely absorbs the soup without fishiness, fat and juicy with a rich taste. I tried to use the soft milky Bao bun to dip the rest of the gravy that instantly sucked up, rolling a little bit of seaweed powder on the edge of the shell plate, which was another tasty flavor. The crispy skin and tender meat of Guinea Fowl are closely connected, and the rice mixed with the egg yolk, just a mouthful, which impelled dopamine suddenly released, and the euphoria value soars. The Pig Blood Cake is chewy and bouncy, and its curtain call brings a full stop to this lunch. Perhaps some diners will pay great attention to tracing the origin of food. Whether the food is authentic seems one of the important criteria. But in any case, the most authentic thing can hardly be separated from that place and the people there. So in my view, in the melting pot of London, it is not so important whether the food is authentic or not, what matters is the heart and sincerity it contains, and the creativity!

Decided to try this restaurant with a friend and I have to say it was extremely good! ✨ Staff were friendly and explained things and I tried bao buns and scallops for the first time! We got 3 of the smalls dishes to share between us (scallops, trotter nuggets and mushrooms) and then I got the duck special bao and the fried chicken bao with the duck being my favourite 🙌🏻 It’s a little on the expensive side but all of the food despite being small, was delicious!

The BAO that started it all - I remember the queue snaking around the corner just to get in just a few years back, which is luckily no longer the case - but do book in advance. While the food is still excellent, I can’t help but feel that success has dimmed this chain’s light. Everything we had was delicious, especially the pickles, bao buns, and aubergine dip; also, the sauce next to the nuggets was out of this world - I’d have a whole plate of it if it was an option. The drinks were nice - we had the yakult float and peanut milk; I’d recommend the latter for dessert as it’s quite sweet. So why the lost star? First, portion size - the dishes are tiny and entirely unsuitable for sharing. Even the “larger” ones, like the Guinea fowl bowl, had barely any fowl and provided maybe five bites between the two of us. Very little value for money. Secondly, the service - some of the starters came so late we’d already finished our mains, and the waiters never came to check in on us. It took about 20 minutes before we were even approached. And lastly, our seats were low, uncomfortable, and in the way of the staff. So while BAO continues to offer top-notch Taiwanese in the capital, I’m afraid the customer is no longer at the heart of what they do. I’m glad they’re doing well, but the experience was alienating - and I’ve been to several BAO locations so can sadly say it’s this way across the board. Here’s hoping they remember why they started the place - to give people yummy food and introduce their culture to the world.