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BAO EXPERIENCE

Hello, food lovers near and far and welcome to the first post of the Dine In Squad. In the inaugural post of this blog, I will be sharing with you my experience at this little shop called Bao in Victoria, BC.

Address: 625 Fisgard Street, Victoria, BC, Canada

Hours: 12:00 pm – 9:00 pm daily (unless otherwise noted)

Prices: Dishes range from a single bao at $4.50 CAD to average meals being around $15-17 CAD without drinks.

When I first heard of this shop grand opening, I grab my friends Gary and Karen and we went there for lunch. The inside décor has dimmer lighting and seats in a half booth half chair format and it surprisingly cool. The menu had a variety of dishes that covers many categories such as Ramen (Japanese), Bibimbap (Korean), and of course the signature dish Bao (Chinese) with of course a western spin.

At the time, there were three different Ramen, three bibimbap, and eight baos. I ordered the Pork Belly Ramen along with Gary, while Karen got the three bao combo with the "Taiwanese Classic, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, and Tonkatsu Chicken.” Depending on how busy they are the wait is between 10-20 minutes and boy is it worth the wait.

We received our Ramen bowls which consist of the following:

  • Juicy grilled slices of Pork Belly with equal proportions of meat and juicy fat

  • Soy-marinated medium-boiled eggs with a dash of togarashi (Shichimi)

  • Green onions

  • Pickled shitake mushrooms

  • Noodles in a rich delicious garlic pork broth

Afterwards, Karen receives her bao buns loaded with goodness like a taco, so I consider a bao as an Asian taco.

Taiwanese classic:

  • Grilled pork belly

  • Cilantro

  • Pickled Onions

  • Hoisin sauce

  • Buttermilk fried chicken:

  • Deep-fried crispy chicken

  • Scallions

  • Kimchi

  • Spicy mayo

  • Tonkatsu chicken

  • Fried tonkatsu style chicken

  • Green cabbage

  • Pickled ginger

  • Spicy mayo

Now it was time to eat, as by habit I take a sip of the broth and I feel an explosive richness to the soup. Afterwards, as I eat a piece of the pork belly with the broth, I had this realization that all the workplace stress could be washed away by the delicious ramen. I munch on the crunchy onions and mushrooms which balance out the salty meat which allows a sense of unity.

Overall my impression is that Bao will always be considered as my go-to lunch place whenever the workday is stressful and one needs some food therapy.

Cheers,

AV

Other Dishes eaten in future visits

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