The Bao
“Got the Dan Dan noodles and the scallion pancakes with beef and the super spicy xlb and the chocolate xlb.”
“Ordered the following items:
Dan Dan noodle – simple yet refreshing dish
Beef noodle soup – soup was delicious.”
“We weren't that hungry (and we wanted to save room for dessert), so we just got 3 baskets of the soup dumplings: Kung Fu (pork), Crab, and Spicy.”
The Bao
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Bery noisy place but the food is ok. You will find chinese cuisine and of course xiaolongbao. They are not exceptionnal so do not except something stunning. A place to eat chinese food in the East village.
Great option for chinese food in the East Village area. I've come here often on weekends for lunch and usually seated within minutes.
Get the:
1) soup dumplings – pricier than chinatown/flushing but as good, since you are paying for the location
2) rice cake with choice of meat – they make their rice cake very chewy, not too oily either. HIGHLY recommend.
3) eggplant with garlic sauce
Would OPT OUT of getting the szechuan chili fried chicken (sounds good, but too much batter compared to chicken ratio).
Clean, modern, and friendly. I became a bit hesitant since the decor didn't have the "authentic" vibe but the food was delicious.
We started with the Dan Dan Noodles which had yummy noodles and a good flavor that was not overpowered by the sauce or spice.
We also had the Pork Xiao Long Bao and Crabmeat Xiao Long Bao. The skin was thick enough so that it didn't break when we pulled them out of the steamers but thin enough that we can enjoy the flavors of the filling and juice. The flavors were spot on and it was steamed perfectly. If I had to choose I liked the Crabmeat XLB just a little bit more than the Pork.
As many mentioned, good food but a bit pricey.
I really should ignore food articles/reviews I stumble upon and discourage myself from visiting the places that were raved in said articles/reviews. A native Shanghainese gave top ratings to this place, saying how the xiao long bao (XLB) are the best in taste, soup, and skin quality. Must've been in cahoots with the eatery because the three kinds we ordered did not floor us whatsoever. Also, there are no napa cabbage leaves under the XLBs; this place uses sheets of heat and water resistant paper/cloth to steam so needless to say, I was disappointed.
And the staff… Boy, wait til you hear this. They are:
Creepers: A waiter hovered over my shoulder, next to my face, and didn't say anything until I turned and scared the XLB outta me
Inexperienced: They only filled our glasses half way, dropped the tongs, and don't maximize the dishes space on our table and just piled things haphazardly with their hands colliding into my chopsticks on the eating ends (gee, thanks, I really wanted my eating utensils to be soiled)
Inconsiderate: We felt rushed; everything that benefits them they will speed up so there's an overall lack of appreciation for the customers
I did not find hair in my food, like so many reviewers had complained about, BUT I really did not like the food here. The decor gets the star I guess.
This was my first experience of actually having a tasty crab xiao long bao (XLB).
Everything we ordered was delicious!
Kung fu XLB $7.95 – 6pcs
Spicy XLB $8.96 – 6pcs
Crab XLB $9.95 – 6pcs
Chocolate banana XLB – dessert ~$5.95-6.95 Sorry, couldn't find the price on the menu.
All of the XLB had a thin wrapper and an ample amount of soup. What I did notice was that the soup was very clear and not fatty at all.
The spicy XLB had a good amount of heat which I think is more apparent because the XLB was still hot from the steamer.
The crab XLB definitely had little chunks of crab meat, but didn't have the fishy taste that I was so used to from other restaurants.
The chocolate XLB was interesting. It was a mini version of the XLB filled with a slice of banana with Nutella (I believe). It tasted good.
We ordered three lunch specials that came with bowls of rice for $7.95.
Szechuan fried chicken – This was the favorite amount the group. It reminded me of popcorn chicken, but with a spicy kick.
Minced pork and chive – This was okay. The chives were very fresh.
Shredded beef and peppers- Again, not bad.
The Crabbies ginger beer was very good. Tasted like soda with a hint of alcohol.
Overall everything was tasty but a bit pricy from what I'm used to. I.e. 8pcs of XLB instead of 6pcs for a cheaper price. But then again, the XLB at The Bao had better quality ingredients and is located in a neighborhood other than Chinatown.
I love this place! For a place that isn't in the heart of Chinatown, I would say the food is really authentic for a Shanghai cuisine. This place gets packed really quickly and on weekends at night, there is usually a line. That's because the food is delicious here. They usually open at 12 noon and if you go at that time, there isn't much people, but sure fills up pretty quickly even on random weekdays.
Ordered the xiao long bao in crab meat flavor which is my favorite. They also have a regular pork version. The bao is full of soup and the outside flour is thin which makes it sooooo much better. The only drawback about their xiao long bao in comparison to other shanghai places is that they only give you 6 here 🙁 usually they give you 8 in other places, but quality over quantity always! We also ordered the string beans, rice cake with pork (so good), and Sichuan chili chicken lunch special (which is in a smaller portion and comes with a bowl of rice). The rice cake is really soft and the pork is salted which makes it that much more flavorful. The Sichuan chili chicken is a very popular choice. It is full of flavor which explodes in your mouth and it isn't too spicy because it is fried little chicken pieces. It's just amazing and you have to try it yourself.
The prices are a little more expensive in comparison to Chinatown Shanghai places, but it is reasonable due to location.
I would come back over and over again.
Perhaps it was the fact that we had take out, but the meal was a bit unsatisfying and tasteless. All the food was okay, but it unfortunately stopped there. The Kung Pao Chicken did not wow, the vegetable fried rice was utterly lacking in taste, and the best dish of the night was the steamed string beans. Would I order again? Probably not. But would I have been so terribly disappointed if I had eaten in the restaurant? That is the great unknown.
Overall, I would not order take out again, but it was okay, and nothing more, just to reiterate.
Great xiao long bao and no wait (for a weekday lunch) means this is a new favorite for me.
Compared to the famous Joe Shanghai, I would say these are definitely better. Compared to Din Tai Fung, these individual soup dumplings are bigger with more soup but comparable skin so I guess it's a question of what your ideal meat to skin to soup radio is. Personally I loved this one slightly more than Din Tai Fung.
Would definitely come back.