Updated 4/3/15 with opening date
Popular street food vendors BAO who've won legions of fans for the steamed buns they've been serving up at their stall on Netil Market, are to open their first restaurant.
BAO will open in Soho this Spring with the backing of Karam, Jyo and Sunaina Sethi - the family behind the growing gastronomic empire that consists of Trishna, Bubbledogs, Kitchen Table, Gymkhana and Lyle’s.
Erchen Chang and siblings Shing Tat and Wai Ting Chung are the brains behind BAO and have taken inspiratio from the ‘small eats’ restaurants in Erchen’s hometown of Taipei.
As anyone who's been to their stall in Netil would expect, their steamed milk buns will be at the heart of the menu and will be hand made every day at the restaurant. The Bao, ranging in price from £3.50 - £5, will include;
The Classic - braised pork, peanut powder, fermented greens and coriander as well as lamb shoulder and Daikon which is filled with panko crumbed daikon radish, daikon pickle, hot sauce and coriander.
Other small plates you can expect to see are:
Tendon puffs Pig blood cake Lamb tongue fries with curry dip Daikon tots with century egg Turkey rice, quails egg and pickle Fried chicken marinated in soy milk, with BAO's own hot sauce.If you've a sweet tooth you may be interested to know there'll be deep fried bao ice cream sandwiches for dessert as well as ice cream wraps with peanut brittle and coriander.
The drinks sound good too, we're intrigued by the sound of the cold Foam tea imported from Taiwan and cocktails sound interesting too such as shochu with plum shrub; peanut milk, barley shochu and honey.
"Taiwanese food is still little known here," says Erchen. "To able to excite and intrigue our customers with dishes they have never tried before is what I love most about being a chef."
BAO will open on 7 April 2015 at 53 Lexington Street, London W1F 9AS. Opening Hours will be Monday – Friday 12 noon – 3.30pm and 5.30pm – 10.30pm and Saturday from 12 noon – 10.30pm. It's walk-ins only and takeaway is also available. Keep up with their news on Twitter @bao_London
