G/F, 66 Staunton St. Central, Hong Kong. +852 2194 0202. Open 6pm-11pm, closed Sundays. Four months ago when I arrived in Hong Kong, Sophia and I decided we wanted to try Sheung Wan’s hottest spot – Little Bao. Offering up Taiwanese buns with a fusion slant (similar to my all-time London favorite Flesh & Buns), I ended up stalking them so much on Instagram that it became an obsession but with our excellently poor orienteering skills, we either just couldn’t find it, it’d be closed or the queues would be insane.
Nestled opposite the Staunton Gallery, Little Bao is a cosy nook with bar-style seating and a little open kitchen. Its humble roots as a little market stall have truly expanded and their new location often sees huge queues with an undeniably cool crowd. The menu switches up as do most of these cool new places and I can already see myself heading back soon to sample more of their sharing sides because those all looked incredible!
Disclaimer: I have not been paid to write this. I paid for my own meal and Little Bao sadly do not know that I exist.
What We Ordered:
LB Fries - Roasted tomato sambal, kewpie mayo, cilantro
Pork Belly Bao - Slow-braised pork belly, leek & shiso red onion salad, sesame dressing, hoisin ketchup
Szechuan Fried Chicken Bao - Chinese black vinegar glaze, Szechuan mayo, coleslaw
LB Salt Ice Cream Bao - Salt ice cream w/ caramel
Let’s get this started then!
The waiters are super friendly and attentive here, it totally reminded me of those at Bonedaddies and Flesh & Buns but maybe I’m just making a comparison because damn I miss those places. Our waiter recommended us to try two starters, a Bao each plus a dessert and we’re SO glad we opted to go for one of each instead. These little plates are filling!
We chose the LB Fries which seemed like a bit of a signature dish. A not-so-simple dish of French fries with a honey glaze, spices, coriander and a tomato/kewpie mayo dip, these were oddly good. So moreish and a crazy sensation for the tastebuds, I think I would probably order these again (but of course next time I want to try even more).
Bao Business: Bao-wise, I opted for the Pork Belly – you can never go wrong with these – and it was just so good, I could eat it for the rest of my life. The buns themselves were soft, fluffy and not at all dry, the meat perfectly braised and seasoned. Sophia chose the Szechuan Fried Chicken one and I think I’m going to opt for that next time! She said it was just the right amount of spicy and also really good.
Finally, the sweet stuff. A.k.a. the best part of the meal in Hong Kong. Their desserts were ice-cream sandwiches, a snowglobe of salt ice-cream with a glazed caramel dressing in between deep fried buns. SO good and, yes, worth sacrificing a starter for.
