db Eats: Bao Fitzrovia

db’s Lucy Shaw heads to the Fitzrovia little sister of Soho steamed bun specialist Bao for one of her most memorable and magnificent meals of the year.

The concept: When brother and sister duo Shing Tat Chung and Wai Ting Chung and Shing’s partner Erchan Chang opened a permanent site for their Taiwanese steamed buns in a shoebox-sized site on Soho’s Lexington Street last April, queues formed around the block and the snaking line of greedy diners keen to get their lips around the fluffy delights has yet to subside.

Backed by trend spotter Karam Sethi of Trishna and Gymkhana fame, Bao started life as a street food stand at Kerb in 2012 and soon found a home at Netil Market in Hackney. Following the storming success of the Soho original, this July the trio opened a sister site in Fitzrovia.

The décor: Rather than a carbon copy of the 30-seater Soho site, Bao Fitzrovia is clearly cut from the same cloth but has its own distinct identity. The action is centred around a horseshoe-shaped counter where the barmen are busy shaking up lip-smackingly good cocktails. The food is created in an open kitchen at the back of the room, with dishes appearing theatrically from a hatch.

Classic bao

The glass-fronted space is pleasingly minimal in style, from its racing green leather bar stools and blond wood counter, to wooden chopsticks and sharpened pencils in pots, it has a bit of a Muji feel to it, allowing the food to be the star of the show.

The food: When you sit down you’re presented with a menu printed on a tiny sheet of paper and are encourage to mark the dishes you’d like to eat with an ‘x’. For those (like me) of a greedy disposition, this is a dangerous game, as it’s tempting to fill the page with crosses and await the steamed bun onslaught.

No trip to Bao would be complete without trying the ‘classic’ that helped make its name. Made from a simple mixture of milk, water and flour, the bun was slightly sweet and fluffy as a cloud.

Rammed inside it were cubes of impossibly tender, salty braised pork, coriander, fermented mustard greens, an explosion of peanut powder and a sweet, unctuous sauce, which, when chomped in unison, offered the most divine, moreish, umami-rich taste sensation I now lust for frequently.

Another must is the black cod bao, which looks slightly terrifying as the chunky hunk of fish has been bathed in a slick of squid ink thick as crude oil. Housed between the folds of a pale grey bun and dripping with umami-rich ‘ng’ sauce, the feather-light fish disappears quickly down the gullet.

Signature dishes: While many of the much-loved favourites from the Soho original remain, Bao Fitzrovia has a number of exclusive signature dishes that help cement its identity as a destination restaurant.

Chicken chop with hot sauce and an egg yolk

Among the most exciting and delicious of the newbies is the fried chicken chop served with a slick of blood red hot sauce and a sunshine yellow egg yolk begging to be pierced.

I have indecent thoughts about fried chicken and have been known to Google image MeatLiquor’s buffalo chicken burger late at night, so the chop was always going to ring my bell, but it turned out to be so good that I ended up gnawing on the bone like a caveman even after it was bereft of flesh.

The batter was light on its feet and gently spiced, while the chicken inside was juicy, tender and moist.

Add the gooey yolk and the kick from the hot sauce and it almost got a bit too much for me. The beef cheek nuggets were similarly decadent – crispy cubes housing intense, earthy meat swimming in a fiery pool of green chilli dip.

The drinks: In charge of libations is drinks whiz Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, who has created a simple menu of four cocktails designed to pair with the dishes. The cherry red Pink Force Commander blends Metaxa 7 Star, galangal, lemon and red fruit bitters in a mouth-puckering twist on a sour blazing with tart, refreshing red fruit flavours.

The secret peanut pud

The tongue-twisting Confusion Confucious meanwhile, married My Lyan Makkolie gin, apricot, peppered chestnut, sweet potato and lime in a mind-bending mash up of flavours that shouldn’t work but do. Another sour twist with a crown of shaved nutmeg, the winter warmer slipped down easily. 

Who to know: Affable Irishman Tim, who will wax lyrical about everything from the concept and the cocktails to intricate details about the dishes. Look out for a tall guy with a hipster beard and a beaming smile.

Don’t leave without: Ordering the secret pudding, which is only available at the Fitzrovia site and known to a lucky few.

Served in a perfectly-wrapped, gossamer-thin pancake parcel, its innards mirror the classic bao but in pudding form, so expect lashings of creamy peanut ice cream flecked with coriander and peanut powder in a sweet-savoury mind game worthy of Alice in Wonderland.

The last word: I’d been wanting to visit Bao since the Soho original opened last summer and its Fitzrovia little sister surpassed already great expectations. With a convivial atmosphere, friendly, informative staff, killer cocktails, indecently good, fairly priced dishes, and only a tiny queue, the place encapsulates the brilliance and excitement surrounding London’s casual dining scene at the moment.

It’s not the glitzy, high-end openings people are getting hot under the collar for, it’s these tiny places with an interesting back story and a beating heart that make me proud to be a Londoner and live in such a diverse and thrilling city for food.

Bao Fitzrovia, 31 Windmill Street, London W1T 2JN; Mon-Sat 12-3pm; 5:30-10pm