I'm an aspiring restaurateur. In my dreams my restaurant will be bright, sleek and modern with communal tables. And no, we won't take reservations. The indicator of our popularity will be the long line in front of our door. And yes, I have Momofuku in mind as I describe my dream restaurant.
Apparently there is a new-ish restaurant in town that fits the above descriptions (maybe not sleek part though). In the name of research, I made a visit on a public holiday... Luckily there was no visible line and we got the last table in the second seating after 15 minutes of wait.
 |
Gin & Juice ($78) - cucumber, gin, lime and ginger (left) and "Mac & Cheese" ($108) - steamed rice rolls, metaiko cheese sauce (right). Very refreshing cocktail that helped washing down the overly salty cheesy cheung fun. It didn't taste like mac and cheese, but it was interesting and the cheese crust on top was some yum stuff. Just too salty... |
 |
Pork Belly Bao ($78) - slow-braised pork belly, leek & shiso red onion salad, sesame dressing, hoisin ketchup. I had a bit of the pork belly but I don't know what it tasted like overall... I only know my date really enjoyed it. |
 |
Fish Tempura ($78) - fresh market fish, tamarind palm sugar glaze, pickled lemongrass fennel salad. Very fresh fish and very messy to eat as the fish flaked apart... |
 |
LB Green Tea Ice-Cream Sandwich ($48) - deep fried bao, green tea ice-cream, condensed milk. Their signature dish! Even if people can't get a table, they will order a green tea ice-cream bao to go. |
 |
LB Special: Salty Caramel Ice-Cream Sandwich ($48) - deep fried bao, salt ice-cream, caramel. We thought both ice-cream sandwiches were great, but the salty caramel was slightly better. Salt ice-cream was really salt ice-cream! |
 |
| Like any other hip restaurant, they gave us stickers. In fact, they gave us three - two dark blue's, one pink... why three though? Anyway, if I don't stick movie tickets / ferry tickets / other memorabilia in my planner, they will be forever lost under the piles of random stuff in my room. This is why this sticker of a weird looking baby is now in my Moleskine. |
Rating: 3/5
Food: The food was definitely tasty and interesting, but I feel that I could get the same quality elsewhere for 70% of the price. I'd be happier to pay the full price if the portions were larger. But the restaurant is called Little Bao (飽) after all, maybe we aren't supposed to fill full?
Environment: The restaurant is really small! I must have apologised to the woman sitting beside me and vice versa for more than three times for accidentally hitting each other. I have sensitive ears and the music was slightly too loud for my liking. But it's cool to see that in a quiet part of Staunton Street, so much was going on in a tiny restaurant.
Service: There wasn't much service really... but the staff were all friendly.
Price: $541 for two cocktails, a starter, two baos, two dessert baos and still water. Bear in mind the portions are tiny... Overpriced? Yes, but that's the cost you pay when you want to be hip. Poor students like me are probably better off staying lame.
Little Bao
G/F, 66 Staunton Street
Central
Hong Kong
Website
I will be your first customer :D
ReplyDelete