BAO is back with its seventh restaurant in the capital, bringing its imaginative Taiwanese plates and KTV (karaoke TV) rooms to Bloomberg Arcade in London's Square Mile. Each site promises something distinct from the last, and this one comes straight from 80s Taiwan with rich cherrywood veneer panelling, burgundy banquets and a glowing, standalone lightbox attached to the ceiling, which gives one the feeling of being inside a spaceship - or the Tardis. As ever, BAO has followed through on the brief, creating an immersive, achingly cool hangout for punters to pop in for an in-and-out meal of flavour-bumped small plates and whacky drinks.
We order via its signature tick box ordering system: one ‘classic pork’ bao filled with fatty braised pork and crushed peanut powder. Two ‘prawn shia song’ filled with rich prawn mayo and stuffed inside a hot, deep-fried bao, not unlike a savoury doughnut. Yes, the bao are an obligatory order, but room should be saved for a selection of snacks and xiao chi to precede these. We attack a bulbous hunk of marinated aubergine somewhat aggressively with our chopsticks, attempting to rip off velvety chunks soaked in an umami chilli garlic glaze. Elsewhere, five neat mushroom dumplings arrive in another addictive oil of soy and kow choi (Chinese chives). Finally, we will forever uphold that the group's signature sweet Horlicks bao is one of the greatest puds in London: a cross between a doughnut and an ice cream sandwich featuring caramel-heavy, malty Horlicks ice cream and a crisp, fried bao bun.
We weren’t drinking on the night, which is no bad thing considering BAO’s softs selection is just as thought-provoking as the cocktails. An eye-wincing pomelo and yuzu soda balances big notes of citrus with just the right amount of sugar. It’s so good we order a second soda, this time a salted citrus drink reminiscent of homemade lemonade.
Every time we visit BAO we’re reminded of its brilliance, namely fast, fun, respectfully good-value food with a side of karaoke (if you fancy it).