Bao Down: Fusion, American-Asian style dishes.
Vital to have a crispy drink in hand while enjoying their decadent and rich Baos. However, does it live up to the hype?
Owners Phillipa Oldfield, a caterer, and Graham Oldfield, ex-head-chef at Chefs Warehouse on Bree, opened Bao Down in 2018. Bao Down moved to its current Greenpoint location in 2020, and sells products and sauces at markets and shops across Cape Town. I heard of this place during lockdown through word of mouth.
Prawn Toast (Lemon mayonnaise, Spicy soy dressing.)
Prawn fried toasts are actually Chinese and traditionally consist of minced prawns spread onto a piece of white bread and dipped in sesame seeds. When fried the prawn magically (but actually not so magically) stays attached to the bread and when made right it's a moreish fried prawn treat.
These were different in that they were made in a Boa bun. So the Bao bun was filled with minced prawns and then the open end was dipped in breadcrumbs and the whole thing was then fried. The prawns themselves were really nice and fresh and firm and hot. I’m not a die hard bao bun fan and so would have preferred it to be toast considering everything else was a bao bun. But it makes sense considering the name of the restaurant. So, in conclusion, maybe the bao was too much bready stuff compared to the prawn but it was still really nice and I really would order it again, id just probably pick away some of the bao bun to create by desired bun to prawn ratio.
Korean fried chicken Bao (Korean fried chicken, Cucumber, Bao.)
Hot, fried, spicy and crispy in a bouncy Bao. It was very good, the thigh meat made it really juicy but I would have preferred breast meat to make it slightly less fatty considering the fried nature of the meat. I loved the sweet, spicy and sticky sauce which is an integral part of Korean fried chicken.
Cucumber salad (serves 2)
I wanted to try the kimchi but unfortunately, they didn’t have any (disappointing)
The Cucumber salad was delightful though, right up to mine and my dad's alley. We love crunchy juicy watermelon with a vinegary dressing. And this was that with some extra spiciness. It was really nice and fresh which was needed when considering the richness of the other dishes. In fact, we ordered 2 of these (definitely don’t agree with the “serves 2” part)
Pork belly Bao (BBQ Pork belly, Cucumber, Bao)
Had a nice roasted flavour, the pork was sufficiently tender but not as soft as I would have liked. My dad really enjoyed it. But I’m not sure a native Korean would say it's that authentic.
Charred broccoli (Miso sesame paste, black garlic & lime sauce, Sunflower & Sesame seed miso brittle)
This was really nice. It is savoury and warm, not a super fresh dish. I liked the combinations and elements like the miso and the cauliflower puree.
Interior
White Rabbit sweets came with the bill! This adds to the good experience of the meal, having a famous asian sweet to end off the meal feels like a novelty. A white rabbit sweet is extremely chewy (almost takes your teeth off) is surrounded by an edible piece of rice paper in addition to the paper covering. It's like a white chocolate milky taffy. So fun.
I like it here. And if you’re looking for rich and sticky Baos then this is the place for you. That being said, I’m not sure it lived up to the hype and I won’t be rushing back.
Prawn Toast R114 ; Korean Fried Chicken Bao R95 ; Cucumber Salad R45 ; Pork Belly Bao R92 ; Charred Broccoli R82
First Floor, Exhibition Building, 79 Main Rd, Green Point, Cape Town, 8005
