Restaurant Review: Mean Bao.
MEAN BAO.
753A Queen Street East ~ meanbaotoronto.com Instagram: @meanbaotoronto ~ Twitter: @MeanBaoToronto Co-Diner: Tim Golem
It was the Lunar New Year and I could think of no better thing to eat than bao. (I realize that hot pot would've been more appropriate, but I was trying.) Bao (or more specifically, gua bao) is a Chinese steamed bun sandwich (actually, it's more like a taco) that contains meat and other condiments. Pork belly often seems to be the OG bao, however you can find them stuffed with just about anything. I love them and so does my husband. blogTO says that Mean Bao. is the #1 Best Bao in Toronto and that was all that I needed to hear. With seven locations in the city, we stopped in at the Leslieville spot on a Saturday evening, and yes, it was Chinese New Year. The restaurant was empty except for the near constant traffic of food delivery services - apparently people prefer to dine on their bao at home. But not me. I will take an in-restaurant experience any day. The space is decently nice with rustic distressed wood tables (including one big communal table) and black subway tile on the walls. The room feels hip while remaining incredibly laid back. The menu is written on a chalkboard with a small bonus chalkboard on the side for specials. While the bao is of course the star of the menu, you'll also find dim sum and bowls, which are a great way to round out your meal. It took us a few minutes to sort out the game plan, but soon enough we placed our order and took a seat at the large table in the middle of the restaurant. I noted the "wash station" off to the side, a sink in the middle of the dining space. At first I found this bizarre but soon I found it decidedly genius. You eat bao with your hands and it can get messy! Why not be able to wash your hands easily? The clean-freak in me was impressed. I grabbed a bottle from the cooler to drink. This UrbanZen Green Tea with Honey Jasmine seemed ideal.
This drink was a great choice, cool, sweet and refreshing. The food came out pretty quickly and the server pointed out what each of our items were, which was helpful. The bao was clearly our focus but we also used the opportunity to sample a couple of other dishes. From the dim sum section, I was very interested in the Spicy Wontons ($8.65).
I loved the looks of this dish instantly because anything that shows up looking fiery and dangerous is right up my alley. Also, the trademarked secret sauce insured that this choice was a done deal. Lime-green chopsticks in hand, I coated each wonton in as much danger sauce as possible and reveled in the spicy-sweet sesame tang. The wontons themselves were fairly simple, with a tasty pork/shrimp mix on the inside. I enjoyed eating these in something other than a typical soup. We also grabbed the Taro Fries ($4.45) from the specials board.
Burgers and fries make sense. Bao and taro fries make sense too. The white and purple-marked taro was lightly fried and well salted. Their texture is very starchy and quite similar to yuca fries which you may have tried in Latin cuisines. The aoili was quite exciting, boasting a big garlicy flavour. These were a nice snacky item to have on the side of our meal. And of course, the bao. The reason for our visit. You'll find nine different bao on the menu ranging from more traditional preparations to interesting fusion types. I really liked seeing the playfulness here and thought that they did a great job of creating a selection that was fun and surprising. I landed on four different bao that I simply had to try and I ordered them all.
Starting with the classic, I had to get the Pork Belly ($5.60) ~ Cucumber, hoisin, scallion. Most places that serve bao will have this one on the menu and I can see why. It truly is the perfect bao. The tender melt-in-your-mouth pork belly was deliciously seasoned and sauced. I didn't find the meat too fatty, which was appreciated. The bit of crisp freshness from the cucumber worked perfectly. I'd say that this bao was as good, if not better, than any others that I've had. Next I was excited to dig into the Jerk Chicken ($5.60) ~ In-house coleslaw. While not an authentic Chinese offering, this is the most perfect item to put on a menu in Toronto. I loved the fusion of Chinese and Jamaican cuisines at play, which describes Toronto in a nutshell. The piece of chicken was large and juicy. What I liked best was that they didn't hold back on the spice! This was the spiciest of our four bao and it tasted exactly the way that jerk chicken is supposed to. The coleslaw brought a nice, tangy freshness. Off of the specials menu I had to try the Fried Chicken ($5.85) ~ Pickled cabbage, scallion, Japanese mayo. Fried chicken is so hot right now and I liked seeing that Mean Bao. is playing attention to the trends. Again, the piece of chicken was quite juicy and nice, however I would have liked just a bit more crunch. The acidity from the pickled cabbage was perfect. Lastly, on the specials menu as well was the Fried Fish ($6.00) ~ Red cabbage, in-house malt aoili. This one was cute to me because it's like the bao version of a baja taco. The white fish was tender and delicious with a nice light breading. They totally succeeded in creating a bao fish taco that makes total sense. Across the board, each of these sandwiches were enveloped in the softest, steamiest, most pillowy buns. They were dreamy and delicious. I loved the slight hint of salt in the dough. Served in bamboo steaming baskets, these bao looked the part and the presentation was excellent. I really enjoyed my experience at Mean Bao.! I can already feel a little bit of an addiction setting in as I navigate my cravings for more. The food was quick and easy but also well thought out and fun. I can think of no wrong time to pop one of these bad boys (bao boys) into your mouth, as they're the perfect snack. (Or order a bunch and make it a meal!)
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