Brighton's Baby Bao chooses London to launch its first restaurant proper

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Brighton street food outfit Baby Bao made its London debut this month, launching its first solo bricks-and-mortar site on the site formerly occupied by Chop Shop in Haymarket.

The restaurant serves Taiwanese-inspired dishes, and until recently has solely catered to the street food market, as well as diners at the The Pond pub in Brighton, where it holds a residency.

The menu comprises a list of Taiwanese steamed bao buns with fillings including roast pork belly with hoisin, peanuts, cucumber and spring onion; cumin braised lamb with green chilli dressing; barbecued Korean prawns with sesame, iceberg lettuce and coriander; and mushroom with sweet and sour, miso mayo, crispy shallots, spring onion and carrot.

Side dishes include Korean chicken wings; karaage cauliflower; house chips with miso mayo, sriracha and peanuts; gochujang macaroni cheese; and sweetcorn poppers. Salad and kimchi are also on the menu.

The restaurant offers an extensive beer menu, and at its residency at The Pond it would occasionally create paired snacks to go with the guest beers being served. The beer menu is separated into lagers; pale ales; amber and reds; IPAs; stouts and porters; saisons and sour beers; and specials.

The restaurant, which has amassed a strong fanbase in Brighton for its ‘meat free Monday’ menu, opened on 30 August, and offered free baos to the first 100 customers through the doors.