On Redchurch Street within the site that was once home to Andina, BAO Noodle Shop will make its wheat noodles in house each day using flour imported from Taiwan to give them the correct structure and bounce.
There will be two styles of beef noodle soup available: a classic Taipei-style broth that closely matches the style of the beef noodle soup found across Taiwan with slow braised beef cheek and beef shortrib, spiced beef butter and fermented greens; and BAO’s take on a Tainan-style broth, which is based on recipes from the southwest of the island with a lighter broth combined with imported 400 day-aged white soy and thin slices of rare poached rump cap.
Both broths will be made with aged beef bones, fermented chilli bean paste and assorted spices, and guests will have the option of adding cured egg; crispy egg; or spiced beef butter to their bowls.
All beef will be sourced from Philip Warren Butchers in Cornwall and aged for a minimum of 40 days. Guests can add a side dish of noodles with curry bone marrow dip, whilst vegans will be catered for with a choice of dan dan tofu noodles, or kelp soup noodle with aubergine.
Three new versions of BAO’s famed buns will also be available: a panko shrimp croquette BAO with sweet and sour sauce; an Iberico pork BAO with garlic mayo, black garlic sauce and shredded cabbage; and a sweetcorn congee BAO with spring onion tofu sauce and soy pickled chilli.
The restaurant will also offer boiled cull yaw lamb dumplings, while elsewhere on the starters list will be crispy tripe, onion dip; eel and smacked cucumber; glazed pork chop, crispy egg; fried Ogleshield cheese rolls; and lu rou fan, a dish of braised pork belly, with egg and fish floss rice.
Cocktails will be influenced by the shaved ice drinks of Taipei, with the menu featuring a Midori Whisky Sour Ice and a Grape Sake Ice. Alongside these will be a Calpis Fizz inspired by Calpico, the Asian yoghurt soda, as well as BAO classic cocktails like the Umeshu Negroni and Milk Tea Old Fashioned.
For soft drinks, BAO Noodle Shop will serve its signature peanut milk, alongside a range of cold brew teas, including the Hong Yu and Oriental Beauty cold brew tea with a soft set almond jelly, inspired by the classic Taiwanese Dou Hua dessert, and a Hong Yu and Assam cold brew tea with lemon foam, a twist on the classic lemon ice tea.
The interiors will draw influence from the tiled noodle shops of Taipei, with a white tiled bar, warm timber-clad walls, rounded opalescent wall lights and sculptural paper lampshades.
Towards the back of the dining room, tables will be located beneath exposed timber beams and a large skylight will flood the room with natural light.
The entertainment rooms downstairs will feature KTV - karaoke TV - and will be bookable for groups.
“Beef noodle is a national obsession in Taiwan with annual competitions taken very seriously over there, so we wanted to bring these comforting bowls to London and make them with the very best ingredients,” says founder and creative director Erchen Chang.
Founded by Shing Tat Chung, Erchen Chang and Wai Ting Chung, the first permanent BAO restaurant opened in Soho in April 2015, following a successful period trading at Netil Market in Hackney.
BAO’s second restaurant opened in Fitzrovia in July 2016. A third restaurant, BAO Borough, opened in May 2019, and Cafe BAO opened in King’s Cross in December 2020.
