Overall rating: 3.5 stars
Bao on the Block is a small restaurant along Sgt. Esguerra St. in the Brgy. South Triangle area, right across ABS-CBN. It is on soft opening mode, so I understand that there is room for improvement with respect to the food and the service.
I ordered the BOTB Classic Bao (pork belly + hoisin sauce) and the Chicken Teriyaki Bao. At P85 each, it is good value for money, and certainly a much better option than fastfood.
BOTB Classic Bao. Good filling-to-bun ratio. For flavor, I think this bao relied almost entirely on the sweet hoisin sauce, which tasted like it came straight out of the jar. Nothing wrong with that, but I would like to suggest mixing a little soy sauce and ginger to the hoisin sauce, and simmering this before dressing up the bao with it. I feel this adjustment would create balance and depth of flavor. The pork belly could use a bit more salt itself.
Chicken Teriyaki Bao. I didn't think I would prefer the lean chicken fillet over the pork belly, but in this case I do. I love the very generous portion of chicken fillet and bean sprouts in this bao. However, the teriyaki sauce was thin and loose, and made the bun wet and soggy. Flavors were spot on though. A little heat wouldn't hurt though.
I am going back next week to try the roasted pork and the chicken chop rice meals. This place shows promise. read more