To dine at BAO is to encounter a lineage. The photographs that line the walls -- statesmen, dignitaries, moments of quiet historical weight -- speak to a heritage that precedes the restaurant's arrival in Toronto's Chinatown and traces back to Goubuli, the celebrated Northern Chinese institution whose name has been synonymous with baozi craftsmanship for well over a century. This backstory alone is enough to recalibrate one's expectations before the first dish arrives. And the kitchen does not squander that inheritance. The Xiao Long Bao -- delicate, thinly pleated, their skins holding a generous reservoir of clear, fragrant broth -- display the kind of technical care that only sustained practice produces. The crabmeat and pork filling carries a pronounced, honest sweetness from the sea that lesser renditions routinely sacrifice to cost-cutting. The Peking duck arrives with ceremony: skin lacquered to a deep amber, shatteringly crisp, served alongside wrappers of remarkable thinness. The Kung Pao Chicken is a study in balance -- its heat bright and forward without overwhelming the underlying savour -- and the Beijing Shredded Pork, folded into soft pancakes with scallion and sweet bean sauce, is a composition of aching simplicity executed with confidence. The dining room itself projects a considered, unhurried opulence: white linens, elegant tableware, and an atmosphere that distinguishes itself meaningfully from the more utilitarian establishments in the surrounding neighbourhood. Service is attentive, if occasionally uneven, and the pricing reflects the ambition of the enterprise -- this is not a destination for the budget-conscious, though one could argue the quality merits the premium. An occasional tendency toward over-salting, noted across a handful of preparations, is the sole substantive caveat. But in the broader sweep of the experience, BAO is something genuinely rare in this city: a Northern Chinese table with institutional depth, cooking with conviction, and a story worth sitting still long enough to hear. read more

I went back here with a friend after noticing the new Dim Sum sign out front. (Oh, as a side note, since then my Sichuan spice buddy and I were fans of the duck necks, wings and duck heads sold out front on the sidewalk as well.) Back to the dim sum. I was impressed right off the bat, as to my delight, my new friend knew the staff at this place and they said hi as we came in which was great! The food was perfect, and what was most impressive was that the price was in line with the other greasy spoon dim sum places in the area here in west Chinatown. There's no need to be in a diner type joint with greasy floors and screaming kids around you when you can go here and have the same experience in a much nicer atmosphere! The decor is gorgeous, the staff has nice uniforms and the tables look awesome with upscale accoutrements, rather than disposable chop sticks and chipped chinaware. Look at my pics of the dim sum, as it was top notch! read more

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Made my travel companions go eat Chinese food one night in Toronto. Pretty good food. The service was good. One waitress was training two newbies. The place was decorated with Asian decor and nice. Most of the dishes we had were quite good. One of my friends tried a variety of things. We enjoyed the baos stuffed with veggies and chicken. They were fluffy and seasoned well. The pea pod leaves and chicken were quite good. We have an appetizer that was a flour based pancake that had good flavors. We ate all of that dish. We also had the Three cup chicken which was very flavorful. The only dish we didn't like was one of the starters. It had a huge round fried egg, hotdog and like a long Chinese biscuit wrapped all together. The egg had a spicy taste to it. The textures were too much. Too many ingredients that didn't pair well for us. All in all the food was pretty good. Glad my friend shared the food with me. We are adventurous eaters and enjoy trying new dishes. Another friend ordered the General Tso's Chicken. She liked it. Not sure when I will return to Toronto. The restaurant has good eats. read more

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每次来多伦多，我必吃的一家餐馆就是狗不理包子。这里可以说是我目前在多伦多吃到的最地道的北方菜。 无论是他们家的 宫保鸡丁、京酱肉丝，还是 葱烧海参，都属于一绝，味道堪称一级棒，真正做到了色香味俱全。尤其是宫保鸡丁，酸甜适口，辣而不燥；京酱肉丝配上豆腐皮和薄饼更是经典到位；而葱烧海参的火候和酱香，更体现了厨师的功力。 整体体验非常满意，既有家的味道，又不失精致与讲究。对于想吃正宗北方菜的朋友来说，狗不理包子绝对是不容错过的选择！ Every time I come to Toronto, Goubuli Baozi is a must-visit for me. Among all the Northern Chinese restaurants I've tried here, this one is by far the most authentic. The Kung Pao Chicken, Beijing Shredded Pork with Sauce, and Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallion are all absolutely outstanding -- each dish is cooked to perfection with rich flavors and authentic taste. The Kung Pao Chicken is tangy and spicy without being overwhelming, the Beijing Shredded Pork pairs perfectly with thin pancakes, and the Braised Sea Cucumber showcases the chef's true skill. Overall, the dining experience is excellent -- it really feels like home-style Northern Chinese cuisine while still being refined and well-executed. If you're looking for authentic Northern flavors in Toronto, Goubuli Baozi is definitely a place you shouldn't miss! read more

We got takeout, and the person on the phone who I was speaking with was super helpful. The food was really good, and I would definitely recommend this restaurant. read more

One of the best Chinese food I ate in my life. We had the sweet and sour pork, pork and cabbage dumplings and the unbelievable stir fried vegetable noodles. Can't wait to be back! read more

BAO - Stir fried vegetable noodles - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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* I am a Xiao Long Bao (XLB) enthusiast. I only ate Xiao Long Bao (Crab meat & pork and takeout). So my review is very limited. XLB (Crabmeat & pork) 8pcs for 20.99 was surprisingly expensive! I have had this item here twice before, but looks like the price is going up steeply during the pandemic time. But I wanted to try in spite of the price. I appreciate their still keeping crabmeat XLB on their menu. I know many places just stopped serving crabmeat XLB due to high crab prices and the intensive labor that is required to make this kind of xlb. I think today's XLB was the best that I have had here. Crab flavor was pronounced. Even though the transfer from the steamer to the container was rough (as you see in the picture), surprisingly there was no leaking of the soup. The skin was thin, and beautifully pleated and had a good chewy texture. There was a good amount of soup inside. I wanted more dimensions in the soup but the flavor was rich enough and balanced. It was not 5 stars because of the issue with the transfer from the steamer to the container and the high price (which I know is not their fault). I really appreciated they continue making decent Crab & pork XLBs. One of the few places that still have this special XLB on the menu in spite of the challenges during COVID time. Precious. read more

BAO - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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I came here with the lady and some of her extended family. This was the first time I was in Toronto and I had heard that Toronto is known for some amazingly delicious chomps... So buckle up ladies and gentlemen as I take you on a culinary journey for the senses. Immediately, when I walked in, I was taken aback by the ambiance of the restaurant. It was classy, yet not overbearing. The restaurant wasn't too crowded yet so we were seated promptly. I noticed that the table had a white tablecloth covering it that felt and looked clean. The setting for the table looked crisp and well put together. The bowls, plates, and utensils played off of each other well. Overall, I was immediately impressed with the muted opulence of the place. The oversized menu was an epic tome of culinary indulgences with vivid pictures of what I could potentially devour in the impending future. I had a difficult time trying to decide what to eat so I deferred completely to the group. I figured that they knew the best dishes having been here before. As a group, we ordered 8 different dishes. Soon after, the food arrived! We had one of their signature baos and I still remember that moment when the first juicy bite graced my mouth. It was pure ecstasy. If this was what the rest of the dinner was gonna be like, I knew I was in for a good time! Dish by dish, the food arrived. Every dish tasted delicious. I particularly enjoyed the spicy fish fillet in soup. Even the vegetable dishes were on point! I was having an amazing time and before I knew it, we ate everything. As they say, all good things must come to an end. I left the restaurant with a full belly and an unforgettable introduction to Chinese food in Toronto. Little did I know, this was only the beginning of what was about to be an epic week of culinary delights. Stay tuned for my next Toronto review! read more

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Randomly came in here, and glad I didn't read the reviews beforehand. The 3.5 stars probably would've deterred me from coming because it's so low. The food was absolutely delicious and overwhelmingly hits. The Peking duck is delicious, the pancake was super thin and delicious. The kids loved it. We got the duck bones fried, which was really good. The chestnut and pumpkin with duck yolk was delicious, I loved this. Sautéed garlic pea shoots and cumin lamb also delicious. Highly recommend this spot! read more

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Last week, our family traveled from LA to Toronto. Based on a friend's strong recommendation, we decided to dine at BAO restaurant in downtown. Due to our tight schedule, we arrived at 9:50 PM, which was past their last order time of 9:30 PM. Knowing we were coming from afar, they graciously kept the kitchen open an extra 20 minutes just for us. The service was exceptionally good. The Manager Ling was incredibly friendly, attentive, and detail-oriented. The chef Mr. Wu prepared our favorite dishes and even took the time to chat with us. The food was absolutely delicious. My daughter said the baozi she had was the best she's ever had in her life. We are extremely grateful for their patience and for accommodating us despite the late hour. Their excellent service and outstanding food left us with wonderful memories. I highly recommend this restaurant. We love it so much! read more

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We came to try Peking duck and we were not let down. It is authentic with crispy skin. The sauce and side dishes are authentic too. The wraps are paper thin and soft. It took 18min for Peking duck to be ready. It came with 2 dishes, Peking duck with wraps and the bones as a separate dish. It is worth the price. The eggplant cold dish was also pretty tasty and full of flavor. We were glad we tried Bao! read more

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Firstly, this restaurant really caught my eye even when I just walked past it. Luckily, I was able to come back the next day to try it! I really like the interior - modern and very millennial. The food and plating is also very innovative and tasty, putting a twist on the more traditional dishes. Even then, I think they really stuck to how the traditional dish tastes like, just added a creative twist that takes you aback. read more

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A traditional Tianjin style restaurant, all the foods are super delicious, one of the best restaurant around. Staffs were super helpful on recommending some of the chef specialties. Highly recommend! read more

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The food at this restaurant was absolutely delicious!! We ordered the stir fried rice noodles, mapo tofu, and the beef and tomato stew. All the dishes were large portions and so tasty. Also, the staff was so professional and kind. We had asked a question about their duck wing special and they brought out some tasters of the dish so we could try it before ordering. Amazing services!! read more

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Definitely a nicer place to sit down for a meal in Chinatown. The decor is nice there's a lot of space inside. They also seem to clean regularly; wiping down chairs. The employees are very attentive and quick to serve. We ordered a fried rice, bao and beef pancake. All of the dishes were very salty, especially the bao filling. The saltiness masked the flavour of the filling. We were warned the kung pao fried rice would be spicy, but it wasn't that spicy (still good). The rice was tomato-y sweet with a hint of spice and not much chicken. The beef pancake had a lot of lettuce and mayo(?) along with he beef, which was well cooked but perhaps too much sauce that made it very salty. Overall a nice place if you want to dine in but value-wise Chinatown offers better alternatives imo. read more

BAO - Beef pancake - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Tried their Peking duck take out on a weeknight. Let me say that this was one of the BETTER Peking duck set deliveries in Toronto!!!!! I am very glad that I went for this tonight!!! Their Peking duck set comes with nicely sliced duck skin portion, some were thinly sliced crispy duck skin , some with little bit of duck skin and meat and I especially liked how they included the crispy duck legs! To be fair, I did put the duck skin for a brief 5-10 mins under the broiler and it crisped right up! This is different from the other Peking duck take outs that I've tried during the past year where it just seems like they cut up some roasted duck where the skin was just not crispy enough... so that's a good thing!! I also appreciate how they included a generous portion of cucumbers and scallions, sauce and (Wow, this is new...) Sugarrrrrrrr! Okay, This. Is. Huge!!! I've never had sugar included in my take out but wow, this is a game changer and makes me feel like I'm having some close to dine in experience! It was good! This is what covid has reduced us to. But... if you are truly craving some Peking duck but cannot dine in due to our restrictions, please try this place. Delivery times may be long, however just broil the skin a bit, heat up the thin pancakes, spread the sauce, add in the veggies, sprinkle the white crystals (sugar), fold it up and Enjoy!!! Ps. This set does not have an option to choose between chopped duck carcass or duck bits mixed in veggies wrapped in a refreshing lettuce cup wrap. Butttt you could probably nom on duck meat in scallions if you'd like. I'll be ordering in again. Good job!!! read more

Everything from the bright clean interior, to fast service, and amazing food, I was very impressed with my dine-in experience. Once you enter, they check your temperature and ask you to fill out contact information as according to protocols. The menu is massive. I suggest that you do a little prior research in advance! We ordered: - Traditional Steamed Pork Bao - Xiaolongbao - Peking Duck (2 Styles - we opted for soup) - Tofu with Assorted Seafood in Casserole - Tender Chicken Sauteed in Casserole Let me first start by saying that we loved how you get the option to order 4 or 8 pieces of the buns and dumplings, that way, you can try more options without ordering too much. Their specialty are the Tianjin buns. They were soft, and filled with a ton of meat. The meat was well seasoned and delicious. The Peking Duck was served with sugar, bean sauce, green onions, cucumbers, and pancake. I liked how crispy the skin was. If you've never tried this before, try the skin + sugar combination - it is so good! The soup was enormous. The soup broth was light and rich. I liked how they gave us a soy-vinegar based sauce to dip the duck meat in. This Peking Duck combo could easily alone feed 2 people. The two casserole dishes were the ultimate comfort food items for me! I paired these with a bowl of rice... man was I satisfied! The chicken is made so well here. It had a slight hint of sweetness and a ton of umami flavour. My favourite part is the whole garlic pieces in the dish. They've cooked it down in such a way that you can eat it - it tastes like potato! This was so good and saucy. Likewise, the seafood dish was just loaded with different items including squid, shrimp, mussels, fish... it was quite the treasure hunt. I loved this dish because the variety of seafood and tofu pieces in the dish makes it hard to get bored of eating it. They serve you warm Jasmine Tea in the most exquisite tea set. I loved everything about this restaurant! read more

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This was one of my favorite meals in Toronto! I'm absolutely in love with this place. The restaurant itself is beautiful, the decorations to the gold utensils and white/gold marble plates, absolutely beautiful. They have a menu with just photos which definitely makes it easier to decide what to eat. The service was very quick and attentive. Now the food, the food was incredible. Every single thing tasted amazing. I don't have a single complaint, everything was perfect. I highly suggest coming here if you're in the city and looking for some good food. read more

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It was Saturday night, I was strolling down Spadina, I wanted some bao buns and then I saw a place named Bao and BAM, Destiny happened. This place sticks out pretty nicely with a lovely store from and looks just as nice on the inside. Bao featured a pretty large menu with everything from pork and chicken dishes to a plethora of vegetable and beef dishes as well. The cool thing about Bao is that they give you a menu to order from and instead of verbally ordering you just write the number on a notepad and they go and make the food. For dinner my girlfriend and I decided to split some pork cubes and some crispy pork strips (we accidentally ordered multiple pork dishes by accident) along with multiple different types of bao buns in which i also managed to forget which kinds I ordered (both of which I think had beef on it). The food itself was pretty darn delicious and I don't even know where to start. Both pork dishes were top of the line tasty and the pieces of pork strips were absolutely delicious. The pork cubes were wonderful and full of great flavour. How was the rice? Well it was white rice so let's just leave it at that. The Bao buns were both super good and even though 8 was way too many buns for 3 people, I enjoyed them very much and loved the food. Overall, the service was kind, the food came out fast, the restaurant was wonderful, and it was an overall wonderful experience. I highly recommend checking out Bao if you are in the are! read more

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Incredible food and experience here! This was incredibly authentic northern Chinese cuisine and each and every dish we ordered was astoundingly good! read more

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If you want high quality, authentic chinese food with amazing interior & decor, this is the place to go. We went for a dinner on Thursday night with a group of 11. Usually a large group at asian restaurants they aren't the best at customer service, but this wasn't like any other. Because we couldn't understand chinese, the waitress stood next to us the whole time while we were picking the menu and recommending dishes to try. I would 100% recommend this place as one of the best in chinatown and will return again. Definitely get the steamed fish, kung pao shrimp & the fried noodles with beef! read more

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Did NOT ENJOY the ----- BAO : 1 steam buns 2 soup buns Came at 10 pm , 2 ordered very few dishes. 1 steam bum, 1 Soup bun with crab, onion pancakes, beef hofen(fried noodles) 1 Steam bums: Extremely chewy! Like DENSE! I coudlnt believe it. Cuz i have the same bums at same brand GouBuli franchise in Markham. They were soft and delicious. These were CHEWIEST BUNS i have had my entire life !! The dough was NOT properly fluffed! Its imilar to bread, if the doughs were not properly caltivated with yest and lots squishing, it would just be like dense pasta like texture not fluffy. It looked normal then till u chew! It has an in between texture of Dumping and Pitta bread . It sends brain weird "wtf chewy signals" I have them soaked in congee , it wont even melt thats how NOT fluffy they r . N the bums filling had too MUCH soy sauce , and alcohol(steam bums always have alchohol in the filling , they break down as being cooked). The taste was NOT right . Its like eating soy meat loaf . Not delicate pork onion taste. 2 Mini soup buns: (in Mandarin called Xiao Long Bao)the place was semi empty, but aft i waited for 30-40 min I realized my buns were not coming. The told me they inntially forgot to make it (the chef in kitchen decided to have dinner first before making my order, they were sitting beside my table staring at me , they were eating I was NOT ) at 10:30pm. When I asked to cancel, they were already made some aft dinner n i just sit tight n wait more . The soup bums finally cane the soup was filled with Chicken broth, the bums skins were fully transparent rubbery which was weird. The dough was off obviously, the Juicy Dumplings take out at corner store has softer dough. The steam bums dough were fully translucent because they were so dense lol. Like dumplings skin. It tasted more like steamed dumplings than soup bum that's steamed. If u eat them with eyes shut ud think these are dumplings. Clearly they just rolled out dough last min n made bun shaps n steamed them. But the difference between dumpling and baos is that dumpling dough is quick n easy, Bao doughs needed prolonged squishing and folding and knocking even tho its for soup dumplings. -------funniest thing ------ the waiter: i suspect he is part of business owner. He knew my dish was forgotten and served like 15 min before store was closing. Came over to ask us to pay much earlier and told me to leave in a pretty pissed off maner like : why are you here, I need to go home now. He pretty much came over STONEY FACED:" sorry you need to go, we are closing." ====I did NOT even bother telling them that my last dish was served wrong. I ordered soup buns with crab, they served me soup buns without crab. Lol. It was forgotten and when it was served a wrong dish, then I got kicked out of door quickly after I was charged for the dish with crab filling. I am proudly from China and my City is famous for those Tinny small soup bums. My earliest memmories were my dad taking me to those places in the neighborhood to share a tray of bums with me when I was 4. These bums are nothing like u get in China. The Markham Goubuli location is okay, This location is complete failure. I would have given 3 stars for Grace if the Management and waitor/owner/kitchen was not so poorly run. Understand they are young enbitious entrepreneurs with no restaurant management experience. But if they are selling the BAOs, BAOs are everything, it has to make it right. Because the Noodle dieshs and other stuff are very good here. I still recommend it. If u are looking for buns , the chinese Traditional Buns restaurant 1 min away are 20x better. read more

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Toronto is changing before my very eyes. It's a fascinating thing to witness, and I feel grateful that I get to see it happen. What is BAO? It's a modern take on one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. As soon as you walk in, you feel as though you've stepped onto a film set. Customers and staff running around trying to tame the chaos. To be fair, it just opened. The specialty, as the name suggests, are their baos. If you haven't had a bao before, you need to find one immediately. Essentially, a bao is a pillowy dumpling with a fluffy, compressed white bread like exterior and a filling. The one I opted for was the 'ancient recipe marinated ground pork and Chinese chive'. Wow. I'm generally not a fan of pork, but this was a huge treat. The pork was mostly comprised of pork fat and belly, which, combined with the chive, made for a fatty, decadent delight cut by the gentle tartness of the chive. The bread was comforting and just a touch sweet, which complemented the overall flavour profile really nicely. I also got the wonton soup, which was unlike any wonton soup I'd had. It had almost a floral taste which I couldn't quite place and am not sure I ultimately enjoyed but definitely appreciated. The taste of the pork was delicious and ribbons dough around the dumpling was light and smooth. In addition, there were dried baby shrimp, eggs, and some pea shoots. I didn't love this dish as much as the boas, but I'm glad I tried it. I'm sure others might love it. Overall, my meal at BAO was great. I loved the decor and energy of the place, and was pleasantly surprised by how careful they were in not adding too much salt. The flavour was generally fresh and thoughtful. Will be back! read more

Average - not worth the hype and the upscale interior decoration. Food&Taste: Between my partner and I, we ordered four dishes in total: crab and pork steamed soup bao (best dish), ancient marinated pork buns (on the saltier side), pancake roll stuffed with beef (different from the typical cucumber and scallion duo, the center was stuffed with lettuce and mayo instead) and the beijin style zha jiang noodles (average). Personally, out of all the dishes. The crab meat and pork steamed soup bao would be worth the return. Service&Atmosphere: It seemed like everyone had the same idea - a late Sunday afternoon bao fix. We were hoping to avoid the Sunday hangover rush but ended up getting caught up with extremely slow service for 3 out of our 4 dishes. On the contrary, the customer service was better than expected. Never in my life have I ever been approached for an allergy concern at a Chinese restaurant, which is a big plus. The choice of music was quite bizarre in contrast to the chic restaurant interiors. If I knew I was going to listen to Dababy - Suge, I would have opted to go to a bar instead. Value: The entire spread came up to about $40 which I felt was decently priced for portion sizing. But if we're talking about quality, I thought the meal fell short. read more

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I went there mainly for good xiaolong bao. We ordered several more dishes. Without doubt, xiolong bao is great but everything is very delicoius. Definately I will visit again. read more

BAO - COLD DISH- sliced beef, beef triple in chili sauce - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

The restaurant is nice and clean, the servers do a great job of keeping the orders flowing and the place has a great vibe! We ordered the bao buns with ancient recipe, steamed dumplings and read more

Definitely one of the better places in chinatown to take pictures. Presentation is top notch. Food was decent, but nothing mind blowing. Tea was excellent, but it cost $2. Seating had plexiglass between tables, social distancing rules were followed. Definitely a great atmosphere to impress important guests! read more

Stumbled on this place with my dad - we're both from Beijing and agreed this was one of the best Chinese restaurants we've ever been to outside of China. Incredibly authentic northern Chinese dishes (honestly felt like we were back in Beijing), large portions, friendly staff (they gave us a free desert at the end), nice interior, and very fair prices (we ordered 5 dishes and the total was ~80 Canadian dollars / $60 USD) read more

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Nice atmosphere, great food, would go there again in a heartbeat. An overlooked spot in Chinatown!

The buns are fantastic and the fried rice noodle with beef and scallion is fantastic.

Mapo tofu and pea shoots w mushroom. Very fresh vegetables, flavourful dishes and clean restaurant. I'll be going back to try more dishes. Interior decor was nice. read more

BAO - Mapo tofu w edamame - Chinese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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The roasted duck is not that good. It's actually fried and fresh roasted. Feel a bit disappointed.

I'm not entirely sure why BAO has such poor ratings, because my family and I actually had a decent experience here. While Toronto's Chinatown itself can look a little rundown, BAO looks like it belongs in a fancier neighborhood. Everything - from the interior decorations and pictures of all the Chinese celebrities who've eaten at BAO's establishments, to the plates and silverware - complements the luxurious feel of BAO. Moreover, I was actually surprised that the food tasted as good as it looked, considering the mostly negative reviews from Yelp. My parents and brother thought the xiao long bao was pretty decent. Meanwhile, I ate mostly the shrimp stir fry and veggie stir fry, both of which tasted pretty good. Minus one star for longer wait times for both food and seating, as well as pressure from staff to hurry out the door, in order to accommodate the other guests. Otherwise, not a bad place to stop by for food. read more

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Bao - 4 stars, quite delicious, juicy meat with thin layer of skin All other food we ordered - 3 stars. I don't know why, all the other meat items we ordered are somehow sweet...And taste like they've used the same dark sweet sauce to cook everything, which may not be true, but I left slightly unsatisfied. Interior/environment- 5 star. Clean and tidy There is really no 3.5 star, but I feel it's not comparable to 4star restaurants I've rated read more

Randomly stopped in here, everything we had was delicious. Service was quick and efficient. Would love to come back.

Do you know how hard it is to find Tianjin food in North America? So I was pleasantly surprised to see a Tianjin snack section. This place is really good for northern Chinese comfort food. read more

Best authentic Chinese food I've ever had. The staff was very attentive, the portions were huge, and the prices were very reasonable. The aesthetic and ambiance was also beautiful. Overall a wonderful place to eat. We ordered a few things thinking they would be personal sized, but they could serve multiple people. Be prepared to share. You won't leave feeling hungry. read more

Came in on a weekend and while the place was busy, I was immediately seated for a table of two. At first impression the place looked clean, modern, and a bit upscale that your typical Chinatown restaurants - a new discovery that you'd like to show-off to your picky and traditional (Asian) parents to. Unfortunately wishful thinking aside, this ended there. We ordered typical staples and overall food items were "m-eh" (specifically, I could've gotten better tasting food items somewhere else). Case in point (with better alternatives noted): Xiao Long Bao (Juicy Dumplings), Ancient Mix Dumplings (Chinese Traditional Bun and Yummy Yummy Dumplings), 3-cup chicken and Beef pancake roll (Asian Legend), Sautéed snow pea tips with garlic (any other Chinese restaurant), and white rice (At home with my trusty Zojirushi state of the art rice cooker). Service: while one server was able to help translate, I would have expected a lot more servers be able to speak English in a more modern and upscale establishment. Gestures from servers (i.e. abrupt rudeness) were typical of what you'd expect from hole in the wall restaurants, but we are not there are we. Service was very slow and abysmal to the point of us actually thinking of settling up and walking out; both tables on either left and right came after us and yet were served their meals (and baos) way before ours came. I'd hate to make assumptions, but this left me wondering that perhaps their orders were expedited since both parties spoke Mandarin? We were left sitting with just the snow pea tips for a good 30 mins. before the 3-cup chicken and rice finally came. The baos and pancake came last (all of which I had expected to arrive first). All in all, this is definitely not a place I'd be coming back to and even more so, a place I won't be showing off to the parents. read more

I have really enjoyed the food in Bao. It is a different from the Cantonese food one often eats in Toronto. Rather than go on extolling the virtues of the food, however, I wish to criticize the automatic tip put on our bill last night. I will not eat in places which add a tip automatically to the bill, especially for a part of two. So, sadly, I say GOODBYE to Bao and their excellent food. read more

I normally don't write a review for a bad restaurant but this place was so incredibly awful I felt compelled to post a warning. We visited on: 27/July/2019 Our order: Bao, Spicy Fish, Pan Fried Dumplings, Beef Fried Noodle and Fried Rice Review: Food Poisoning: Our group ended up with diarrhea and stomach pains which lasted for almost 24 hours. Taste: The flavor is really disappointing, nothing tasted close to what it was supposed to. The bao tasted like someone had spilled a large part of a bottle of soy bean sauce in it. The beef fried noodle had only around 6 small pieces of beef in it and tasted so bland that the person who ordered it didn't even eat more than a few spoonfulls. The Spicy fish was flavourless. The pan fried dumplings were so plain everyone took one bite and left them. When our party had finished, we had over 70% of our meal still on the table, nobody wanted to eat it. I felt bad to waste the food so I packed them and brought back home, but soon as I started having diarrhea I threw them out right away. Service: Some of the staff can't speak English. You also have to ask for a seperate menu that has English on it which is a small piece of paper. When the Beijing duck (most people are lined up for) was sold out the staffs chose not to warn customers of that. We didn't know it until we attempted to order it. Recommendation: DO NOT GO HERE. This is just an overpriced, bland tasting, food poison factory. There are many amazing and deserving restaurants in the area, go and visit them. read more