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    Belly Bao

    4.2 (20 reviews)
    InexpensiveAsian Fusion
    Closed 5:00 pm - 10:00 PM

    Belly Bao Photos

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    Howard C.

    I've been waiting for Belly Bao to open at a traditional brick and mortar joint since they opened up in Paddington Markets in 2013. Well they opened up in a great location in Good God, replacing the short-lived Jonkanoo Canteen that replaced The Dip. Belly Bao is a take on Gua Bao, or Taiwanese hamburger...which I absolutely love. They were inspired by Baohaus in NYC, which was started by Eddie Huang of Fresh Off the Boat fame, which I've been to several times. Their bao range has expanded and includes crackling roast pork belly, slow braised pork belly, panko crumbed chicken breast, soft shell crab, slow braised beef short rib, and crispy tofu for the vegetarians. They also offer sides such as sweet potato fries, papaya salad, that slaw, "bbpop" popcorn, and fried chicken, in servers of half, full, or 8 pieces. Prices are on the pricer side at $6.50 a pop, so look to spend about $20 to feel satisfied. Food didn't take too long to arrive though. I ordered the roast pork belly, braised pork belly, soft shell crab and beef short rib, along with some sweet potato fries. Be warned, the sweet potato fries have a spicy kick so if you're not down with that, avoid these...but they're otherwise pretty tasty. I enjoyed the braised pork belly and soft shell crab, the roast pork belly and beef short rib were just OK for me as it was slightly overcooked. I was expecting the braised pork belly to be a little more like a traditional gua bao but it wasn't and that's fine, it was still good. I recall the panko chicken being really good at their food stall back in Paddington so that's worth a go. I had a piece of fried chicken as well and it was OK. All in all a great new offering to the Sydney food scene.

    Strawbelly bao
    Christina M.

    Amazing! I am extremely happy we found Belly Bao while we were visiting Sydney. The menu looked intriguing and we figured why not try it. We were a little lost upon arriving as the bar is near the entrance and you actually have to go to the back to a separate counter to order. We noticed that there were several tables with "reserve" signs so we picked one without any signs to sit at. A few minutes later a group told us that was their table and we had to move. Uhh, what? There were maybe 4 tables occupied and the space is pretty large (I believe it doubles as a nightclub). Whatever. We moved to a table on the other side of the room from them. Despite this odd interaction with some entitled patrons, we were very excited to try our food when it arrived. We ordered the soft shell crab, panko crumbed chicken breast, slow braised beef short rib, a side of sweet potato fries that are drizzled with a spicy mayo of sorts, and strawbelly bao for dessert. It was a perfect amount of food for 2. All of it was very good! My favorite was the panko crumbed chicken breast with the soft shell crab a close second. I love sweet potato fries and spicy mayo is always a great accompaniment. The strawbelly bao for dessert was a great way to end the meal. I very highly recommend visiting if you are nearby when they are open. We wanted to come back a second time but they were closed that day. 5 stars.

    Belly Bao
    Angeli Y.

    I don't know why there isn't more reviews of Belly Bao because the food here is AMAZINGGGG! I came here on Thursday night at 7pm. Belly Bao is located inside GoodGod which is a bar / club. It is pretty dim in here, and is very casual. You go all the way inside down the left hand lane and it comes around to the counter. There was a bit of a line but it moved quickly. Since we hadn't been here before, we just went straight to the line, but in hindsight I probably would have gotten a seat - this is a recommendation especially if you are in a big group. I was just with my fiance so we ended up sharing a 4 seat table with another group which was fine. We ended up ordering the "baos" which are handmade steamed buns filled with: - Slow Braised Pork Belly $6.50 - Crackling Roast Pork Belly $6.50 - Slow Braised Beef Short Rib $6.50 - Soft Shell Crab $7.50 Dessert: - Baonana Split (Golden fried bao with vanilla ice cream, fresh banana slices, salted peanuts, drizzled with Nutella) $6.50 - Strawbelly Bao (Golden fried bao with vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberry slices, drizzled with match condensed milk) $6.50 My fiance and I had 3 savoury bao's each and they were FILLING! They don't look like much, but I think the bun makes it quite filling and the meat that you get inside is a good sized piece - especially the pork versions. My favourite buns were definitely the slow braised pork belly, and the cracking roast pork belly! I would definitely order those two again. The other two were alright, but I probably wouldn't order them again. And - if i went again, I would only have two bao's and dessert as I was seriously stuffed! The buns were DELICIOUS, soft and oh so tasty! The crackling pork in the bao was so good and pork belly was so gluttonous but just amazing! I had the Baonana Split for dessert and it was just all the ingredients that I love in the one dessert! YUM YUM YUM! I would definitely come here again, although I would recommend to go on either a Wednesday or Thursday if you don't like crowds!

    Softshell crab and the crackling pork belly bao
    Lalin R.

    Awesome place. Great decor and fantastic food. It's located inside a club called "Plan B". Just FYI it's 18+ entry. Unless you book 24hrs earlier, you will have to find a seat. So if you walk in, I recommend in of you holds the table till the other goes to order. You order at a counter at the back. When we went, it took about 5-10 in the line. But that was okay, because once you order the food takes less than 10 mins. You can order some cocktails from the bar enjoy that while you wait for the food. The food was amazing. I recommend the softshell can and the crackling port belly. It was just brilliant. The " baonana split" just hits the spot Highly recommended this place. Very friendly staff.

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    8 years ago

    The staff here are so nice and friendly, and the food HOLY MOLY, AMAZING!!!! Most definitely will be back next time I'm in Sydney.

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    Review Highlights - Belly Bao

    I ordered the roast pork belly, braised pork belly, soft shell crab and beef short rib, along with some sweet potato fries.

    Mentioned in 5 reviews

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    Little Momo - Momo platter

    Little Momo

    4.2(6 reviews)
    0.7 kmNewtown
    $$

    little momos is a solid spot on newtown for some momos. we got the momo platter, which comes with 3…read morepieces of the beef, duck, vegetable, chicken, and fish momos. i like the variety and the various dipping sauces. the deep fried momos were a bit dry for my taste and i liked the pan fried the most. they have a good menu for sharing and it wasn't too busy for weeknight dinner so we didn't have to wait.

    Any place that has a whole vegan menu is the place. for. me…read more Came here before a show down Enmore road in Newtown. My friends rave of this place - to the point where the staff knows them by name and waits on them hand and foot kind of deal. But it's good, tonight I got to reap the benefits. One of my favorite things about Newtown is that many restaurants are BYO. Tonight we brought in a Rose bottle to have with our dinner, and it was delectable let me tell you that. On the vegan menu there are about 15 different options. My friends said I had to try the 'Momo,' which is a dumpling either panfried or poached. An order came with about 6 and it was so yummy. Next, I ordered the vegan chow mein. I've had sooo many vegan chow mein or veggie chow meins back home that literally make me want to barf. This was not the case at all. Huge serving, lots of veggies and moist. I added some chili oil and a lil salt and I was suddenly in food heaven or food coma, I cannot tell the difference. My friends shared about five different things including a dumpling miso soup. It looked rad and by their content faces, the flavor seemed to be a winner too. Another win on King Street, with an asian fusion menu and vegan options around, this place gets a lot of love in Newtown.

    Photos
    Little Momo - Momo platter

    Momo platter

    Little Momo - Outdoor area

    Outdoor area

    Little Momo - Indoor

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    Indoor

    Wok on Inn Street Noodle Bar Zetland

    Wok on Inn Street Noodle Bar Zetland

    4.6(5 reviews)
    3.1 km

    Food is sensationally tasty. I ordered chicken peanut sauce box and spring rolls on ubereats. Both…read morewere out of the ordinary. The spring rolls were not your average style. The dipping sauce was sticky, sweet and salty. The peanut sauce was generous and peanut-y. Will order again.

    Oodles of noodles at Wok on Inn street noodle bar in East Village!…read more The menu is Asian street food with inspiration taken from all over Asia. The ingredients are fresh and the dishes are bold and authentic. Choose from popular menu choices like Cashew Nut Noodles, Uncle's Drunken Noodles or Pad Thai - or - create your own noodle style! Create your own noodle dish by picking a type of noodle or rice, flavour and then add your protein. Fun styling welcomes you as you walk through the glass doors. Order at the bar and choose to dine-in or take away. On this occasion we chose to dine-in and sit on wooden stools and watch the world go by. The restaurant is vibrant filled with bright colours and images on the walls. The mains arrive piping hot, without delay. Although, we had almost finished our mains when our sides of curry puffs came out but the timing didn't worry us in this casual setting. We had the Laksa Soup and Penang Satay Noodles with a side of curry puffs. All were delicious and would be happily ordered again. Check out Wok on Inn's newest restaurant in Zetland. It makes for a yummy, easy meal which is reasonably priced.

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    Wok on Inn Street Noodle Bar Zetland
    Wok on Inn Street Noodle Bar Zetland
    Wok on Inn Street Noodle Bar Zetland - Order at the counter

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    Order at the counter

    Chin Chin - Crispy salt and pepper bug tail

    Chin Chin

    4.3(51 reviews)
    3.1 kmSurry Hills

    I've been to the Chin Chins in Melbourne several times and had a great time. The food was awesome,…read moregreat service and it had an awesome vibe. This Chin Chins was over disappointing!! I looked yo book online, several times were open so several of us walked about 2km, passed by 100s of great restaurants to find Chin Chins closed for a private function. Instead of having an amazing meal we had to find a pub that was still serving food and an ok dinner. I doubt I'll ever come back!!

    I heard amazing reviews about this place and I just had to check it out on my last day in Sydney!…read moreWe came pretty early, so it wasn't too crowded and service was really fast! But it definitely got a lot more crowded after 7pm and the music was pretty loud. The vibe overall was amazing though! The food was definitely the highlight of the visit! We ordered the pork belly drunken noodle and BBQ King Salmon wrapped in banana leaf. I love the mixture of flavors and how good it was! We also ordered the crispy salt and pepper bug tails from the large plate and it was really tasty! I love the balance of the flavors in all the food! I didn't order the drinks, but my friends did and they said it was really good too! It was more on the sweeter side, but overall, was still really good! This place is definitely worth the hype! Go and visit them while you're in Sydney!

    Photos
    Chin Chin - Interior

    Interior

    Chin Chin - The Chicken Wings were excellent. Truly an experience.

    The Chicken Wings were excellent. Truly an experience.

    Chin Chin - Inside

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    Inside

    Missy K's - The aftermath!

    Missy K's

    4.3(6 reviews)
    3.5 kmPaddington
    $$$

    Came here on a Saturday evening at around 6.30pm and it was packed already ! The restaurant is…read morequite small - there are probably just 10 tables or so. Food was good but I am only giving a three stars because of a few annoying things - I sent a message to them on their website a week in advance, hoping to make a reservation. No reply. It turned out that they do not take reservations, but still, a reply would have been nice - Food took FOREVER. I get it, a small restaurant and hence a small kitchen. But it shouldnt take over 20 mins to cook some dumplings. - waitress didnt know the menu? ("I dont' really know what is it, as it's the first day on the menu"). Not cool. - Tables are pretty close to one another, I didnt like how you cant help but to overhear others' conversation and vice versa. Dumplings were pretty decent ,so was the beef curry - meat was sooo tender + grilled yummy roti ! I would recommend this place if you are around the area, but if not, dont bother :)

    Missy K is ridiculously good in everything they do; I can't believe it took me so long to try it…read moreout! The dumpling flavours are unique and worthy of a try (I loved the snowpea and crab and the prawn and scallop). I also highly recommend the Lamb Shank Massaman, the flavours were rich and perfect on a Winter's night. You cannot book at this restaurant so I suggest you head there early as it's quite small and every table was taken the whole time we were there. Prices are also very reasonable considering the service and quality of food was so good. Will definitely be returning to try more dumplings!

    Photos
    Missy K's - Store front

    Store front

    Missy K's - Chicken, beef curry two of the mains

    Chicken, beef curry two of the mains

    Missy K's - The eating irons, Missy K

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    The eating irons, Missy K

    Paper Bird - Beef bulgogi and zucchini tart - great crisp, good classic bulgogi flavour

    Paper Bird

    5.0(3 reviews)
    4.7 kmElizabeth Bay

    This place was recommended to us by Cam from Acme and he was spot on. In fact, this was the first…read moreplace we went to right off our 15 hour flight. We literally walked there from our hotel through the Botanical Gardens. (It was a long walk.) But bottom line, it's a great asian fusion spot that makes great coffee and baked goods. Their restaurant is slightly below street level and has outdoor and indoor seating. The neighborhood is reminiscent of Boston's Back Bay if you've ever been there, so it's not a sketchy area. Since we were past breakfast, we had the lunch menu only available to us. (However their breakfast menu looked SICK and I totally need to go back next time.) They had run out of some things on their menu when we were there, but the food we did have was great. We started with the scallion pancake with jambon (if you like pancetta you'll like this). That was fantastic. Then we had the soup with enoki mushrooms. That too was flavorful and not too spicy. The fresh tofu in it was soft and the soup itself was like a lighter version of a korean soon du bu soup. We also had the eggplant which has this fantastic thick miso-esque sauce on top of it. Make sure you order a bowl of rice (it's a legit bowl of sticky white rice) because you're going to want it to mop up that eggplant sauce and eat it with the soup. It was a hot day so our waiter recommended the taiwanese shave ice dessert. However, we went for the yuzu cheesecake because if it wasnt hot, that's what he'd typically recommend. It was light, slightly citrusy from the yuzu, and had small little flowers on the plating. Good choice sir, good choice. Between the dessert coming out, I went to check out the baked goods in the case we passed on the way in. I had the hardest time deciding. They had a matcha cookie, a nori miso sesame cookie, a sourdough cookie, and a double chocolate cookie. Choosing what to eat is really hard and I usually will get them all if I cant decide. But I only let myself pick 2, however, they were nice enough to throw in the other 2!! Love them! The nori cookie was the right balance between savory and sweet and the miso made the cookie taste like peanut butter a little. The matcha was surprisingly good because it tasted like it was made of GOOD matcha and not overwhelmingly sweet like some places tend to do. The sourdough cookie was chewy and big. And the chocolate cookie is nice and decadent. Honorable mention: I saw some people eating the fried chicken and that looked amazing. Get that. And tell me how delicious it is because I have no doubt that it's good. The service here was amazing. Our water was always filled, our waiter gave us great recs on food and where to walk post meal, and they went the extra mile to make sure our first meal in Australia was fantastic. Not a lot of people know about how good this place is since it's been open for less than 2 years I believe, but go check it out!

    A well hidden restaurant but definitely worth the hunt. Located on the lower ground level on the…read moreleft side of the building, we definitely walked the entire round before we found it. Be careful of the tiny first step down the stairs that you might totally miss! Paper bird was a lot bigger than I thought it would be from the outside. Excellent service, casual and fun atmosphere. Great place for groups or a casual fun date with your special one. Appetisers were very reasonable (11-15AUD) and mains were in the typical range (25-40AUD). We came here for the "Korean fried chicken" but also found some other delicious sounding appetisers to try. Scallion pancakes with jamon ($13) - great crispy pancake and very good umami flavour with the jamon. I loved how generous they were with the jamon, but be frugal with the amount per pancake you pair with, the jamon could get a little too salty. Beef Bulgogi on zucchini tart with salsa mayo ($14) - very rich flavour from the beef bulgogi and great crispy tart base. Not sure I got much taste from the zucchini.. the salsa mayo was an interesting pairing with the bulgogi, not sure if I needed it. Soy and spice fried chicken ($27) - definitely the highlight of the meal. As a non chicken fan, my stamp of approval for the fried chicken warrants a must try for everyone. Batter, fried to perfection; sauce, excellent pairing and not too overwhelming; and bonus, meat, tender and flavorful! My husband got some rice to pair with the fried chicken, the rice was nicely flavoured with vinegar as well. Great way to eat the crispy batter! Grifter pale ale ($8) - light hoppy beer. Bubbly. Not my kind of beer but was nice to pair with the fried chicken. Japanese cheesecake with yuzu curd and mango ($15) - the cheesecake was a typical traditional spongecake. Definitely not worth getting on its own. The yuzu curd totally elevated the game, the sour and sweet flavours added a whole new dimension for the dessert. The mango and some sugar crumbs were a good addition for texture. Not sure I'll get it again, but a nice light dessert to end the meal. A great experience for an Asian fusion gastropub! Definitely enjoyed it. Will be back when I have cravings for chicken!

    Photos
    Paper Bird - Eggplant black pepper cashew

    Eggplant black pepper cashew

    Paper Bird - Soy and spice fried chicken - highlight for the meal. Get some radishes if you feel like you had too much fried things (probably not...)

    Soy and spice fried chicken - highlight for the meal. Get some radishes if you feel like you had too much fried things (probably not...)

    Paper Bird - Japanese cheesecake with yuzu curd and mangos - nice light sour dessert but not particularly unique

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    Japanese cheesecake with yuzu curd and mangos - nice light sour dessert but not particularly unique

    Belly Bao - asianfusion - Updated May 2026

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