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    Bend the Bao

    3.0 (87 reviews)
    ModerateAmerican
    Closed 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

    Bend the Bao Photos

    Business Info

    BEND THE BAO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Touristy
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Bend the Bao

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    Annie N.

    Bend the Bao is located at Universal Orlando City Walk. It is one of the most underrated locations in my opinion, I believe because it is really small, located on the second floor and sort of in the corner. Their menu is very small, but their food is absolutely delicious. This location opens at noon and is open until 9:00pm most days, a little longer on the weekends. It is on the second floor of City Walk and is really just a quick service location. There are a few tables around as well as a few bar stools that look right into the kitchen. If you have an annual pass, there is a discount available, and you can order online using the Universal Orlando App. I recommend this as it makes it very easy. I was a little nervous ordering on the app since I wanted to leave a few items off the bao buns, but it was very easy. My husband and I recently came here during the holidays. We were visiting the Red and Green Coconut Club and were looking for something to eat. We actually didn't know if we could bring food into the Coconut Club but once we noticed others, we knew we wanted to order from Bend the Bao. They have bao buns, that's it. Nothing extra but drinks. There are a few different options, and you order them as a combo of three, with the option to add a fourth. There are also pictures of each Bao near the registers so you can see what they look like. We decided to share three since we were not terribly hungry. However, we forgot how delicious they were, and we should have ordered our own. We went with the following three options: 1. Pork Belly- scallions, cucumber, honey roasted peanuts and cilantro 2. Duck- kimchi slaw, XO sauce, cilantro and 5 spice aioli 3. Fried shrimp- cabbage, avocado, pico de gallo and chipotle crema We did modify all of them as I do not like onions or kimchi. When you order on the app, there is a list after you choose your three, that has every topping, just click on the items you do not want. Somehow, it translates to the employees, and they made them exactly how we wanted. I love this spot. We don't visit often but I do think we need to hit this spot more. I absolutely love bao buns and this one reminds me of the Bao Spot downtown. If you are a fan, I would definitely recommend stopping here, grabbing a quick bite or sharing as a snack. Add it to your Universal list!

    Beef, shrimp, and duck baos

    Loved the creative Asian fusion flavors. Bun was so soft and warm, and the flavors tasty. Appreciated the friendly and fast service! Outside seating was comfortable and clean.

    Carl S.

    This is a great place to get a snack or full meal. The buns are absolutely soft and incredibly delicious. The different options they have for ingredients to fill. The bombs is very creative and really seasoned well. Great option for a mid afternoon snack or a lunch or dinner. This is a go to for our group.

    Menu 1
    KL H.

    Opens 12pm- 9pm They sell the offer 3 bags for $17.50 I ordered the duck bao for $6.50 and the dark n roasty Boba drink. The girls were very nice.

    Christina G.

    Great spot to get a small bite to eat. We don't have a lot of good Asian restaurants in Tampa, so take this review with a grain of salt. That being said, I loved this place. You'll have to wait a while after ordering, since they make it to order, but it is worth it. I got the Duck Bao, Beef Brisket Bao and Shrimp Bao. All of them were delicious. The bao was fluffy and it had a good amount of filling. My son picked a bit at the breading, but neither of them ate a lot, so future Christina know that if you are going to eat this, you'll probably have to eat it all yourself. That wasn't a problem though since it was so good. There are a lot of tables around, but it is an order at the window type place. There are seats where you can look in the glass and watch them make your food, which is kind of cool.

    Duck bao
    Kathy C.

    On our last trip to Universal, we had lunch at Bend the Bailey, which is located on the top deck, above the movie theater. I order two duck bao and my husband had a three bao combo. The bao were quite small so expensive for what you get. My duck bao tasted good and we liked the pork belly the best. All the bao we ordered were flavorful, but again quite small so we're not sure how often we'll eat here again considering all of the other options CitiWalk offers.

    Kimchi Chicken
    Eric C.

    The good, the bad, the ugly! The Good-We had the Kimchi Chicken and the Crab Cake Bao's! Let me tell you the Crab Cake was FIRE!!! Could eat the crab cake all by itself l! It really was fire! Believe me when I tell you! The Bad- I originally ordered a pork belly! Only to be told 5 minutes after ordering they were out of the pork belly! But that's when I got the crab cake order in so I guess it worked out! The Ugly- About ten minutes after ordering they called me up! Here I am thinking I'm bout to get my food. Only for them to tell me they were out of Duck (part of my original order) so I had to settle for 2 chickens and 1 crab cake! But real talk the crab cake made it all worth it!

    Stacy K.

    We love Bao in our family. This is a relatively newer place to us. I have seen this place before, but my child did not know it existed until this trip. I love Citywalk and we were spending the afternoon eating snacks around the shopping area and tried three bao here. We got the pork belly, shrimp, and duck. While it was a bit pricy in my opinion for three little bao, it was a tasty snack. I liked the variety. The people working here were very nice. It is located upstairs in a spot with a lot of fast food choices, so for a snack it was perfect. If you were getting this for a meal I am not sure three would fill you up, but good if you are eating around Citywalk. It is also good if you want a light meal before a decadent dessert around here. If it is there when we come back, I am sure someone in the family will order bao again.

    Brisket duck and pork belly
    Didier B.

    Not a bad deal at an amusement park. I had the pork belly. It was dry but tasty. The brisket with the fried jalapeños. It also was dry but tasty. The last one I had was the duck. It was by far the best. The meat was tender if a bit under seasoned. My partner had the crab. It was bad. Stay away at all costs. The price was good for a park. All in all I would try it again if I was in need and didn't want to wait at one of the other restaurants. The service by the staff was great. Friendly and quick amid the chaos of a Saturday night.

    Front
    Virna L.

    This place is located on the second level as you enter Universal City walk right above the movie theater. Service is spot on. I can't complain since they don't skip orders. Had to try them all and provide a good review. The actual bao was cooked well, soft and chewy and freshly made. High marks for that. Now let's start with the pork bao. The sauce was good, the pork was cut thick enough to compensate for the thick bao. Pork had its own sweet sauce with very little veggies. Was hoping for that fresh green something but was disappointed. The beef was next and it gave you that sweet red onion along with some secret sauce. It was a good balance in taste. The shrimp was okay, nothing fancy, the crab cakes had a little heat which was a pleasant surprise, but I don't particularly liked breaded seafood in a bao, just not my thing. Too heavy on the starch. The last one is the duck bao. Maybe it was not made fresh but I didn't like it at all. The duck was bland, not even salted and mixed in with some cabbage at the bottom. No crunch whatsoever. That would have been a hit if they've added some hoisin sauce and some cucumbers. But they DID NOT. that was my idea, or the classic Peking duck. Wink wink. Overall concept was good, but I was expecting more veggies in there like cucumbers and scallion and some carrots but I didn't get that. Personally, three stars for me. Will I go back? maybe just for the pork bao.

    Two pork belly and two beef
    Erica C.

    Walk up and order, ate elsewhere. Seating outside only and limited on the second floor of universal. 16.99 for 3, another $4 and change to add one on. Smaller, but good amount t of protein and great flavor. Overlooked and worth the price.

    Dajone Z.

    The only bao I actually enjoyed was the pork belly one. I felt the beef was way too smokey flavored and the duck's flavor left something to be desired.

    Kimchee FC, Duck, Pork Belly

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    4 months ago

    Bad food and bad boba. Duck was bland and dry. Bao did not taste like it was steamed.

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    2 years ago

    They were out of a couple options but the beef brisket buns we got were excellent. Perfect choice if you need something quick!

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