I will go to my grave regretting that I never got to sample Lemon Dogs' famed tacos at their stand…read morein Shubie Park, thanks to moving away from Halifax and not having a car when I was here. However, now that my wife and I have moved back to the city and have motorized transportation, both a walk in Shubie and a meal at the new resident of the food stand, Bao Journey, were on my radar.
Bao Journey started out as a stall slinging their wares at farmers markets in the city, but took the leap to a more permanent location when the spot at Shubie Park opened up. We arrived in the mid-afternoon on a sunny weekend day, and there was a steady stream of people coming and going with varying degrees of refreshment and sustenance.
Of course, you can't be a food shack in a park in Canada without crowd pleaser like ice cream, cold drinks and fries, but beyond those basics is where their menu gets interesting. Of course, there's a few different versions of their namesake item, bao - BBQ pork, chicken, vegetable and egg custard. Other Asian options include zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), pan fried dumplings, fried shrimp or pork siu mai, chow mein, sesame balls, both spring and egg rolls, and several types of Taiwanese omelettes.
We weren't looking a full meal, so we went with the pan-fried dumplings and a BBQ pork bao, as well as a lemonade.
We got the lemonade and bao right away, but the dumplings were cooked to order, so they took about 15 minutes.
The lemonade tasted homemade and hit the spot on a hot, summer day.
Our bao was a textbook example of a great bao - pleasantly chewy dough, with a perfect ratio of dough to filling, and the filling itself had tender, toothsome chunks of cha siu and that signature sauce that's sweet, savoury and a little salty. The only downside was that we had only bought the one to share!
The pan-fried dumplings took a little time, but they were worth it. They were round dumplings, pleated in a similar fashion to xiao long bao (soup dumplings), and although they were quite juicy, I wouldn't say they were at a soup dumpling level. The meat was tender and flavourful, and the dipping sauce had a noticeable layer of sweetness.
A second visit to Bao Journey found my wife and I there in the fall, during the last few weeks of their season. The Taiwanese omelettes were 86'd for the remainder of the season, so we decided to try out their chow mein with minced pork, and since it was the right season, a mooncake!
The cute mooncake was ready right away, while the noodles were cooked to order. It was made with a cute little animal-shaped mold, and of the three fillings that were available, I went with the egg custard. It was generously filled, and the smooth and rich egg custard was a nice little pre-entrée dessert.
The noodles didn't take too long since they weren't as busy as they would have been on a summer day, and we eagerly dug in when they were ready. The noodles and veg had a little hit of wok hei to them, and a dark, soy-based sauce covered the noodles in savoury and salty goodness. The minced pork was on the side doing its own thing, so we scooped it onto the noodles as we went, and it was impressively tender without being overcooked like some meat-based sauces can be.
Happily satiated, we continued through the park, taking in the fresh air and beautiful fall colours.
I'm glad that Shubie Park is attracting food vendors that go beyond the lowest common food denominator, and I'm looking forward to many future hikes that will hopefully be fueled by Bao Journey.