This one's a tough one. I got violently ill half an hour or so after eating, and spent the…read moreafternoon in the bathroom at home. It was the only thing I ate for the day, so provenance isn't in doubt as to place, though as to what caused it? Who knows. Most likely either raw veggies or hands that weren't properly washed. At the same time, it's not the sort of place that felt like that would be a regular occurrence, and they were mortified when I contacted them about it, and promised to sort it out. Which made me think I ought to give them a second visit. As did the fact that the place comes recommended by at least a couple of foodie folk I know.
On, however, this visit, and looking at just the food, they have a lunch special for 200 pesos ($8.50) that includes a choice of appetizer and a choice of bao. For the former I went with a classic Vietnamese nem, or fried springroll. It was tasty, but a bit oily inside because, as you can see from when I flipped it over, one entire side is open. That's the kind of thing that you'd think someone plating the dish would have noticed and started over again. For my choice of bao, I went slightly unusual with the fried chicken one, because, well, fried chicken. Actually pretty good, and the "broken potatoes" rock. I could just go in and eat a plate of those. A small bottle of ginger ale washed it all down. Negative, I'd have liked to try a second bao, but the only way they offer it is in combo, and the minimum combo was a 170 peso bao with another appetizer, more potatoes, and another beverage, none of which I wanted. They weren't willing to sell just a bao, even though I'd already eaten a full combo. That strikes me a little inhospitable and inflexible. Which made me think I ought not to give them a second visit... but...
...eventually, about three weeks on, giving them another shot won out. On my second visit, they've dropped the lunch combo, and now simply charge more for each individual bao, each of which comes with those great broken potatoes. They've expanded the appetizer offerings, or maybe they're just non-bao offerings, as they're all roughly the same prices., somewhere between 120-150 pesos apiece. They did, however, change that great vinegary dipping sauce for the potatoes too, and now offer up a sort of milky, near flavorless liquid that made no sense to me. Like watered down ranch dressing.
Tried two of the bao (they won't serve one without the potatoes, so if you want more than one, it's a lot of potato - I didn't even eat half of them). The clasico is a sweet, hoisin sauce glazed pork belly, the sweetness offset nicely by pickled beets; the bondiola is a slow braised pork shoulder with a sort of cabbage slaw. Both delicious. No ill effects. They do pick out one of the half dozen bao offerings daily at lunch and offer it as the day's special, dropping the price for whichever one it is from 150 down to 90 pesos, which is a bargain! Bring back the spicy dipping sauce for the potatoes, and maybe let folk who want to order a second bao get one without a pile of potatoes, and I'm sold.
