Yummy yummy big city goodness. It's a super quick snack that's easy to consume on the run and while covered in layers of snow. But be aware you can get pretty full off those boas. BBQ boas are the best and the lemonade is delish! read more

Wow Bao - Mmmm, boa's - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My boyfriend and I were wandering around Water Tower Place and saw "Wow Bao" in the directory. We immediately needed to find it (he was craving BBQ Pork Buns). Since we had never been to this mall before, we had some difficulty finding it, but BAM, there it was by one of the entrances. It's a fast food type of place with cute decor. They have many flavors you can choose from, but since we were going to have dinner in a bit, we snacked on two: the Thai Curry Chicken & BBQ Pork. The chicken was definitely unique but didn't blow my mind. The BBQ Pork was OK - lackluster compared to what I've had in the past. In my opinion, the price was a bit much: almost $2 each for a 2- bite bao. For mall food, that seems pretty steep. Other than that, staff was nice and their seating is inconveniently located on the next level up. If I"m ever back in Chicago I'd definitely try a few of their other flavors! read more

Surprisingly good food given the "fast food" category it's been placed in. The bao are great and the teriyaki chicken bowl over rice is very tasty. Given the price I'll definitely be coming back here often read more

Wow Bao - Chicken teriyaki bowl over white rice and three BBQ pork bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I might have come on a bad day but I had an unenjoyable experience. I ordered two baos (thai curry chicken and bbq pork) and a spicy peanut noodle salad. For less than 7 bucks the price was certainly nice. I started with the baos and, unfortunately, could not eat more than a third of each. Each bao was roughly 80% breading which in this case was a seemingly undercooked, very doughy exterior. The filling that did exist, for both the chicken and pork, had a rubbery texture that generally comes from sitting in a steamer or heater in order to stay warm after the meat has been cooked. The spicy peanut noodle salad was actually very good. I might consider going back to get those noodles but the baos upon which the restaurant is named were definitely a no go for me. read more

The chocolate ginger coconut bao is to die for. I just noticed today that they are now offering breakfast! I'll definitely be trying to those out. The new ordering kiosks make it really simple to select what you want and pay for it without having to wait too long in line. The dessert bao are my favorite, but they are all pretty tasty. read more

Love the buns, but be careful the chocolate ones tend to squirt out on first bite (That just sounds so wrong, but accurate). The terryaki chicken is a great choice and my kids love the pork. Get the box and mix it up; great food to share with friends and family. I only wish we had one in the burbs... read more

Good environment, great customer service, food (Bao) are just so-so. Any dim-sum place at china town would have a better taste bao than here. read more

Grabbed a Chicken Teriyaki Bowl for a pre-theater snack - perfect size, perfect flavor. Fast service, reasonable price for the meal, and the ginger ale was superb. read more

My boyfriend and I tried the BBQ pork, chicken teriyaki, Kung pao chicken, and spicy Mongolian beef. Our favorites were the BBQ pork and chicken teriyaki. The other two were okay. The baos are pretty filling, but overpriced. I would rather go to Chinatown and get more for your money, but not a bad place for baos when you aren't close to Chinatown. read more

Wow Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Calling the venture capital industry! Wow Bao is a great local chain that really needs to expand nationally. It's got several advantages over that chain I love to hate, Shake Shack. Advantage One: char siu bao and potstickers, WB's signature fare, are fairly unique in the fast food space. Panda Express serves one potsticker and no bao, and Panda's really the only national Chinese chain. Shake Shack is in a *very* crowded field; there is no shortage of burger joints. Advantage Two: inexpensive, tasty food. Shake Shack's food may be tasty but it ain't cheap. Advantage Three: because WB isn't representing itself as gourmet fare, its supply chain is much simpler. Any town big enough to hold a fast food joint also has foodservice suppliers. If they went national they'd clean up. read more

I'm Chinese. I know the difference between real Chinese food and American Chinese food. I came here expecting to have American Chinese food but the food is just bad. Everything tastes sweet and nothing else. The drink is not good either. When I want American Chinese food, I usually go to Panda Express. Wow Bao makes me appreciate Panda Express even more. They really have good Chinese fast food. read more

Fast food concept serving bao, potstickers, and rice/noodle dishes. Ordering can be done either at the traditional cash register or at two touchscreen kiosks. The restaurant is in the lobby of WaterTower Place and they have some seating when you go up to the second floor using the escalators in the lobby. Food is average, I'm not going to be clamoring to come back. Chicken potstickers were the tastiest thing we got and the only thing I would order again, they came with a nice dipping sauce. Bao here aren't particularly noteworthy and BBQ Pork was not at all as I expected it to taste based on the usual taste of these in a Chinese restaurant serving dim sum. The barbecue flavor was almost more like American barbecue sauce flavoring than Chinese BBQ pork tastes. Teriyaki bao tasted exactly as you would expect with a strong teriyaki flavor that I didn't particularly enjoy. Kung Pao Chicken bao were spicy obviously so I can't really comment since I'm not a huge spicy food fan. It's convenient for shoppers in WaterTower Place but not worth a repeat visit any time soon. read more

This place has the worst food I've tasted in a long time. I've tasted dog food better than what they serve here. I ate one bite and knew I got scammed from the nice picture. read more

I love Wow Bao. This location though always has issues. I think it's primarily the staff/management. They're just rude. And the food quality and wait time is very different day to day. I love the broth. But some days at this location in particular it's watered down too much. Avoid this location if possible. The one on Clark and Diversy is pretty awesome. read more

this is the fast food of chinese steam buns. My friend and I were stranded after shopping in downtown and were contemplating of eating this stuff or walking over to Big Bowl. well, let's just say we should have walked! we ordered their bowls -cashew chicken and chicken terriyaki, that were both around $7 each with tax. Their bowls are filled with 90% white rice and "chicken crumbs" seriously it wasn't even like ground chicken meat, it was like sprinkled crumbs with scallion onions and sauce! I think they were to afraid to use real chicken meat and opted for mystery "chicken crumbs" - I do not want to know what parts of the chicken were used! the bowl size is very small too, and a bit overpriced for what you get. They should price it at $4.50 per bowl, or include a small size with it at the ongoing price Anyways I did also try their "steam bun" and it was small and o-k. If you really like steam buns you are better off taking the red-line train to China town, which is only a few stops away anyways and getting the real deal! the buns tasted like an average steam bun you would get an asian grocery store chain, - I really don't see the Rave of this place- only that it's the only asian fast food in the vincinity. so just go to Big Bowl or Chinatown..... read more

Consider this your go-to for fast food Asian style. Wow baos to try: chocolate (filled with nutella-like filling) spicy mongolian beef (flavorful) + pomegranate ginger ale is really refreshing and pretty in hue the so-so: teriyaki chicken spicy kung pao thai curry (after awhile, these three start to taste the same) Service is accurate and super-duper fast. You can spice up your Asian fast-food experience by using the ordering stations that resemble ATM machines. Fun, fast, tasty enough as a midday snack. read more

I really love Wow Bao. However, they lost a star for running out of noodles at 7pm! Although they didn't have exactly what we wanted, the manager was very accommodating and actually gave us extra bao in place of the noodles. I have tried their bao at different events and enjoyed them there and was glad I got to try the other varieties. All in all, running out of noodles seems to have been a positive thing because I got to try more of the bao I love! One more thing, the coconut custard bao is actually really delicious! It may sound strange but it is really yummy. read more

Fresh, hot buns! They have cheap and great selection of drinks and chobani yogurt too! I had the veggie and egg for breakfast, and it was a bit on the bland/eggy side (but still tasty). I like the small portion too. read more

I've really embraced Wow Bao since my first review... I've recently lost quite a bit of weight and my eating habits have changed. I now like wow bao when I have a taste for Chinese food but know I couldn't handle an entire order of it. The bao is a perfect portion for just a taste of asian cuisine! Also, their Twitter page is one of the more hilarious ones to follow...and they do various promotions via the twitter account--I won tickets to Cirque Shanghai just for re-tweeting something of theirs! In the words of their twitter page: "bao-wow-wow-yippy-yo-yippie-yay!" read more

I used to live right behind the Wao Bao in waterpower, and now I am just a few blocks away, every couple of weeks i get a crazy craving for the custard Bao, I know its been said before by others, I am just here to verify. go get one if you dare. read more

This location is more of an express location. The menu here is a condensed version and the work space for them seems very cramped, then you have to carry your food to go eat at some tables upstairs. The flavors are the same but at the other locations it seems a lot fresher, but that's just me. I would recommend thai curry chicken on jasmine rice, or the thai chicken noodle soup. Go to one of the other locations if you can, the atmosphere is better and food seems better too. Plus there are more options! read more

I got the teriyaki chicken bowl & thought the food was very very tasty--and somewhat low cal for a lunch option. The staff was not the friendliest or maybe I was just a bit confused with how to order and what came with what, but very good and reasonable prices for down town read more

Absolutely amazing! This is my first time eating a Bao and I wish I lived in Chicago so I can eat more. My mom and I ate here when shopping on Michigan Ave. We got one Kung pou chicken bao each. They were so soft and fuffy. When I took the first bite I was in love ! The Kung pou chicken was delicious. We actually liked it so much we went down and got more. We also got to try the coconut custard bao and it was delicious as well. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone going to Chicago. read more

Wow Bao - Kung poa Chicken Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've had many a wow bao's in my life and they are consistently delicious. Every bao is packed full of really great flavors. My favorite is the chicken terryaki. The buns are always oh so soft and chewy, the perfect consistency for a bao. You have to remember this is american fusion buns. Don't expect chinese restaurant buns at chinese food prices. My wife and I usually get a bun each as a snack or pre-dinner app. The ginger drink here can be hit or miss. It can be A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-!: ginger is perfectly spicy, and the overall drink is mildly sweet and oh so refreshing on a hot summer day... even cold winter days at that. My recent visit offered a ginger drink that had zero zing which was disappointing. I would rather they have said that the ginger was sub-par and they don't sell sub-par items, as opposed to selling me sweetened water in this case. read more

Came in here on a mission -- can't shop hungry. Chicken teriyaki and bbq pork was very good. I am not expecting excellent traditional bao based off the environment and setting. They are trying to target other demographics with their menu. With an open mind, they were still very delicious and I got a second round of baos. Easily to follow menu. Service had their system down. read more

If your looking for kids meals at adult prices this is the place to eat. Honestly I paid almost $35 and when food came to my door. I was shocked on how small the bao were and the rice dishes. You can get more bang for your buck around town like MoBetta. only reason I have two stars instead of one. Is how authentic the taste is. read more

I always make Wow Bao a shopping snack stop...before heading into Lush! On the postivie + + Tried the BBQ pork, spicy mongolian beef, teriyaki chicken, and thai curry chicken many times...all very tasty. Need for improvement - + put some out in the suburbs :) read more

I've been here many times over the past year while working in the north Loop, and it's definitely a top pick for lunch at work. Three stars for a few problems that keep coming up, however. The dessert baos (right now Coconut Custard and Chocolate-Ginger-Coconut) consistently are soggy on at least one side, which is quite unappetizing - though when you scrape off the offending area, it's still delicious! I also keep wanting the drinks to be better, but they inevitably come down to a syrupy add-in. Positives, though, and there are many! The Thai Curry Chicken is still superb (or so my friend confirms, I haven't had one since I went vegan), as is the Whole Wheat Edamame. I am not even an edamame girl and I love those. And the filling in the Chocolate-Ginger bao is just heavenly -- just the right balance between the flavors. Overall, definitely stop by and check them out. read more

Conveniently located right inside the main doors to Water Tower Place, it is this gem! Had the teriyaki chicken bao and the whole wheat edamame bao. Both were delicious and flavorful. I can't believe the only charge $1.79 each. It's the cheapest food you can get that is yummy and quality. The outside just melts in your mouth. The seating area is upstairs. If you are near Water Tower Place, this is a must! read more

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Love the service. Always friendly. I am willing to swim through the sea of blind, idiot tourists that gather out front just to get a hold of one of their soft, warm carb and meat filled balls. Seriously what more can you ask for? Two of the greatest things God created on the 3rd and 7th day (bread and meat respectively) perfectly blended together, under the same principles rivaling that of our solar-system, achieving palate-blowing homeostasis. Meals on plates and sandwiches are sloppy and is a two-handed chore. This architectural ingenuity conveniently packs the meat (seasoned with Asian awesomeness) in a one-handed, two fingered cuisine that would make Frank Lloyd Wright and Leonardo da Vinci roll over in their graves. The history behind this Pritzker Award deserving concept roots back to the Chinese being brought over to America for plantation labor. They needed a quick, on-the-go meal. Though plantations today are arguably gone, our fast-paced lives still demand the on-the-go meal and should be a staple to any business man or soccer mom today. read more

The steamed buns were good, it's just that it wasn't anything special. I got the teriyaki, bbq pork and kung pao chicken. I thought that the teriyaki and bbq pork tasted pretty much the same. It didn't have too much flavor so I put a little bit of soy sauce in every bite. I was hoping that the baos would have more flavor since they had so many different kinds but they tasted like normal steamed baos to me. read more

I loved the concept of ordering (on an ipad) Quick and painless and gives you a run down of the menu. We ordered 2 baos just to give them a try. We ordered the BBQ Pork and Thai Curry Chicken. The BBQ had a huge burst of flavor with a little spicy kick. Absolutely loved it. The Thai Curry Chicken was, well, not as exciting and lacked flavor so we were a little disappointed. Overall great steamed buns (although I'm used to them being at least 5 times bigger) These little suckers fit in the cup of my hand and I have little hands! Conveniently located right next to American Girl so that your daughter can go nuts while you enjoy a steamed bao! read more

Wow Bao is the Baomb. Get the spicy mongolian buns. Always good. This is a great spot to snack at in Water Tower Place. The prices are inexpensive and the service is fast and friendly. So much to try, so little time. Try everything here. read more

I like there drinks! This place is perfect for a quick snack and lunches. Sometimes the buns are little dry though. read more

I stumbled upon this gem in the Water Tower Mall soon after moving to Chicago. They have a wonderful concept of entire meals made out of dumplings (bao). They are intricate dough filled with everything from chicken teriyaki to mongolian beef, to chocolate or coconut cream. I would highly suggest the 6 pack meal. Bao are great for those on the run that still want to enjoy a great meal. I find myself going back once every other week in order to get this wonderful treat. The only problem with the restaurant, is that I have gone several times 5-10 minutes before their scheduled closing time, only to find out that they have already closed. If you want bao, plan time accordingly, though it is certainly worth it. read more

I was in Chicago for less than 24 hours and found myself at the Water Tower mall. I was completely impressed with the beautiful architecture of the city, but had very little time to spare. My husband and I purchased some bao here to eat at the airport (this was probably like 4 hours before our flight). I rarely take a chance on a place without consulting yelp, but everything looked so good and I was in a rush. We asked for 2 each of their most popular selections - teriyaki, pork bbq, and Mongolian beef. We devoured these on the plane ride back to Vegas and they were delicious! I can see some people's criticisms of them (overly Americanized in packaging and flavor profile), but I actually really liked their product. The bao weren't too doughy and I thought every selection had good quality meat and a lot of flavor. Honestly, the only thing I was disappointed in was the "hot asian buns" label on my water bottle. Otherwise, as soon as we landed in Vegas, I googled if there were any franchises near us and sadly they're all in the Chicagoland area. I'm hoping to find my way back to Chicago soon and will definitely eat here again - they had some homemade ginger ale that I really want to try and a pork belly bun that looked yummy. read more

Wow Bao - the food was delicious (no photos, ate on the plane lol) but not sure about their marketing - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

like the food but this specific location opens at 11, that doesn't mean you can eat at 11, that means they start setting up at 11. worker also hung up on me on the phone. read more

I like the fact that you can order from a kiosk and they'll just call out your number. It's pretty clean. I ordered the spicy Mongolian beef bowl with lo mein, which was a mistake. It was pretty okay but the beef was super smushy lol. It was honestly like I was eating spaghetti (spaghetti w tomato sauce) without the tomato sauce. The bao and dumplings may be good though.... read more

A few months ago, my father was presented with a box containing 6 dozen frozen Wow Baos. There was a dozen each of the spicy Kung Pao chicken, Thai curry chicken, spicy Mongolian beef, BBQ pork, and the coconut custard. He divided them equally between my siblings and me. I forgot all about them until today when I was organizing my deep freezer. Being lazy, I wrapped 2 in a wet paper towel, and microwaved them for 2 minutes. Wow! They are actually pretty decent! The Kung Pao exceeded my expectations...and the coconut custard was a perfect finish to my dinner. (Warning! The custard gets hot!!!!) I would highly recommend trying these if you are ever in the area. 2 are quite filling!! My only complaint is that $1.39 for one is kind of steep...you can buy a bag of 24 of these in Chinatown for $5 or pay 65 cents for one twice the size. I don't think that I would rush out to buy them at that price..but if I were in the area, it would be a good choice to take the little one. I did see that they offer a lunch special of 2 baos or 5 potstickers with either Pad Thai salad, veggie salad or peanut noodles for $5.99. Considering how filling 2 were, that is not a bad price. read more

I am very very surprised at all these positive reviews for Wow Bao. It was recommended to me by an acquaintance who raved about it and I had been wanting to try it for a while so I finally decided to do so this week, only to be extremely disappointed. I wasn't even able to finish my meal - that's how bad it was. I ordered the chicken teriyaki bowl with lo mein noodles and chicken potstickers. First of all, they garnished the bowl with a hefty handful of parsley or cilantro - I can never remember which is which because I hate the flavors of both equally. For me, these garnishes absolutely ruin a dish because unless you want to sit there and pick at your plate for hours, there is no way to remove them all. The flavor was instantly ruined before I even tried it. Secondly, the meat was weird. They were very small (almost minced!) pieces of chicken that were possibly fried, I couldn't tell, and doused in this non-tasty sauce. Don't get me wrong, I am usually a huge fan of Americanized Chinese food, but this was just bad. I honestly couldn't even tell what kind of meat I was eating, or if it was even meat at all. Next came the potstickers. Now, I will provide the disclaimer that this was my first time ever trying potstickers so I can't comment too much about them other than the fact that the chicken mush that was stuffed inside of them was extremely unappealing and displeasing. The soy ginger dipping sauce it came with was just as displeasing to my palate. The only good thing I liked were the lo mein noodles. That's about all I ate before I had to reluctantly dump the rest of the food. And believe me, I hate wasting food but I just couldn't down this stuff. It seems that I must have come at a bad time or something, because the other reviews here rave for this place, but all I know is that I will not be returning here again. read more