| rev:text
| - The Look and Feel of the Restaurant
This place is located inside Touch Spa Salon just in the back. The only thing that really bothered me was the smell of chemicals from the salon. The place has a few small tables and chairs so you can sit and dine, but the last time I checked, there were only about 3 tables (with two chairs each).
The Service
The service was outstanding. The owner of the place is very friendly. The food took a while to come out, but someone would let us know every few minutes the status our order. For the most part, after you order your food, you service yourself as there are napkins, straws, condiments etc. whatever you need at the cashier's counter.
Ordering
I had the bao special which means 3 small bao + drink for $10 (that includes tax). These are not like the traditional ball-like bao you see in regular chinese restaurants. They are more like bao sandwiches. I ordered:
Roast Duck - This was delicious. Very tender. It's kind of like the stuff they have at chinese restaurants.
Pork Belly - Nice and juicy, full of flavor.
Beef - The least of my favorite as the beef was dry and cold.
Each bao had a little bit of scallion, cilantro, oyster/hoisin sauce on it, but could have used some more sauce. The order took about 20 minutes to come out (which is a long time considering there weren't too many orders made at that time). The presentation was really nice. The bao came lined up on a wooden shopping board. I felt so fancy eating it. And even when we got our food, it didn't seem like it was piping hot or anything. It was just warm and some parts of the meat were even cold. The flavor was definitely good though.
At the end of the meal, I was still hungry. It was like I just had an great appetizer and was ready for the main course. Even my girlfriend finished her whole order of the bao special. This almost never happens and is a sure sign that the portions are too small. Usually after finishing my food, I look forward to my girlfriend saying, "babe, I can't finish this. Can you finish this to me?" But this time, it never came. It never came. On a serious note, outstanding bao like this can be found at any dim sum restaurant and for cheaper (which is strange considering this place is located in a nail salon; you'd expect prices at Great Bao to be a tad cheaper since operating costs should be lower).
Conclusion
I'd give this place a 3.5. Their bao are delicious, but it's not anything extraordinary. The price and the portion is really what put me off. I know 3 bao + a drink for $10 doesn't sound like much money, but honestly each bao could be eaten in 2 bites. I left still hungry and wondering if I should go get more food elsewhere. I probably would not return unless they lower their prices ($7.50 max for bao special) or offer bigger portions. My reasoning? I would not pay any more than $2/bao. The drink should cost around $1.50.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)