BITE-SIZED BLURBS: BAOBAO生煎 (DOWNTOWN DINING WEEK)

Our Bite-Sized Blurbs are our honest opinions about a local restaurant, bakery or café that aren’t part of a larger Gracilianca series! Bon appétit!

The focus of this bite-sized blurb is BaoBao 生煎, which is one of the many restaurants featured in Edmonton’s Downtown Dining Week, which runs from April 13 to 25th!

Location: 10544 Jasper Ave, Edmonton, AB T5J 1Z7

Items on the menu: As part of Downtown Dining week, BaoBao 生煎 is offering special set combos for take-out (in addition to their regular menu). For this review, Option 1 (6 spicy pork soup dumplings, chili oil wontons and a crispy chicken bao) and Option 2 (2 traditional & 2 shrimp pan fried baos, sweet and sour pork ribs dry noodle, and a can of pop) were ordered by G for her famjam. Each “fast casual” combo option was $20.

(As an FYI, there is also a third option available! Option 3 consists of 6 pork soup dumplings, a classic bao and spring scallion mixed dry noodles.)

Tell me more: BaoBao 生煎 is a Chinese restaurant that specializes in Shanghai street food, and is known for their soup dumplings (xiaolongbao), baos, and more! They have been open since late 2019 and though they have a limited online presence, they are making a name for themselves in Edmonton’s food scene. As of the time of writing this review, their hours are 11 AM to 7 PM Monday through Saturday (closed Sunday), and their Downtown Dining Week options are available for take out only (I’d recommend calling them ahead of time to order!). Their regular menu is also available via take out or delivery through SkipTheDishes, DoorDash and UberEats.

Downtown Dining Week highlights almost 50 restaurants in downtown Edmonton, with each participating eatery offering special set combos from April 13 to 25 for take out and/or patio dining (depending on the location). This is a fantastic and tasty way to support local businesses and go on new culinary adventures! Food options vary in cost from $20 to $65. (For navigational purposes, note that sections of 104 Street are closed off to vehicles on April 17-18 and April 24-25 (closures include Jasper Ave to 102 Ave, and sections of 103 Ave to 104 Ave) to allow for expanding outdoor dining.)

So, how was it? As a sign of BaoBao 生煎‘s popularity, I tried calling them the evening prior to see if I could order a combo for dinner, only to be told they were sold out of every single Downtown Dining Week option for the day! Now, let it be known that I can be pretty determined when it comes to three things in life - naps, sales, and food - so I tried again the day after, calling around lunchtime to place my order instead.

As mentioned above, I ordered Options 1 and 2 to feed my famjam, and this allowed us to sample a lot of BaoBao 生煎‘s fare at once. B, who had also ordered from BaoBao 生煎 earlier this week, did warn me that one combo was not enough to feed a company of 2, and with a bigger crowd to feed I was grateful that I had gotten two combos. Lastly, I’m not a fan of driving downtown (though this should not be a surprising revelation about someone who self-identifies as a frazzled crab) but I was super pleased to see that there was free 30 minute parking in the area! (Big disclaimer: I have no idea how long this will last, or that this was even a thing to begin with - just know it’s a possibility!) Picking up my order was a smooth process and I was riding my free-parking high all the way home. (You kind of have to take your wins where you can get them in 2021!)

For my rankings, I’ll be looking at a few categories, taste, presentation, and value!

TASTE:

4.5/5 overall! I sampled a bit of everything, and I was most impressed with the crispy chicken bao - all the ingredients worked well together, and it was savoury with a bit of unexpected sweetness and a slightly spicy kick at the end; plus, the chicken was crispy as advertised. The pan-fried bao was another hit, which is unsurprising as this is one of their signature dishes, and I would recommend giving this a try too (though be forewarned, it can be messy to eat!) As a spice wimp, I tried one spicy soup dumpling with some trepidation and actually did not find this spicy at all - though my newfound spice-based confidence was quickly shattered when I sampled a chili oil wonton and found this to really bring the heat. (Definitely lives up to its name!) The noodles were tasty too, though my parents were hoping for a slightly higher meat-to-noodle ratio than what we received - still, what was there was well-enjoyed.

PRESENTATION:

4.5/5 - Everything was well packaged and in separate containers, all of which survived the drive home. Can’t complain!

VALUE:

4/5 - I did some number-crunching for a value breakdown, based on a menu photo I found on Google reviews from July 2020. Note that this is all in good fun, as menu prices may have changed and portion sizes might not be the same as they were in 2020! (Also, if you’re wondering why I’m going to such lengths to calculate the value for these options, it’s because I’m writing this blog post to procrastinate doing my taxes…#priorities!)

Option 1 - spicy pork (soup) dumpling $8.99, chili oil wonton $8.99, crisp chicken bao $6.99: total of $24.97; price for Downtown Dining Week is $20 - best value!

Option 2 - pan fried bao $7 (based on cost-per-bao from the prices in the photo: ~$3 for 2 traditional pan fried baos and ~$4 for 2 shrimp pan fried baos), sweet and sour pork dry ribs noodle $13.69, can of pop $2: total of $22.69; price for Downtown Dining Week is $20 - slightly lower marks for this one, based on the can of pop cost

I didn’t order Option 3, but for the curious - pork soup dumpling $8.99, classic bao $6.99, spring scallion mixed dry noodles $7.69: total $23.67; price for Downtown Dining Week is $20 - second best value!

Overall, I’m giving BaoBao 生煎 a 4/5 as all three options for Downtown Dining Week let you save some coin and provide decent value for the money. In my opinion, things fell a bit short in the value department for Option 2. I also checked in with B and she had similar thoughts for the value ranking as well!

FINAL THOUGHTS: Would you order from BaoBao 生煎 again?

Whatcha talkin’ bao? Of course I would! Definitely down to try more items on their menu and to also explore other offerings from restaurants during Downtown Dining Week.

Disclaimer: This review is not affiliated with or sponsored by BaoBao 生煎 - views expressed are solely our opinions!