by Rachel Will
While not quite in Sheung Wan proper, you would do well to start your eating journey from this Chinese-fusion restaurant styled like a 1950s American diner. The pink-neon logo out front and retro-tiled floor with cha chaan teng or Hong Kong-style café dishes suggest Wong Kar-wai meets Grease. Little Bao has been around since late 2012 and began as a humble food stall in Island East Markets in Quarry Bay serving up pork bao sandwiches that brought them to fame. The focus of their brick-and-mortar enterprise centers on the Chinese baozi popularized by dim sum dishes like sweet, steamed buns filled with red bean paste or barbecue beef. Little Bao puts a fusion twist on the doughy delight, serving its sweet exteriors like a hamburger bun and filling it with options like the Sloppy Chan (vegetarian shiitake tempeh and daikon), fish tempura, and even dessert centers like green tea ice cream. For company with your bao, try the eggplant and shiso pork tempura, which is a tangy and crunchy delight dipped in ume ponzu dip. Be sure to remember the cardinal rule of eating bao: never cut your bao—lest a cheeky waiter must inform you of your faux pas.
