Xiao Long Bao is comprised of a savory meat filling (usually a mixture of ground pork and shrimp flavored with chopped green onions, salt, pepper, sugar, rice wine and sesame oil) accompanied by a fragrant soup (chicken broth infused with pork fat with herbs and aromatics) inside a delicately pliable bao wrapping. This Chinese delicacy is usually prepared in a small bamboo steaming basket called xiaolong, hence the name xiao long bao.
Boldly claiming to be the origin of xiao long bao, Bai Nian Tang Bao, located inside Bonifacio Global City, promises to sate the cravings of fans of this dish.
Trivia: Did you know there’s a right way to eat the xiao long bao? Here’s a clue: it definitely does not involve immediately popping it into one’s mouth nor biting into it as we do other dumplings. Nope, enjoying this special dish requires some special steps:
- Once served, allow the baos to rest in their basket for a few minutes. This will allow the baos and their filling to cool and settle a bit. You might want to take this time to prepare the sauce by combining the vinegar, soy sauce and minced ginger to your taste in a small saucer.
- Using your chopsticks, gently pick up a bao (make sure not to pierce through the wrapping), dip in the sauce then place it squarely on your spoon.
- Poke a small hole at the top of the bao with your chopsticks, just enough so that some of the steam inside can get out and you can slurp the soup from inside.
- Once the soup has been duly slurped, you can then pop the what remains into your mouth.
- Repeat as desired. 🙂
During a stopover in Bonifacio Global City, the fam decided to have a quick lunch at Bai Nian Tang Bao. We ordered Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs (Php279) and Pepper Salt Chicken Strips (Php199) to go with our Beef Fried Rice (Php219) and Sausage Fried Rice (219). The pork ribs went well with the fried rice but the chicken strips were a little dry and much akin in flavor to the kind of chicken strips we would make at home. Of course, the star of the meal is the Xiao Long Bao (Php158) which was served in the traditional steaming basket. As we followed the correct way to eat this dish, we were able to fully enjoy its taste and texture.
Maybe next time we find ourselves in this resto, we’ll just get ourselves several orders of that xiao long bao, hmmm?
The restaurant has a nice minimalist feel to it with some Asian-inspired accents. The servers were also friendly and prompt with our requests.
Bai Nian Tang Bao is located at the Ground Floor, Uptown Parade, 9th Avenue corner 38th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. It is open 11am to 10pm Mondays to Thursdays, 11am to 3am Fridays and 11am to 12midnight Saturdays to Sundays.
Check out my posts about other Chinese restaurants:
- Hap Chan, Maybunga
- Kopi Tiam, New Manila
- Le Ching, Tomas Morato
- Twapakto, Tomas Morato
- Fantaste, Salcedo Village
- Greyson’s, Mother Ignacia
Learn more about Chinese cuisine by checking out these books on Amazon.com!
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Jellybeans in the City 
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