Belly Bao — Restaurant in Sydney

Really disappointed with my dining experience tonight. This is the second time I’ve visited this restaurant and I will never visit again. First time was with girlfriends and absolutely loved it so when my family asked for recommendations of places for dinner I recommended here for my brothers 21st birthday.

As soon as we arrived we were greeted with rudeness and felt so unwelcomed. We were a 5 seater table. All the food is designed for sharing so you can imagine we ordered quite a bit of food. I was expecting it to come out in increments, however they just dumped all the food on our table without taking into consideration the space we were provided. We didn’t even finish some of our dishes but had to give them away to the waiter to make room for all the food they were dumping on our table. It just felt like they wanted us out as soon as possible.

The waiters/waitresses were not attentive at all. We went up to the bar numerous times to order more drinks and to ask for more table water. Not sure why as there seemed to be an abundance of staff on and the fact that we had to write our own order out on a piece of paper… what else are they meant to be doing… at the least you expect them to be checking up on food/seeing if we need more water or drinks.

At the end of our meals I asked for take away boxes but instead the waiter or “host” of the night slammed the bill down on our table instead and said “there’s another booking arriving in 5 minutes… so”

Being in the hospitality industry myself, this is coming from a place of experience and I’m honestly so disappointed, we left this place feeling extremely dissatisfied and unwelcomed. After spending almost $400 I guess I would expect...

I had lunch at Belly Bao with my friend on the weekend.

We ordered the Baoratta, which consisted of creamy burrata, sate chilli oil, basil with house made pan fried flat bao. The Baoratta tasted so delicious with the combination of creamy burrata and sate chilli oil and eaten with slightly sweet baos. The Baoratta was not too spicy at all.

The Onion bao noodles were made of bao dough and dry tossed, contained house made onion oil, spring onion, coriander and chives were very flavourful and I actually loved the flavour of the house made onion oil.

The baos that we ordered included the Crispy roast pork belly baos, slow braised beef short ribs bao and the crispy fish bao, each one was so yummy. The baos were soft and the fillings such as the slow braised beef short ribs was tender.

The BBC (the Belly Bao fried chicken) was crispy, juicy and delicious.

My friend loved the mulled wine. The mulled wine is mix of red wine, cinnamon, star anise, orange, lychee syrup, and lychees, was perfect to warm up for the cold winter's day.

The Bao and butter pudding is a unique take on a bread and butter pudding as it was made with handmade bao instead of bread. The Bao and butter pudding was layered with a rich and creamy vanilla custard, juicy sultanas, and a hint of cinnamon and then served warm with crème anglaise. The Bao and butter pudding was the perfect warm dessert for winter, with the warmth from the cinnamon spices and added warm crème anglaise (vanilla custard). Absolutely divine way to end a meal.

Great...

Bao Wow Wow Yippy Yo Yippy Yay!!!! Where my Baos at!?!?

This isn't your typical bao you'd find in Chinatown. If you've never had the pleasure of sinking your teeth into one of those delicious fluffy buns, do your life a favor and make your way to Belly Bao.

I remember eating these taco-shaped baos as a kid whenever I attended a Vietnamese wedding at some Chinese seafood restaurant. They were traditionally served with Peking Duck and Hoisan Sauce. Years later, you can find all sorts of meat wrapped with bao but the most popular seems to be Pork Belly.

Here's the breakdown of what I've tried:

1. Cracking Roast Pork Belly - THE BEST!!!!! Just one will leave you feeling pretty satisfied.. this coming from a guy who eats 2 large pizzas in one sitting :)
2. Slow Braised Beef Short Rib - OOOooOOoH.. Korean BBQ meets Bao! My second favorite!
3. Panko Crumbed Chicken Breast - how can you ever go wrong with chicken!??!
4. Braised Pork Belly - pulled pork bao
5. Soft Shell Crab - bomb textures but leaves a fishy after taste
6. Crispy Tofu - save your money and get the Pork Belly.. unless your an Omnivore of course
7. Sweet Potato Fries - served with a spicy aioli dipping sauce, it will definitely leave you feeling full after half a basket.

Ippudo offers baos for half the cost and size but they should stick to Ramen.. Belly Bao is home to Sydney's bao lovers!

one star removed for their business hours - Weds to Sat...