Boa-Bao — Restaurant in Lisbon

Max here, your local guide in Lisboa. I am currently testing the Baos in Lisbon. Summary for this place: (3/5)

More detail below: I love Baos. And in Lisbon, you are expecting usually sandwhich-sized baos of generally good quality, so here as well. This place was on my list for a while and I managed to crnak in an order right before they closed for the afternoon. I tried the Chicken and the Duck bao, as I try to do anywhere where I test Baos.

Taste: (3/5) Cutting right to the chase. It was average for our city. It is definitely good but not outstanding and not a taste experience like in other places. So, the general points I can mention is that the duck meat in my bao was cold to luke-warm, and the meat was the opposite of tender. It was bit chewy. And so was the bao. So, for this, only 3 stars. On a more personal note, the quite frankly very strong and quite sweet sauces in both baos did not hit my personal taste so well. I'd preferred more harmony between the ingredients. Also, the fresh spring onions are just very strong. Lastly, for the chicken bao I received a black bun and I can't help but feel the lingering taste of it in my mouth, and it's not particularly great. So, on a personal side, I was even less of a fan but I try to keep. the review neutral as anywhere.

Price: (4.5/5) Cannot complain. Definitely cheaper than other baos in the neighborhood and on Glovo you can get them sometimes even more reduced by 20%. The Baos here were a little bit smaller than in other places. Still, Baos remain an expensive snack in this city. 8 Euros in this place for something that is a quarter of a sandwhich large is justifiable only when you are looking for the experience.

Selection: (4/5) Normal as anywhere...

At the beginning, why 4 stars. In my opinion it's a little to expensive. But... This place is quite popular so you should be there quite early, otherwise you get a "boarding ticket" and can sit on one of the few benches. To shorten waiting time you can order some finger food and drinks outside. They note your name before and call you up, when there is a table ready. The drinking Menu is quite cute, it's designed as a passport and you can choose in a variety of drinks. I had the iced tea (green tea) wich I can highly recommend and ist not sweeten.

In the main dishes you can choose between gao bao, soups, salats, Currys and wok cuisine. In the curry section you can choose between some meat and vegetarian options. Some of them can Ben completely vegan. The Tom ka broth is unfortunately not vegetarian, they told me this right away but that was okay for me. And it was incredible delicious. For me it was the right amount even though it looked like quite small portion. As desert I got the creme brulee wich had a really nice twist taste wise with the lemon grass.

Since this restaurant is quite popular and has a lot of tables it gets really loud in there. The stuff was really friendly, the food came a few minutes after the order. To sum it up my only down sides are the prices (I paid 25€ for a main dish, dessert and drink) and the acoustic atmosphere. But the food is great experience! So if you like south east Asian food and are ok with the prices, you should give it a go. They also have a lot 2 pax table, so it's ok to take one of...

The theme of the restaurant was one of adventure and exploration, so going to Boa-Bao for lunch with two friends felt like we were adventuring together! We decided that ordering dishes and sharing was going to be the best way of sampling all this restaurant had to offer. Looking around, you couldn’t help but feel you were in The Orient.

For starters we ordered the Vegetarian Dim Sum assortment and the fried sun dried beef strips Isaan style with some guidance from our knowledgeable and attentive waitress. She was helpful throughout the visit and made it complete. The starters tasted great and really went well together.

Main courses were brought out and each looked like it had been put together with great care and attention. We decided that Peking duck gua bao with hoisin, cucumber and spring onion was a must. It was cooked just the way I like it! The Malaysian Curry Soup with sea food & egg noodles and a side of sticky rice added some needed heat and the rice perfectly soaked up the soup. Then we went for some Japchae - Korean glass noodle stir fry with beef – although we could have had just about anything on the menu because it all sounded so good.

Rounding it off with dessert, the three of us chose one each and then shared. The first dessert was coconut crème brûlée with basil & lemongrass that one of us liked a little bit too much perhaps :), then came the pineapple carpaccio with chocolate loempia & vanilla and Japanese mochi selection. Each had the right amount of sweetness to finish off a meal. Highly...