KAO Chinese Restaurant and Private Karaoke — Restaurant in Bucharest

As the first – and only – Cantonese restaurant in Bucharest, this brand-new spot absolutely exceeded my expectations!

🥟 Dish 1: Truffle Chicken Siu Mai Easily my favorite dish of the day! The siu mai is clearly handmade – the chicken filling is delicately seasoned with a perfect texture. The mushroom truffle topping adds a luxurious layer of flavor, and when dipped in their delicious house-made black bean soy sauce, it’s simply outstanding.

🍳 Dish 2: Stir-Fry Beef Ho Fun A couple of years ago, I remember complaining that it was impossible to find decent Beef Ho Fun here – and now, miraculously, it’s finally available! The flat rice noodles were a bit too firm, I suggested they could be slightly softer, but the beef portion was generous. It was missing bean sprouts though, which made the dish feel like it lacked something. The wok hei was there, seasoning was nicely balanced – not bad at all.

🍖 Dish 3: Combination of Three-Roast Meat (Char Siu, Crispy Pork Belly, Roast Duck) This is probably a first in Romania’s food scene – a proper Cantonese BBQ platter! All three meats were well-prepared: • Roast Duck had that classic Cantonese aroma and crispy skin – I was honestly moved. I’d say it’s about 75% authentic. • Crispy Pork Belly had a crackling skin and just the right amount of fat. • Char Siu leaned toward lean cuts with only a bit of fat – still good. Only drawback: the platter didn’t come with scallion sauce, mustard, or sugar on the side, which would have balanced out the richness. In authentic Cantonese BBQ, mustard sauce and white sugar are commonly served as condiments. I suggested they consider adding those options in the future.

I’m from an East Asian country where Cantonese and Hong Kong-style cuisine is a regular part of daily life – so I’d say my palate is quite trained when it comes to these flavors. 😋

Overall, this restaurant is a fantastic and much-needed addition to Bucharest’s food scene. It’s an impressive debut for Cantonese cuisine here, and I’m already looking forward to coming back and trying more dishes! The prices are on the higher side, but considering the quality and rarity of Cantonese cuisine in Bucharest, it’s understandable. Their modern, East Asian-inspired interior design is also beautifully done – I personally really liked it. I’m also excited to see their karaoke service once...

All the food below, which looks exactly as it's photographed in the menu, so no point in attaching pictures, was for a table of 3: Chicken Satay (really close to the Thai one, but the thigh could've been a bit more juicy) Dim Sum platter (don't recommend the Jiaozi, as the dough was too tough and dry, but the other three are perfect) Siu Mai (this was ordered instead of the desert, because they were delicious) Combination of Three-Roast Meat (really good, 10/10) Shredded Beef in Plum Sauce (the beef was so thinly sliced that, in most of the pieces, you could barely taste the meat, so again, they were a bit dry - even though the waiter said the batter would be crispy and the meat tender; don't really recommend this one) Green Beans (really flavorful, but, unfortunately, yet again a bit dry)

I think that the main issue for me is that, because we specifically asked to start with the appetizers, all the food was brought at same time. Considering that the waiter took the main courses back to keep them warm might've been the reason why some of the dishes were dry/overcooked.

All in all, here you can experience all kinds of Asian refined dishes, in a beautiful restaurant, with a friendly staff. The waiter really took my dad's sensibility to garlic seriously and made sure to explain all the dishes and to accommodate his needs. Big plus for such an elegant restaurant on welcoming dogs, I was really surprised by this.

With everything in mind, I still feel like it's too expensive for what it has to offer, but I don't regret...

This place is great. Could be the next best restaurant in that area but it is being held back by a few factors that we will discuss. The place looks amazing, close to fine dining. The staff is very friendly and polite and they make sure you have an amazing experience. Now for the bad parts, the pricing and the food. It is missing a lot of flavour from the authentic chinese food and is way too expensive. We oredered a set menu for 2-3 people and it was 440 lei. That is a huge amount for what it offers. This place was recommended to us by Jeonjuu restaurant, but I would rather eat there than here. Bigger portions, tastier and less expensive. Overall, it is not awful but definitely for the price paid you would expect more. Sadly, I will not be coming back unless some changes happen with the food or pricing. As for the readers, feel free...