Duck n Bao — Restaurant in Houston

What a lovely find in the River Oaks area. I visited Duck n Bao on a Saturday evening and had a lovely dinner. I discovered this spot on Yelp- a post of the interior of this place caught my eye and I was furthermore determined to visit when I saw they had soup dumplings and folks were raving about it!

Well, I must say I’m so glad I stopped by. Based on the google reviews and additional helpful suggestions from my kind waitress, I ordered the pork soup dumplings to start and the half order of the pecking duck.

Food: The soup dumplings? Delicious… dare I say perfect? I would totally recommend it and I am so happy I have another solid spot to get my fix of quality XLB. The Pecking Duck: this dish was really a part of the experience and I’m so glad I went for something different. Instead of the thin pancakes it comes with, I got the buns instead and it was a fantastic decision. The duck was cooked to perfection and instead of the duck sauce, I primarily used the spicy chili oil and sprinkled on the seasoning + a few green onions. Muy delicioso!! This dish is a must try. The half pecking duck order is an ideal choice to share for two otherwise a perfect dish to take home for leftovers if you’re dining solo.

Drinks: they have a wide selection of drinks- cocktails, sake, beer, wine, you name it. Impressive. I went for a simple ginger beer.

Atmosphere: well thought out, cozy yet plenty of seating, and beautifully designed!

Service: excellent! I loved how welcomed I felt from the time I walked in throughout my dining experience thanks to the various people who checked on me and assisted with my order. My waitress was so kind.

100% must visit, I would definitely return. Note: I was interested in trying out the Dan Dan noodles since I saw it quite a few times in reviews but I decided against it once I got confirmation it contained peppercorns (not a fan)....

What a disappointment to say the least. Was so excited to eat here because of recommendations and pictures on website looked delicious.. Unfortunately food looked NOTHING like their website. We ordered a chicken soup and pork soup dumpling as an appetizer and then half Peking duck and kung Pao chicken for mains. I guess the duck is already cooked and waiting because it came out FIRST before even the soup and app.. Duck was kind of bland and somewhat warm which ISN'T the way you want to eat crispy duck. And the "pancakes" they gave were rice noodle wrappers.. Impossible to separate when steamed together which was a mess.. Soup and dumplings came out a little after. Soup was good.. Soup dumplings were ehh.. then kung Pao chicken was ALL PEANUTS!! literally like 80% peanut and only 20% chicken and vegetables. I understand peanut is part of the dish but usually it's a few crushed as a topping.. NOT AS THE MAIN COURSE! and they gave a small portion of white rice with it. The cheapest thing in the place and they were chincy with that too??! Wow.. Called over the manager to let him know the issues we were experiencing to make him aware and hopefully not let it happen to anyone else, and he couldn't care less.. Never did ANYTHING to resolve anything or make us feel good to come back.. SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT like I said.. I will NOT recommend this place to anyone and will DEFINITELY...

This place is really nice! The restaurant has a really nice theme to it & it was very clean. The service was excellent, every once in awhile someone would walk by & check up on me & also pick up any dishes I was finished with. Everyone was very friendly.

As far as the food, the food was great too. I get how some reviewers were complaining how the duck skin wasn't as crispy but does it really need to? I've eaten Peking duck numerous times in my lifetime & yeah sometimes when it's crispy the meat is dry. Duck is different from pork. The duck meat here was very moist, fatty & tender. I do agree with some readers who eat spicy foods. I think our palettes are used to hot/spicy foods so eating something like Duck n Bao can be estranged, but it wasn't that bad either. You get to taste the real full flavors & textures that some times peppers can cover over & mask the taste. Also their crab puffs are one of the best I've eaten. I normally don't order crab puffs at restaurants because you can get them anywhere & a lot of times they're very mediocre but these were bomb! I'm glad I ordered it. The soup dumplings were my least favorite. I think maybe it was the sauce that came with it but it wasn't not good or anything. Overall I would come back again & try other dishes on the menu like their braised pork belly, duck soup &...