In Chinese, “bao” refers to any number of sweet or savoury filled buns, but in Berlin the term has come to mean pretty much one thing: that pillowy, steamed white dough you’ve already seen cradling pork or tofu at Mitte Vietnamese haunt Qua Phe, or fusion burgers at Prenzlauer Berg’s Bun Bao. With not a whole lot of flavour in and of itself, it provides an excellent platform for those sweet-salty Asian marinades and sauces to hold forth. The idea comes from Taiwanese gua bao, a half-moon sandwich typically filled with sliced pork and/or veggies. It’s taken a while, but those O.G. buns are finally starting to catch on.
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Bao.Ah: Meaty and messy
At Charlottenburg’s Bao.Ah, the namesake buns are hefty, burger-sized handfuls, filled with pork, chicken or beef (€6.80-7.80). No seitan in sight, and in fact vegetarians would be hard-pressed to wring a satisfying dinner out of the lengthy menu of Taiwanese dishes. Despite the English-speaking, iPad-armed waitstaff, this is as authentic (read: meaty) as it gets. Don’t miss out on the “classic” gua bao, in which piquant pickled mustard greens balance out a generous helping of fatty, meltingly soft braised pork belly. Or the house special, beef noodle soup (“Rindergulasch Nudelsuppe”, €12.80). Berlin’s no stranger to the Taiwanese staple thanks to specialists Lon Men and Beef House, but Bao.Ah’s version goes above and beyond with its chewy homemade noodles, tender stewed beef chunks and lightly cooked bok choy in a dark broth redolent of cinnamon, anise and chilli. With hope in our hearts, we also tried the xiao long bao. Invented in Shanghai but popularised internationally by a Taiwanese chain, these “soup dumplings” are notoriously hard to master, but if done right, the doughy little parcels ought to burst in your mouth in an explosion of pork and broth. Sadly, ours were disappointing (especially at €14.80): though the flavours were right, the soup had mostly leaked out by the time the dumplings reached the table. Like tacos, “XLB” remains a risky order in this city. There’s tea here but you’re better off with beer (Radeberger, €2.80/0.3L), which might cushion the blow of the check when it comes – some €20 per person for noodles and bao? We suspect the prices might be linked to the same high neighbourhood rents that drove out the space’s previous occupant, the underrated restaurant Abkhazia; will Bao.Ah fare better? The mostly-Asian clientele suggests word has already gotten out.
Bao.Ah Food | Dahlmannstr. 22, Charlottenburg, Tue-Fri 17-22:30, Sat 12-23, Sun 12-21
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Cozymazu: Teatime treats
Sprengelstraße 39, 13353 BerlinAt Cozymazu, the latest addition to Wedding’s gentrifying Sprengelkiez, the gua bao comes in the form of a delicate snack a bit bigger than a taco. Filled with a few mouthfuls of marinated pork or seitan, some fresh coriander and a dusting of peanuts, it’s far from a hearty supper, but that’s not really the point at this friendly little teahouse that lives up to the first half of its name (we’re not sure what “Mazu” means). The idea is to order one of Cosymazu’s fairly adorable tea sets – comprising a teapot, pitcher and shot-sized cups on a slotted square tray – and sip top-quality Taiwanese oolong (€5.50/two people) while grazing on the menu at leisure. Other light treats include the oyster omelet (€7.50), imported from your typical Taiwanese night markets all the way to Berlin. A stretchy tapioca-and-egg mixture enveloping oysters (from Korea and likely jarred, but tasty nonetheless) and chrysanthemum greens, liberally drizzled with soy-chilli sauce, it’s not exactly what German palates are used to; still, one bite of the umami-packed concoction and you’ll understand its popularity back home. We weren’t as sold on the “Liangtian bowl” (€7): glass noodles with tofu, peanuts, chilli, scallion and scrambled egg in a garlic-sesame vinaigrette. If that sounds like half the Asian-ish dishes you’ve eaten in Berlin, well, it tastes like it too. But if you stick to the bao and the more unorthodox half of the menu, you’ll be in for a perfectly fine tea party.
Cozymazu | Sprengelstr. 39, Wedding, Tue-Fri 14-22, Sat-Sun 12-22, cash only
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Mrs. Robinson's: Fab fusion
On the less-strictly-Taiwanese side of things, there are the high-end fusion gua bao popularised by Stateside chefs like David Chang. These can be found at Mrs. Robinson's, the Chinese-Korean-fusion-whatever place in Prenzlauer Berg that had bloggers salivating straight from the news of its opening last November. And as soon as you step in the restaurant, you understand why: impeccable minimal design complete with semi-open kitchen, English-language service (the owners are from Tel Aviv and London), those uncomfortable three-legged stools you see everywhere, and almost annoyingly loud jazz on the system. One must approach foodies’ faves with a grain of salt the size of the Ritz, and this looked a little too good to be true. And yet... this place does produce some undeniably great food. Bao buns are the main act, and we went straight for the weirdest thing on the menu: the tempura softshell crab sandwich (€10), which looks like a beautiful giant deep-fried insect. Topped with pickles, fresh chilli and nori mayo, the crispy battered fishiness fuses with the soft, starchy bun resulting in a beatific bite. The other buns (pork, fish, chicken or tofu, €10-12 for two) are a better deal for the hungry, but that crab is surely unique in Berlin. Other non-bao plates include confit chicken and shrimp gyoza (€12), crispy Brussels sprouts with wild rice (€7) and a mind-bogglingly delicious kale and tomato “Kaiser salad” (€7) drenched in a tantalising dressing of tahini, bacon and salted duck egg. All this hipness comes at a price – expect to spend at least €30 per person for a meal with drinks. But we’ll be back for the edamame ice cream (€6.50) and one of their really hip fusion cocktails.
Mrs. Robinson's | Pappelallee 29, Prenzlauer Berg, Tue-Sat 18-24, cash only
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