(This venue is closed.) The topping is so sweet because the customers are so tipsy.
So said chef Eddie Huang of his "sweet Bao fries" ($3.50), dressed with black sesame and condensed milk, noting that many customers come in late, drunk, and "need to be hit over the head or they just won't get it." For me, condensed milk on crispy dough works stone cold sober, too, though I hope Huang proceeds with plans to dress a different dessert with dofu fa, a.k.a. hot taho and soy custard.
The Chairman Bao ($4), a take on the traditional Taiwanese steamed-bun sandwich, sports braised Niman Ranch pork belly as well as crushed peanut, cilantro, "Haus relish," and red sugar. The pork, especially, is superior, but compare a hefty blue-collar version. Also shown: ground pork over rice ($5). I would have washed it down with a lemonade prepared from ai-yu jelly, but that beverage was 86'ed.
Baohaus
238 East 14th St. (Second-Third Aves.), Manhattan
646-684-3835
www.BaohausNYC.com
