What's the draw
Having gone from a stall in Netil Market to a restaurant in Soho known to have queues till 11pm even on Monday nights, Bao's journey from street food to permanent site sets a new standard. It's certainly living up to the hype, too – the pillowy-soft Taiwanese buns are worth waiting for, even if you have to stand in the rain.
What to drink
Peanut milk. We're not joking; it tastes like liquid peanut butter. If that doesn't sell it to you, we'd just like to advise you that it was our saviour when we scarfed down the fried chicken with hot sauce just that little bit too quickly. Elsewhere, there's a small but nicely curated sake menu – we particularly liked the Black Samurai, which was dangerously easy to drink.
What to eat
The bao are obviously top of the list – choose between classic, confit pork, chicken, lamb shoulder and daikon (we tried them all, and they were all delicious) – but its other menu offerings are equally moreish. The aged beef rump cap was a definite highlight, consisting of paper-thin slices of beautifully rare meat, as was the guinea fowl chi shiang rice, which is topped with an egg yolk for you to stir in while the dish is still hot. We had our eye on the fried Horlicks ice cream to finish and were devastated when we found it had run out. Not to worry – we'll save it for the return visit.
Dinner and drinks for two, about £45. 53 Lexington Street, W1F 9AS; baolondon.com
