REVIEW: House of Bao - Chilli Crab & Nasi Lemak Bao-gers

BBQ, Bites, Burgers, Cafes & Coffee, Fried Chicken, Ice Cream, Sandwiches

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Started as a home-based business (as TaipingBAO) selling traditional hand-made baos during COVID period in 2020, House of Bao has now opened a physical outlet in Alexandra Central!

Its Root in Bao Making

The founder’s family started back in the 70s in Malaysia, Perak, Taiping, in a small household trying to earn a side income with the philosophy of providing quality homemade baos. Today, they have a bao-making factory, which can produce 800 pieces of baos per hour, supplying eateries all over Malaysia.

Now you can have the very same baos in Singapore at House of Bao. There are 5 flavours available - red bean, pandan, white lotus, sweet peanut and plain mantou.

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We decided to try the Sweet Peanut bao. There was sufficient filling inside, and the nutty texture of the peanut filling paired well with the soft, fluffy buns. Sweetness was just right for me as well.

house-of-bao-prepackaged-bao

Alternately, you can also purchase pre-packaged versions of the baos in-store or online.

New Offerings

In addition, it has expanded its menu with new offerings such as “Bao-gers”.

Like its namesake, Bao-ger is a fusion between traditional Chinese bao and modern burger. Inspired by Singaporean favourites, House of Bao offers renditions such as Chilli Crab, Pork Belly & Nasi Lemak Bao-gers.

Chilli Crab Bao-ger ($11.90)

house-of-bao-chilli-crab-baoger

The Chilli Crab Bao-ger features a soft-shell crab sandwiched between the buns. Deep-fried until the crab was really crunchy, it contrasted nicely with the soft steamed buns. The chilli crab sauce smeared on it was piquant and lightly spiced. Btw, for all bao-gers, it also came with a side of crispy criss-cut fries, so you can ask for more chilli crab sauce on the side to go with them.

Pork Belly Bao-ger ($9.90)

The Pork Belly Bao-ger has big, juicy pieces of fatty pork belly between the buns. After being seasoned with various seasonings for one day and then braised for four hours, the result was tender, flavourful and yummy braised pork belly. No wonder this dish is usually sold out by lunch!

Nasi Lemak Bao-ger ($11.90)

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The Nasi Lemak Bao-ger is the latest addition to the menu. It has all the ingredients of our beloved nasi lemak, such as a big piece of crispy chicken patty, fried egg, cucumber slices, and lots of house-made sambal between the pale-green pandan buns.

A regular Nasi Lemak is also available at $9.90. Personally, I preferred the bao-ger version. This was also my favourite out of the bao-gers.

Additional $3 to get a beverage of choice

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Choice of 1 drink:

Americano
Latte
Cappuccino
Mocha
Ice Americano
Ice Latte
Ice Mocha
Hot Choco
Ice Choco
Hot Teas

Ice Cream Bao ($4.60)

For dessert, you can try their Ice Cream Bao, which are deep-fried mantous with ice cream in the centre. In collaboration with the ice cream brand Juz Scooop Ice Cream Gallery, four flavours of Ice Cream Bao are available, including Chocolate, Cookies & Cream, Seasalt Caramel Almond, and Earl Grey & Fig.

Verdict

Food here was pretty decent. However, the shop size was quite limited with only 3 tables. Therefore, it might be wise to visit during non-peak hours. Pricing-wise, it might not be the cheapest, but we think it is not unreasonable with the creative combinations and a lot of hand-made items.