ottawa foodies

They are now open for lunch Thursday and Friday. Tried the tofu and brisket bao with a side slaw. The tofu bao was quite tasty with a strong 5 spice/hoisin flavour but it lacked the richness of the brisket bao. The brisket was shredded and mixed with what I imagine was the cooking liquid, other spices/sauces and topped with pickles. It was rather delicious and while I'm glad I tried the tofu, next visit I will get 2 brisket. Side slaw was also great.

The lunch menu is limited to the tofu and brisket bao (2 for $11) and some sides ($3).

I've been wanting to experience Tarek's bao for a long time. He's currently at the Westboro Farmers Market on Saturdays, so I jumped at the chance.

This was the Brekkie Bao -- a breakfast sandwich containing a (perfectly done) over-medium Beking's egg, a flavourful layer of warm chopped Seed to Sausage bacon and caramelized onion, and a garnish of scallions and fried shallots. As you can imagine, this tasted fantastic! The bao are super soft and moist.. like the freshest fluffy white bread fresh from the oven.

Loaded with flavour and high quality local ingredients, these are good value at $5 each. One makes a perfect snack and two would be a satisfying meal.

Had the Grilled Cheese bao, the Maple Char Shu BBQ Pork bao and some taro chips. I was kinda sceptical about the Grilled Cheese bao until Tarek said it was filled with ginger and shallots. After that description, I had to get it.

I think it was mentioned in the original food cart review thread that ordering was a bit disorganized when the cart first opened up. I ordered about 35 minutes after he opened up and I got my order in about 5 minutes.

I really liked both bao but I definitely preferred the BBQ Pork bao. It was quite saucy and the pork was very tasty. The grilled cheese bao doesn't really taste like grilled cheese but it's still quite good as the ginger/shallots add a lot of flavour. Unfortunately, I don't really remember much else about the taste of the bao.

The taro chips were quite good but might be considered too salty by some people. Some chips had a good crisp while others weren't cripsy so I'm not sure if that's what Tarek is going for.

It's good stuff. A bit far away from work but I think it's worth the trip.

Sampled the Veggie (Mushroom) and Pork/Challots Bao. The veggie had nice cilantro and curry taste. The pork bao was good but very saucy.

I've enjoyed the ones I bought frozen from this place.

Fried cod bao's with tartar sauce, pickled ginger and shredded radish. Delicious!

Fatty, porky, delicious. These buns are luxurious and at $9 for 2, a pretty good deal. I just wish there was more of a vinegar presence to cut all that richness.

Juicy and tasty pork belly steamed buns with fresh cucumbers and lettuce as well as a hoi sin based sauce. This is among the best steamed buns I have ever had, including my mom's.

The Pork Belly Bao ($5) had a nice hunk of very juicy braised belly. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask for spicy and so there was nothing to offset the sweetness of the sauce. You would need at least three of these to have a meal.

This was the special BBQ Duck Bao ($7). The regular pork belly and beef brisket bao are $5 so this premium price reflects the higher ingredient cost and customer appeal of duck.

The roast duck and garnishes were good! Sufficient meat, a hit of chilis, and not too sweet. However, the size of the thing seemed frugal to me and the bread part wasn't nearly as luxurious in thickness or texture as the bao I enjoyed from Gongfu Bao. Like I always say though, the price is only too high if the lineups disappear and they stop selling out each day!