Chinatown got a little bit cooler last night. With the exception of the Alibi Room on one end and Campagnolo on the other, the dining and drinking establishments are not exactly what you’d call sexy. But former Chambar bartender Tanis Ling’s Chinatown brasserie, Bao Bei opened officially last night. A quirky, cute decor backed up by serious bartending talent and a large, creative menu, it’s a gem set to shine as bright as it’s brand new neon sign.
I tried the pineapple skewer with chili lime salt, spicy wontons in chili sauce, shao bing (sesame bun with braised pork), clamshell mantou short rib dumplings, pot stickers, duck congee, and even managed to sample some of the tea eggs, crispy daikon cake, avocado ice cream and mango pudding from our neighbours. We wanted badly to try the fried bananas but frankly it would have just been disgusting to still be eating at that point.
To wash it down we had an Asian-inspired margarita with tangerine peel salted rim, a Sichuan pepper infused bloody mary, an enormous pina colada, the popular “Health Tonic” with beet and pear juice and my favorite of the list, Madame Chiang with gin, Fernet Branca and grapefruit juice. There were also a couple of “Tanis” specialties including a nameless one I loved with orange blossom water, Lillet, gin and basil.
Sipping on a pina colada, complete with umbrella, amongst the mis-matched collection of Chinese art and ephemera felt a little out of place and I was surprised at the “traditional” cocktails on the menu. The Asian influence was obvious in several of them, but with a menu so solidly Chinese and a room that pulled off the concept of “Chinese brasserie” endearingly, I thought there would be bigger leaps. That may be coming soon, however, judging by the appearance of a candied kumquat and an unfamiliar dried bitter citrus fruit.
The place was packed last night, a trend that will likely continue with The Keefer opening soon and the Chinatown revitalization project forging ahead.
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Bao Bei
163 Keefer Street, Vancouver
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6 responses so far ↓
Jordan // January 17, 2010 at 5:38 AM |
Glad to hear the quality of the food stands-up to the quality of the drinks.
Cara // January 17, 2010 at 10:00 PM |
We were there last night! So good! And the atmosphere and interior is gorgeous.
Jules // January 18, 2010 at 9:10 AM |
My thoughts exactly, I was surprised at the lack of cocktails but the ones I tried were amazing. I will definitely be back again and again, I love the interior and the food was outstanding. Definitely a gem!
sfoo // January 27, 2010 at 2:46 PM |
thx so much for the review!
n jordan, cara, and jules thx for the comments
so u would recommend this place for a 19th bday party?
good service?
degan // January 28, 2010 at 8:22 AM |
I think it’s a fabbo place for a birthday. it’s not all that big though, so call ahead and organize. and happy birthday!
sharon // January 28, 2010 at 1:38 PM |
The decor was very groovy. That was my favourite thing about this place. To me – but, I am someone who can cook and who has been eating in chinese restaurants for a long, long time – the food was not as outstanding as implied on the blog. It was also overpriced for what we got, though everything tasted good….but, not fantastic.
The cocktails tasted…..weird. Not yummy. I loved the clipboard art displays, silver on the walls. Staff was – very good if a bit clipped. *They all looked very groovy – so it was a bit more about looking groovy than ??? was the vibe I got. The dumplings we had were not nearly as good as regular ones in a good chinese restaurant or at a dim sum place. I found the vibe somewhat….affected, ego-ish – young, hoping to be edgy….not my cup of oolong