Wow Bao

I just wanted to put in a good word for Wow Bao in Water Tower. I've passed this place a few times, but never stopped by. Tonight however while concluding a marathon Christmas shopping tour of State St. and N. Michigan Ave, I decided to grab a few buns to tide me over for the El ride home. Not being an expert on bao, I can't vouch for their authenticity. I can say, however, that they really hit the spot, and, after dropping way too much on Christmas, the price was right. One bao was $1.29. Perhaps someone more in the know can explain further, but bao is essentially a steamed bun filled with a meat or vegetable mixture of your choice (think dim sum). I ordered two, a mongolian beef and a thai curry chicken. They came in under $3, and, though it definitely wasn't a meal, I felt satisfied (although I'm not a huge eater). I wish I could describe the flavors better than "good," but my vocabulary is failing me. The bun was steamed, moist, and nicely chewy. The mongolian beef was slightly spicy, and the thai curry chicken was good.

This place seems like a great concept to me and one I hope other fast food restaurants adopt. The snack size portions, light fare, and low cost are ideal for folks who want something small, quick, and cheap. Fast food restaurants today are obsessed with giving as much food as possible. The idea of a snack, other than a candy bar or chips, is missing. Hopefully places like Wow Bao will start a new trend.

www.wowbao.com

Thanks for reminding me of this place.The last time I was at Water Tower we already had lunch otherwise I would have tried them.Is the flavor solely fron the buns or do they have sauces?

Gourmet Magazine's restaurant issue listed three Chicago places as "Good Deals," and Wow Bao was one. The others were Artopolis and Edna's.

I stopped at Wow Bao yesterday too. No line, cheap, and the promise of a cup of of Thai Sweet and Sour Broth to thaw me out after waiting 20 minutes for the 151. I tried the bbq pork, the green curry chicken and the kung pao chicken, along with the cup of broth. I had a tough time choosing between the broth and the hot ginger tea. The broth was hot and good but nothing outstanding, basic chicken broth with ginger and lemongrass. The kung pao was spicy and the curry was quite flavorful, but I found the pork to be a little too sweet and somewhat cloying.

With you on all counts. It's a great quick pick-me-up for a 4 year old who's dragging after a day out. Mine loves the soup. I agree it's just "basic" chicken broth with ginger and lemongrass, but, on the other hand, a basic broth seasoned with ginger and lemongrass is a lovely thing. Granted, it's not an infinitely subtle, layered, rich, deep, profound cauldron of steaming, pho - but it fulfils its modest ambitions nicely.

I've never been a huge steamed bun fan - even at the most "authentic" places. They always seem a bit gluey to me. Give me a fried dumpling any day.

But the dishes overall are nice, and a bargain, the servers are friendly, and one gets the bonus of avoiding the lower level food court. All in all, a good deal.

I concur. I dream of Bao ever since my first one a few months ago. Wow Bao is so good, that one day when I didn't want to deal with the Gold Coast congestion, I found a recipe and made my own along with homemade gingerale. They turned out really well if anyone wants the recipe.

Hi,

You could avoid the traffic at the Gold Coast and head to any bakery in Chinatown for a similar experience. I'm not a big Bao fan, though I do love the baked BBQ buns, which are priced around 75 cents. Depending on the bakery, you can get Congee, other dim sum and hot tea, of course.

Water Tower Place is a destination every few years for me. So I haven't been to Wow Bao and probably won't be there for sometime to come. For the surroundings, I would favor it for a quick snack as well.

Regards,

Thanks for the heads up on Wow Bao! I've seen it and avoided it, thinking it would be mediocre. There used to be a Chinese bun shop on Clark and Diversey whose slogan was "Best Buns In Town". Their t-shirt was a popular seller at Christmas. I stopped by there all the time. I really liked (what I would call) the Cha Shu kind of pork bun and the sweet beanpaste buns. Reminded me of Japanese home cooking. And, please, MJN, post your recipes at shopping and cooking! The Year of the Rooster is going to be a year of new recipes and cooking adventures for me!

I like the concept, but their char sui bao (bbq pork) are terrible. You can find better ones in the frozen food section of a Chinese grocery store. So that was disappointing since I went to Wow Bao craving char sui bao (I'm near Water Tower very often). If I approach it just as a place for a quick snack, I'm much more pleased by it.

I had 15 minutes before an appointment to grab a quick dinner at Chicago Ave and Michigan last night. I remembered a friend mentioned Wow Bao. I opted for the combo - Small Pad Thai Chicken Salad and 2 Bao for 4.29 plus a Hibiscus Iced Tea.

The salad has little to do with Pad Thai - it consisted of cold rice noodles, torn bibb lettuce, sprouts, cooked ground white meat chicken and peanuts along with a tiny cup of spicy sesame ginger dressing. It was...ok. I skipped the mayhem of the foodcourt and found a bench in the park across Chestnut. The salad was a little over packed into the container and messy to dress, but the tastes melded nicely and it was refreshing on a hot day.

As for the Bao - I tried the BBQ pork, it was...ok. It did miss the tang (and bright red) of Chinatown buns. It had more "gravy" than most (was juicier inside). The Mongolian Beef was surprisingly good though. Tender chunks of beef, visible spices - red pepper, garlic, ginger with a nice beef flavor. Very enjoyable.

The hibiscus tea was good, but not served with lemon and was a little bitter. The Hibiscus tea at Big Bowl is better, but for the price - it's probably the best $7 dinner in the vicinity.

I find myself at Wow Bao pretty regularly. The options for a relatively inexpensive, healthy lunch on North Michigan Ave. are limited. I find myself getting the 8-vegetable salad and 2 bao combination. Occasionally, the salad seems to have been made from less-than-fresh vegetables and the baos are a little too chewy. But that's rare. I'm liking the "energy bao" right now. It has tofu, ginger and vegetables in a whole wheat bun. Nice flavors. I also like the Kung Pao rice bowl. It may not be authentic, but has enough kick to make my face red.

-Mary/The GP

Their fresh ginger ale is delicious--it's cold, but hot in a gingery way. With a squeeze of fresh lime juice, it's so refreshing. I haven't been there lately, so I didn't know they had another vegetarian bao variety. I'll have to try it! Growing up eating my mom's Chinese food, I have to say that the baozi at Wow Bao aren't the most authentic, but they're tasty, fast, healthy and inexpensive--a nice alternative to a lot of the other food in that neighborhood!

I was a "sometimes" customer of the Water Tower Place Wow Bao when I worked in Streeterville. I never considered it great, but it filled the need for a filling, inexpensive, somewhat tasty lunch.

I stopped in the new Loop Wow Bao today for a take-out lunch. The bao remain the same to me: somewhat tasty, inoffensive, nothing really special to recommend about them.

The interesting thing was the soup. I opted for the "two bao combo with soup". For just over six bucks I got two bao and a soup that contained three pork dumplings, noodles, and napa cabbage. (A lot of food for the price).

I was surprisingly impressed by the soup. The dumplings were fragrant and gingery. The broth was just on the "subtle" side of the "subtle/insipid" line--somewhat tasty, fragrant, and not at all salty (like I expected). It was much improved with a little hot sauce (chili oil would be better). Unfortunately, the noodles were completely insipid--they were saved by the dumplings.

I liked this soup. With their bao, the whole thing worked for me pretty well.

Now, please read carefully: I am not recommending that anyone outside of walking distance of Wow Bao make a trip there for this lunch combo. It's good for a Loop worker in need of a decent fill-up at lunch. If noodle and dumpling soup is your goal and you are destination-minded, there are far, far better places to go a couple miles south of the loop. But, if you're in the south part of the loop, you could do a lot worse than Wow Bao's bao-soup-combo for a fast, inexpensive lunch.

Best,
Michael

Wow Bao
NW Corner of Van Buren and Financial Pl. (in the 175 W. Jackson Bldg.)
(312) 334-6395

Come on Mike, surely you know that If you have never been to a Dumpling House in New York City, then you haven't experienced true Dumplings. Why waste our time?

Octarine wrote:Come on Mike, surely you know that If you have never been to a Dumpling House in New York City, then you haven't experienced true Dumplings. Why waste our time?

Come on Mike (Octarine Mike), surely you know that If you have never been to a Dumpling House in Xi'an, then you haven't experienced true Dumplings. Why waste our time?



http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=48256#48256

^ i've eaten dumplings in Shanghai and many of the xiao long bao joints in Flushing/NYC Chinatown. does that mean i'm allowed to not want to eat Wow Bao?

Wow Bao is somehow less appealing than Dumpling Man.

YOU GUYS THE LOOP WOW BAO DOES A BACON EGG AND CHEESE "BREAKFAST BAO." I THINK I FINALLY HAVE A MISSION IN LIFE.

I had the two buns and soup combo for lunch today in the loop--actually i had it for lunch and then a snack just now since it was so much food.

I've got a cold so I'm not going to really vouch for the flavors right now. I did like both my buns though, BBQ pork and the chicken curry. A bun or two alone would be a great mid afternoon snack. The soup really hit the spot, and I agree it wasn't overly salty at all. I too got the pork and cabbage soup.

I haven't had "real" steamed buns before (gotta get on that) but I'll be returning to Wow Bao for an inexpensive lunch.

Actually, I prefer their rice dishes, and I find them to be a delicious and filling meal. If you're shopping up there (or ushering for the Lookingglass theater as I do), then Wow Bao beats the prices of the Cheesecake factory, Borders, or any of the other places nearbye. I'm a fan.

Hi,
I had a delightful helping of Bao's Pad Thai Salad. I'm not sure why it struck me as simply delicious. Does anyone know how to make the spicy sesame dressing?

Thank you!

The Wow Bao at State and Lake (and yes, it's State and Lake, despite the One West Wacker address) is now open. It's on the northwest corner, in the first floor of the Renaissance Hotel (hence the Wacker address). Open seven days, including Mon-Saturday till 8:30. They refer to the location as "Chicago Theater District," and the truth is it wouldn't be the worst place for a light supper before a show.

The State/Lake Wow Bao, as of 10 minutes ago, had a line outside the restaurant and down the hall (it is located inside the mini-mall adjacent to the Renaissance).

Shows how desperate this area of the Loop is for lunch places. Food was better than decent -- good, in fact -- in terms of value and taste for this part of the Loop. It more than holds up to its competition, which includes, within a three block radius, Catch n' Carry, the carryout outpost of Catch 35, Potbelly, Quizno's, Arby's, Burrito Beach, Sbarro, McDonalds, Popeyes, Subway, four Dunkin' Donuts (you get it -- it's fast food central).

Also good for a quick Loop lunch as the lines move smoothly and quickly.

aschie30 wrote:The State/Lake Wow Bao, as of 10 minutes ago, had a line outside the restaurant and down the hall (it is located inside the mini-mall adjacent to the Renaissance).

Shows how desperate this area of the Loop is for lunch places. Food was better than decent -- good, in fact -- in terms of value and taste for this part of the Loop. It more than holds up to its competition, which includes, within a three block radius, Catch n' Carry, the carryout outpost of Catch 35, Potbelly, Quizno's, Arby's, Burrito Beach, Sbarro, McDonalds, Popeyes, Subway, four Dunkin' Donuts (you get it -- it's fast food central).

Also good for a quick Loop lunch as the lines move smoothly and quickly.

I'll trade you 2 Chipotles and a Starbuck's from Madison/Wells area for an Arby's!
Jamie

Is there an area to dine-in at the new Wow Bao at State & Lake?

Pucca wrote:Is there an area to dine-in at the new Wow Bao at State & Lake?

Yes.

aschie30 wrote:Shows how desperate this area of the Loop is for lunch places. Food was better than decent -- good, in fact -- in terms of value and taste for this part of the Loop. It more than holds up to its competition, which includes, within a three block radius, Catch n' Carry, the carryout outpost of Catch 35, Potbelly, Quizno's, Arby's, Burrito Beach, Sbarro, McDonalds, Popeyes, Subway, four Dunkin' Donuts (you get it -- it's fast food central).

But with Pastoral now also open near Wabash and Lake, things are really looking up.

I went to Wow Bao at about 5:30 Saturday evening. Not surprisingly, no line then. (Also of note, the only other people eating in were speaking Chinese). I had the dumpling noodle soup--very tasty and filling. I ordered a BBQ pork bun. I bit into the bao they gave me. The filling was yellow with bits of green and brown. Good, but not BBQ pork. I took it back to the counter. The kid said "sorry" and handed me a new bun--being sure to take away the one I'd bitten into. Trouble is the new bun was the same. At that point I noticed that it said "sausage/sage/sausage" on the paper under the bun. I pointed out the error again, though this time I said I'd just eat it, and he looked and allowed as how they must have put a tray of breakfast bao in when they meant to do a tray of BBQ pork.

All of this is by way of saying service is still in the shake-down period. And the breakfast bao is actually very good.

Did anyone notice if they (State & Lake) had the coconut bao? Is that a breakfast item only? Thanks.

Jamieson22 wrote:

aschie30 wrote:The State/Lake Wow Bao, as of 10 minutes ago, had a line outside the restaurant and down the hall (it is located inside the mini-mall adjacent to the Renaissance).

Shows how desperate this area of the Loop is for lunch places. Food was better than decent -- good, in fact -- in terms of value and taste for this part of the Loop. It more than holds up to its competition, which includes, within a three block radius, Catch n' Carry, the carryout outpost of Catch 35, Potbelly, Quizno's, Arby's, Burrito Beach, Sbarro, McDonalds, Popeyes, Subway, four Dunkin' Donuts (you get it -- it's fast food central).

Also good for a quick Loop lunch as the lines move smoothly and quickly.

I'll trade you 2 Chipotles and a Starbuck's from Madison/Wells area for an Arby's!
Jamie

Sure- why not? Who couldn't use another Starbucks? (Just kidding!)

Pucca wrote:Did anyone notice if they (State & Lake) had the coconut bao? Is that a breakfast item only? Thanks.

When I dropped by on Saturday afternoon, they were serving the coconut custard bao, which I found enjoyable (in a comfort food sort of way, given the thick, not overly sweet, coconut-y custard) though not life changing. It looks as though you can probably get that bao any time.

aschie30 wrote:Shows how desperate this area of the Loop is for lunch places. Food was better than decent -- good, in fact -- in terms of value and taste for this part of the Loop. It more than holds up to its competition, which includes, within a three block radius, Catch n' Carry, the carryout outpost of Catch 35, Potbelly, Quizno's, Arby's, Burrito Beach, Sbarro, McDonalds, Popeyes, Subway, four Dunkin' Donuts (you get it -- it's fast food central).

it sounds like you're really only comparing it to the 1 block radius, not 3. if you're really talking about a 3 block radius from the state/lake you're probably missing at least 30 lunch spots from that list (expand the radius another block and you'll easily add another 20 or 30 options). and i'm not even exxagerating. i work by lake/michigan and am in awe at the number of lunch options in the area, at times the choices are too many... do you ever venture eastbound towards illinois center? hannah's bretzel is great for example. macy's food court has some good options. encore. there are countless sit down restaurants you can order food to go from, some good, some bad... chipotle. hey sushi express. you're missing a corner bakery or two, au bon pain, and those types of places.. (and there's 10 or so chain fast food places you missed too.. ;P) ...