Bao Today (Closed)

Horrible low quality food. Slow service too. Char Siew rice come with 4 measly piece of char siew. Black pepper pork chop is hard. Braised pork tasted like leftover. Only another 2 tables at the restaurant n they took 25 mins to give us our food. continue reading

Bao Today is a 10-year old eatery located in town. What intrigued me (and still do now) is the absence of a menu for the buffet. Can you imagine going for a buffet where you don't know what is served? This gives me the impression that Bao Today is really confident of their food. Their concept probably caters to the adventurous foodie, the ones who would boldly try new dishes and flavours. You don't order the things you want from any order chit-- be prepared to nod your head away when the friendly service crew comes over with a tray of piping hot Cantonese food. Anyway, indulge in these images of the wonderful spread!Here's a dim sum classic! The sticky rice is wrapped in a lotus leaf and steamed for really long hours. Quite filling, I'd say.Of course, Bao Today does retain their Signature food for every buffet, such as their popular Liu Sh Bao (Custard Yolk Bun) and their Siew Mai (Steamed Pork Dumplings with Prawns).I have so much to rave about these dishes-- they've taken a traditional cantonese dimsum and gave it a unique, modern twist.The buns used for the Liu Sha Bao have a touch of pandan added into it. This gives it a really fragrant flavour, elevating the taste profile of the dish.To be honest, I thought the pork chop doesn't look very appealing. Well, they did put in effort for adding more colours using the red and green pepper! I was given a rude wake-up call by this heavenly dish-- it is so tender and juicy, and the sauce is perfectly balanced. Beware of dish hogging if you're with a large group of diners! continue reading

Dim sum buffets, all day everyday – possible right at the homely and classy new Bao Today, on the first floor of Hotel Rendezvous. It has taken the foodie world by storm with its extremely value-for-money buffet prices and not to mention – over 40 items on their dim sum menu that’ll surely satiate your appetite. What is the dim sum tapas experience like? What are the hits and misses? Dim Sum Tapas Buffet PricesI would usually put the prices right at the end of the post, but I can’t wait:Weekday (Monday – Thursday)High Tea (1500 – 1700) – $16.80++ for Adults; $12.80++ for ChildrenDinner (1800 – 2000 | 2000 – 2200) – $19.80++ for Adults; $15.80++ for ChildrenWeekends (Friday – Sunday) + Public Holidays + Eve of Public HolidaysHigh Tea (1500 – 1700) – $19.80++ for Adults; $15.80++ for ChildrenDinner (1800 – 2000 | 2000 – 2200) – $22.80++ for Adults; $19.80++ for ChildrenChildren is defined as aged 7 years old and below.What is the Dim Sum Tapas Buffet experience about?With a range of 40 over dim sum items on their menu, you’ll never get bored of your buffet at Bao Today. The conscientious team behind Bao Today tells us that this menu is constantly being revised to ensure that everything on the menu is what their customers love to feast on.You don’t have to go through the trouble of flipping the menu. The awesome Bao Today service crew will make their rounds, bringing you their hot favourites, recommending what they love. It was truly comforting and enjoyable, with one of the crew reminding me of an eager grandma to feed her grandchildren all the goodies in the world.You don’t have to eat all three hargows in a basket if you want more variety (I know you ;)) You can simply tell them exactly how many – 1 salted egg yolk bun, 1 har gow, 1 siew mai and 1 char siew bao? No problem – this reduces food wastage and ensures maximum enjoyment at the buffet!Freshness guaranteed – Bao Today literally means they do all their dim sum on the day itself.What is the best dim sum to try at Bao Today?We Singaporeans love to strategize our stomach space whenever we go for buffets, because pragmatism and rationality runs in our blood. As with every other buffet, some are worth more to try than others. There are hits and misses and Bao Today – as they promise, they will remove the less popular ones and come up with ingenious new dishes to replace them, but meanwhile, there are enough delicious choices to keep you full and happy.Hit: ‘Abalone slices’ and pickled jellyfishThis pairing is commonly seen at Chinese weddings, but Bao Today does it so much better than most hotels, possibly because they insist on freshness. The ‘abalone slices’ are delicious, chewy, and the perfect appetizer because it really whets the appetite and prepares your stomach for more to come.Hit: Steamed pork ribsIf you can overlook how troublesome it is to eat it, the steamed pork ribs here is done to succulent, well-marinated and tender goodness, and worth every space in your tummy.Hit: Har gow & siew maiYou almost always see these dim sum best friends going hand in hand all the time… and at Bao Today, these are the star performers. While the har gow’s skin was slightly thicker than desirable, the freshness and chewiness of the prawns in there really shines through. The siew mais are one of the best I’ve had, and I am definitely not surprised that the boss at Bao Today introduced this unassuming dish with such pride. There is no musky smell of the wonton skin like how most places would have, and the pork used was so bouncy and fragrant, together with the prawn, it’s done very well.Hit: Prawn frittersThese prawn fritters are beautifully fragrant and fried to a crisp, with juicy prawns stuffed in there. I wasn’t expecting to like any of the fried items because I generally dislike fried food, but this.. this is an exception for sure.Hit: Salted egg yolk custard bunIt is no secret love of mine, or anyone’s for that matter. Ever since humankind learnt about custard buns, there has been a marked proliferation of these lovely buns across the planet. The salted egg yolk custard buns here are wrapped in fluffy pandan – distinctively so – bao, and the thick buttery salted egg custard flows. I wished I had more stomach space to eat this, because this was fantastic.Hit: Scallop prawn dumplingsScallops and prawns? SET IT DOWN ON THE TABLE YO. I think this one needs no introduction nor hesitation, because by this time of the buffet, we’ve all acknowledged how fresh their ingredients, particular the prawns and scallops, were.Hit: Prawn chee cheong funJust the prawn version though; the char siew chee cheong fun didn’t score as well.Hit: Nonya sauce steamed codfishHands down my favourit-est of the lot (I say this because I was beginning to have too many favourite dishes) – the cod fish was so light, smooth and tender in its taste and texture, but the sauce was piquant, sour, sweet, spicy, with a touch of lemongrass… it was so addictive I actually found myself reaching for this again and again.. without shame.Hit: Charsiew bunsI just realized I don’t have a proper picture of these lovely charsiew buns, but they are pretty good and worth a go even though they seemed so space-inefficient.We are divided on the pork chop – I personally didn’t enjoy it because it was quite tough and dry, but most of them liked it a lot. Maybe it was that particular piece that I had. I shan’t elaborate too much on the rest of the misses, basically everything else that weren’t mentioned were not particularly outstanding. Not that they are terrible, but only because it is a buffet and you know, strategy! As ambitious as I was, I really couldn’t eat everything as much as I tried… Go ahead and venture into the unknown, especially to your favourite dim sum items that I’ve not featured.They do have a lot of items on the menu and if you’re unsure if there’s any particular item you wanted, just ask one of the super friendly service crew. My personal recommendation is to definitely order those that I’ve pointed out as HITS because you really shouldn’t miss those… don’t leave any regrets, y’all. And maybe you can go upstairs and sing karaoke at Teoheng after the buffet – because that’s already on the cards of my future schedule. That’s how you enjoy life, yo. ;)Read more food reviews on www.amiehu.com continue reading

Bao Today offers a mind-boggling array of over 40 dishes for their high tea buffet, available from 3pm. This buffet is sit-down tapas styled, so there is no need for diners to constantly get up to refill their plates! Rather, friendly servers come round at regular intervals, dishing out delicacy after delicacy that you simply cannot get enough of. The servers introduce each dish and diners simply indicate if they wish to have it, as well as the quantity of each item. Of course, being a buffet, you are entitled to unlimited servings of each item. Just be sure not to order more than you can finish! I like that you can customize the serv ing size of each dish to suit your preferences. For instance, you can order just a single salted egg yolk bun (liu sha bao), or even a single siew mai. This flexibility definitely cuts food wastage and allows each diner to zoom in on what he really wants, as you are not stuck with an entire basket of dumplings when you want only one.The buffet spread is not fixed, as dishes may be rotated, or even added to and removed from the repertoire according to customer feedback. Below are some dishes that are certain to be mainstays as they hit the spot perfectly!These are so crispy, and so packed with briny goodness! The fried beancurd skin rolls beside them are not too bad as well!Sweet and crispy. A little too greasy though.These dumplings don't just taste good, they look pretty too!Full of bite and flavour.Chock-full of fragrant mushrooms.This was a little too dry and hard.A perfect combination of sweetness and bitterness to balance out your rich feasting!Visit Bao Today for a dim sum buffet spread of immense variety and quality! All of their items are freshly prepared within the day, hence Bao TODAY!   continue reading

For the full review and more photos, head over to http://toroamtheworld.blogspot.com/2016/01/food-review-bao-today-dim-sum-high-tea.htmlTheir high tea buffet is done 'tapas style' and has no menu because the dishes served rotates on a regular basis. There are more than 40 varieties and it's served ala carte where the friendly service crew will bring out the food for you. This high tea buffet is only available at their branch in Rendezous Hotel. There is ample space and there are some booth seats too decorated in Oriental style. For non-buffet patrons, you may order from their normal ala carte menu at the counter, with the following menu above the cashier counter. Free flow Iced Peach Tea and Ice Lemon Tea is included for the buffet.Recommended dishes:Siew Mai: Plump with sufficient meatPork Chop: Tasty and flavourfulNyonya Style Steamed Fish: Very freshChives and Prawn Dumpling: Sufficient fillingsChar Siew Bao: Meaty and flavourful. Buns are fluffyZha Jiang Mian: Tasty, even with the noodles aloneMushroom Dumpling: Love the mushrooms inside. But skin a bit thickScallop Dumpling: Fresh prawns and scallop!Liushabao: BEST DISH. Salted egg yolk custard was flowy, not too sweet or buttery. Buns were light and had a tinge of pandanAverage dishes:Wanton in Spicy Chilli SauceHar GowYu Piao/Jellyfish thingyChee Cheong FunPork and Prawn DumplingRed Bean and Banana PancakeAll in all I enjoyed the food here, as most of them hit the mark for me. Some dishes may be replaced every now and then based on customer feedback and the demand for them. Of course, new ones will be added. There were actually a few more dishes that was available that day but we were too full to try them!The service crew were friendly and patient with us too, and gave us recommendations for strategic eating haha! What I like about this buffet is that you don't need to order in quantities of a basket, but down to a single piece! For example if you want to try more Siew Mai, you need not order a basket that has 3 or 4 in it, but can simply request for one if you're too full.And another great thing about this buffet is its wallet-friendly prices! Going on a weekday afternoon will not cost you more than $20 (after taxes), and the most expensive period on weekend nights is less than $27! Quality dim sum at affordable prices - what's not to love? continue reading