"Still set to open up the first outpost of their cult-favorite Charleston-based Asian comfort food restaurant Xiao Bao this spring, Duolan Li and Joshua Walker are building excitement by teasing their food around town. They’re settled into the Dickerson Road Dive Motel for the duration of the year offering dishes and cocktails inspired by a seven-month honeymoon where the couple explored flavors from China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Sip on cocktails like the “double dragon,” a Taiwanese brew with a shot of ma la Sichuan-infused gin while waiting for the texturally pleasing fried mochi stuffed with lemongrass pork by the 1970s fireplace, leatherette vintage booths, or perhaps the wood-paneled bar. Other menu offerings include a spicy papaya salad finished with a fried-chicken topper, plus larger dishes like shrimp fried rice, hand-pulled noodles with chili cumin beef and sesame, and Xiao Bao’s signature okonomiyaki, a cabbage pancake that can be served with egg, bacon, pork candy, or katsuo." - Delia Jo Ramsey
