Bao Bei
Chinese restaurant · Downtown ·
Modern Chinese sharing plates & inventive cocktails; try dumplings
Modern Chinese sharing plates & inventive cocktails; try dumplings
"I found this moody bistro to be a quintessential date-night spot that deliberately avoids being a traditional Chinese restaurant, instead using classic French techniques alongside ingredients and flavors from Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Filipino cuisines to create something distinctly Vancouver. After nearly 16 years I still crave the beef tartare: a reinterpretation of a French classic with Chinese ingredients including preserved mustard root, ginger, soy, scallion, taro chips, fried shallots and a watercress salad, a dish developed during a research trip to Taipei that encapsulates the restaurant’s philosophy of using Asian ingredients in ways that feel both unique and familiar." - Sophie Mendel
"Bao Bei offered me modern spins on Chinese classics in Vancouver’s vibrant food scene, a great example of the city’s culinary diversity." - CNT Editors
"Chambar alumna Tannis Ling combined forces with chef Joël Watanabe, who brings his Corsican-Japanese heritage to this popular Chinatown restaurant. It may look like a hipster take on a Chinese brasserie, but the sound of woks crashing in the kitchen speaks to its traditional techniques. Sharing plates are pleasingly well-sized and the cocktails thoughtfully crafted, and — because it’s Vancouver — all meat is local and ethically raised, hormone- and chemical-free. Don’t miss local legend Helen’s delicate hand-made potstickers and dumplings — she makes hundreds of perfect dumplings each day — and the appropriately named Kick Ass House-Fried Rice. Must-try dish: Beef tartare. It’s absolutely incredible with crisp taro chips and punchy mustard root." - Nikki Bayley
"Bao Bei may mean "precious," but there's nothing twee about this brasserie located at the edge of Vancouver's old Chinatown. Instead, Chef Joël Watanabe shows off his playful, creative cooking style, delivering food that's inventive and fun. Far from traditional, these unique takes on classic Chinese cuisine are crafted from top-notch ingredients. Take the "kick ass fried rice," their savory and a tad sweet version of the ubiquitous standard. This dish punches above its weight with an ingenious blend of prawns, bitter melon, masala-preserved mushrooms and papadam. Mantou buns filled with braised pork, hoisin, pickled ginger and miso-serrano aioli are positively irresistible, and even seemingly simple plates, like braised pea shoots with garlic, bring the flavor." - Michelin Inspector
"Much has been written about suburban Richmond's many Chinese destination restaurants, often heralded as among the best outside of China. But Bao Bei—a crowded, loud hipster haven in Chinatown—doesn’t even pretend to be traditional. Try the beef tartare with burnt scallion oil and taro chips, or the Shao Bing, an Asian sandwich with cumin-flavored lamb sirloin on sesame flatbread. Don't miss the dumplings, either. In all, it's good fun and good food in a great setting. The restaurant now takes reservations through OpenTable, but if you decide to come here on the fly and face a wait, check in with the host and grab a cocktail a few doors down at Keefer Bar, a local favorite." - Guy Saddy, Nicole Schnitzler
