Mia W.
Yelp
I had seen Boa-Bao on a Lisbon travel influencer's page and on our last night, I was craving Asian so we headed over. It was only a 10 min walk from our Airbnb so definitely convenient. Upon arrival at around 8:30pm, there was quite a crowd. They don't accept reservations so we put our name down and were told it would be 20-35 min wait. No problem, I was expecting that based on the website.
After about 5 minutes, we asked if we could sit at the bar for small bites and were told we could actually be seated already. Awesome! The interior is really cool and eclectic with warm lighting and a brick ceiling. We chose a table in the back outdoor seating area where there was a nice breeze .
To drink, my husband opted for a bottle of Tsingtao and I had the Jamu Tonic. It was the best mocktail I've had and just €4. The beer came in a very cool Boa-Bao sleeve.
To start, we went with the Boa Bao Delight which came with two of each: vegetarian spring rolls, Peking duck spring rolls, vegetarian samosas, fried wontons, and
fried pork dim sum. All of them were very tasty especially with the dipping sauces that came on the side. We also ordered one classic pork belly bao bun and one order of shrimp rice paper rolls which came with two small rolls. I'm not a huge fan of bao buns but I figured since it's in the name, we couldn't go without trying it. It was very tasty. Summer rolls are one of my favorite dishes and the shrimp rolls did not disappoint though they weren't the best I've ever had.
For the main course, my husband had a chicken pad Thai and I ventured for the japchae noodles with chicken. Both were delicious.
We weren't sure if we could fit dessert but the menu options were so enticing, I couldn't pass it up. We ultimately decided on the Café Saigon which was absolutely the right choice. It's essentially a Vietnamese affogato. Absolutely delicious. I wish I could have one every day. So so good.
All of this came out to just €85 which felt like a steal compared to Miami prices. The service was a bit slow but kind and pleasant. I think this may just be the Portuguese way as we've had the same experience at all the restaurants we've dined at during our travels here. Absolutely would recommend.