BOA BAO, the restaurant on everybody’s mouth. And instagram feed!

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All the photos and comments on Zomato lead us to think that BOA BAO is THE place to visit. But is it?

Since its opening, BOA BAO has caused some buzz around Porto, and we quickly realized that we had to visit and see it for ourselves. Before choosing a restaurant, we have the habit of reading the reviews and going through all of the photos. And what we found about BOA BAO was a food photogeny at its highest level.

Expectation

When seeing all these gorgeous photos, we bet you got an instant desire to go there and taste it all. Same here! However, we decided to confirm with our own eyes, if the pictures had been too embellished, or if they corresponded to reality.

Score in zomato: 4.7 in Oporto, 4.8 in Lisbon.

This is a pretty high score for a newly opened restaurant that offers such a different cuisine that might not be for everyone’s taste. But in general all the comments in Zomato are excellent, which made us even more curious.

Hum… too good to be true?

Reality

BOA BAO opened at 8pm, but we got there around 8:20pm and the line was already in the middle of the Picaria street. For sure we weren’t the only curious people that had heard wonders about this asian restaurant.

But be warned, it isn’t possible to book a table. The demand is such that people are seated in order of arrival.

We didn’t get there early enough, so all the tables were full. A passport was handed to us, with a reservation number, so we could wait by the bar area. The passaport was also an appetizers and drinks menu, so we could order while waiting.

Appetizers

We decided to drink the homemade orange juice, and for appetizers we chose the Samosa with coriander and mint chutney and also the vegan Dim Sum assortment.

We were so entertained savouring our appetizers that we didn’t notice how long we waited for a table (and side note: we are super fast eaters ahah).

But while we waited we were paying close attention to all the decor. You can tell that every detail was well thought out, from the menus to the plates and glasses. There is detail in every corner of the restaurant. We really felt like we were on a trip to Asia.

When a table was free and we got seated, we curiously opened the menu and immediately didn’t know what to choose. Everything was new to us. What saved us was the friendly staff, that prompted to help choose our food. This isn’t something we do very often, but this time, we felt like we didn’t have much choice! And we are glad we did!

Main and side dishes

After a short but good chat with the waiter, we decided to order a soup to share, because it comes in a very large portion, and we didn’t know if we’d like it or not. The soup was the thai rice noodle soup with chicken and black tiger shrimp, with two different side dishes: fresh cucumber Kimchi and the asian vegetables wok.

Starting in the appetizers and going all the way to the main dishes, we were discovering new flavours and becoming increasingly passionate about Asian cuisine.

All the dishes are so beautifully presented, that we didn’t need our professional camera to take the shots. Everything is camera ready! But even better than the presentation, was all the flavours. There was one dish in particular that we really loved: the dragon BAO with sweet and sour shrimp with vegetables and pineapple. If sweet and sour is your thing, then this is a must!

Dessert

For dessert we chose the coconut crème brûlée with basil and lemongrass. Delicious!

We went in with very high expectations, and didn’t leave disappointed. We are fans now, and can’t wait to come back.

And you?

Aren’t you curious in trying out the restaurant on everybody’s mouth and go on a journey into the asian cuisine?

Life is full of choices,

When in doubt, flip a coin.

Cara|Coroa