One of my favorite things about Eugene is the wide diversity of restaurants and the endless opportunities to try different kinds of food. I love trying a new local eatery every weekend and checking them off my imaginary list. Until this week, however, I had yet to find the perfect dumplings — until I went to Bao Bao House.
Bao Bao House, located on West Park Street, is an authentic Chinese restaurant that specializes in delicious and delicate dumplings, steamed pan-fried bao zi, a variety of wontons, fried rice and many other tasty bites. Each item on Bao Bao House’s menu is hand crafted on a daily basis using fresh ingredients and served in a picture-worthy display.
The restaurant setting is warm and welcoming and can work perfectly for a lunch between friends and family or a romantic date-night out. The brick walls are filled with various tiger drawings and paintings in celebration of the Chinese New Year which started on Feb. 1, commemorating the year of the tiger.
While the restaurant itself is a bit small and there may be limited seating inside, there’s always the option to order takeout on a busy night.
“Usually we are busy on the weekends, and we’re always busy during dinner time,” Qi Liu, a Bao Bao House employee who has worked there for about four months, said. “It’s all fresh, homemade and special,” Liu said, referencing the items on the menu. “Our fried rice is very good, we use a handmade sauce to cook it, all of the fried rice are popular too.”
Bao Bao House’s menu is filled with a variety of dumplings, wontons, bao zi and different kinds of fried rice. Some of the popular dishes are the ShangHai steamed fried bao zi, the cheese and chicken bao zi, the steamed or pan-fried pork dumplings and the shrimp fried rice in Xo sauce.
For anyone who doesn’t know, bao zi is a yeast leavened bun that is often filled with meat and originates from Chinese cuisine.
If you’re going to order the Bao Zi — which I highly recommend you do — there are many different kinds to choose from. They have ShangHai steamed fried Bao Zi, vegetarian fried Bao Zi, curry beef steamed fried Bao Zi, shrimp Bao Zi, steamed sweet bean paste buns and cheese and chicken Bao Zi.
Once your food arrives at your table, you’ll be amazed at the finesse and craftsmanship that goes into making these delicate dumplings, wontons and bao zi. I ordered the steamed pork dumplings and the ShangHai steamed fried bao zi, and I was immediately impressed when the food was brought to my table.
Each dumpling is steamed to perfection, and the bao zi has a deliciously fried bottom that adds a perfect texture to every bite. They are garnished delicately with black sesame seeds and green onion, which elevated the presentation and added a nice hint of sesame and freshness to the overall taste.
“I love that they’re a small business and that they make everything by hand, and you feel like there’s love in the food,” Renee Grube, a returning customer having lunch with her friend Dana Turell, said. “I keep ordering the dumplings. I’ve had all their dumplings, but the pork dumplings are great, and you can get them to go.”
For Turell however, this was her first time eating at Bao Bao House. “I thought the dumplings were amazing. I would totally come back for the dumplings,” Turell said. “I saw so many things I loved but the dumplings were perfect.”
The high praise of the dumplings is certainly warranted with how delicious and filling they are. I encourage everyone to check out this restaurant either through take-out or a welcoming dine-in experience. I hope that everyone can appreciate the true care and skill that goes into each item on the menu, and enjoy the delicious authenticity of Bao Bao House.
