Wonderbao

Wonderbao is a little specialty store that make a range of tasty steamed buns daily. In Chinese, Bao means bun. The traditional name for these delicious steamed buns is ‘Baozi’ but I guess Wonderbaozi doesn’t have the same ring to it.

They have gigantic yum cha steamers filled with steaming hot baos with delicious fillings. There is a bao to suit everyone, silky tofu, pork belly, chicken, shitake mushroom and vegetarian. And if you need something sweet after your meal they’ve got that covered too with some dessert bao options like custard and taro.

I had heard only good things about this place for a long time so on my lunch break I went to go find it. It’s one of those Melbourne eats that are hidden in a secret alleyway. You can either go through the ground floor of a random building off A’beckett street or enter through the alley. It’s worth finding because the baos are absolutely amazing.  You could say they’re Amaze baos!

I chose da pork bao (good choice me). The bun was soft and fluffy and not too thick, it encased a combination of pork, chinese sausage, shitake mushroom and boiled egg? OMG yumm! It was delicious, actually it was more than delicious! I couldn’t think about anything else than about how delicious it was for a few minutes. I immediately etched Wonderbao into my mental notes as the number one best place to eat baos.

They also serve organic soya milk which is served hot or cold. Soy milk is a drink best served cold. Or hot, they’re both equally as good. I prefer a hot soya milk on a cold winter's day. Mmm.

The wonderfully magical balance of flavor in the bao got me thinking of Alice in Wonderland but in this rendition Alice is in Wonderbao. The organic soy milk would be the magic potion that says ‘drink me’ that would make her shrink, then the sweet custard bao would be the cake on the table that says ‘eat me’ that makes her grow, something like this.

During the lunch rush on a weekday there is usually a long line out the door. RMIT is just around the corner and students have the street smarts of knowing where to eat delicious food on the cheap. Wonderbao is so cheap that when I order my usual (da pork bun and a custard bun) it costs less than five dollars. That is deliciously good value.

I heart Wonderbao!

Olives x

Wonderbao
Address: Shop 4/19-37 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
Website: http://www.wonderbaokitchen.com.au
Phone: 03 9654 7887
Trading Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 11am-4pm, Not open Sunday