Food Out Of The House: Duck Confit Bao

[tuftears]

dracosphynx should be pleased: not only did I go for a walk outside the house, I stopped at a restaurant I hadn't been to before and sampled something there!

The name of the restaurant was Buffalo : Beers / Burgers / Baos.

I paused. "Wait, one of these things does not normally go with the others." Baos being those Chinese steamed buns filled with char siu, generally, though I've sampled some variants on the theme. I peeked inside. They seemed relatively un-busy. The server at the back inquired, "Would you like to be seated, sir?"

"I saw from the outside that you serve baos."

"We do indeed." He proffered a menu.



This was their 'Duck Confit Bao', alongside a mug (well, Southern-style pint-sized mason jar) of IBC root beer.

It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. A bao is typically an *enclosed* steamed bun. This was more... Well, Peking duck. It tasted pretty much like that, too. Still, it wasn't bad. Maybe a bit pricey for a single-serving snack item, but I just wanted a taste to see if it was worth coming back at some point for a full meal.

This is probably a better place to go for burgers and maybe buffalo wings, though. :)

Comments

[level-head.livejournal.com]

It just happens that I received a recipe for duck a few minutes ago in an email notification. Not quite the same, as this requires a rather more do-it-yourself approach, not to mention ducks. But it looks quite tasty, and evidently ranks even higher than 'wasn't bad.' Of course, for a lot more work:
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2015/03/tyler-kee/hunters-recipe-wild-duck-pastrami/

===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

That looks pretty impressive, but yeah... Quite a bit of work. I've never tried smoking or curing meat.

[level-head.livejournal.com]

I tend to be in the kitchen for ten minutes at a time, fifteen at the top end. A lot can be done in that time, but I eat so frequently that a large time investment for a meal is hard to work up enthusiasm for.

But if I passed by a restaurant advertising "wild duck pastrami" I'd certainly be tempted...

And even the place you tried; I'd duck out and take a bao.

===|==============/ Keith DeHavelle

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Argh. *throws a koosh*

I suppose it makes a difference if it's stuff you can leave on low heat for a long time. I keep an egg timer handy so I can easily time walking away from the kitchen and getting back before something starts to burn. I just don't have a smoker, and since I cook mostly Chinese style dishes, I don't feel a strong desire to go get one.

[kagetsume.livejournal.com]

At least it wasn't this kind of bun:

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Mm, rabbit canfit bao.

[moonscream.livejournal.com]

Looks like the 'steamed bun' I tried once; I was expecting an enclosed bun, too, not a sloppy flatbread sandwich that wasn't all that great.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Yeah, something about enclosing the bun and steaming just makes the contents much more juicy and tasty. ^_^

[moonscream.livejournal.com]

I sadly have still never had one of those, outside of the frozen ones I get at the cheap grocery that are actually baked. They are delicious, tho.

[rowyn]

Somehow food is always tastier if the bun is cooked around the filling, instead of bun having the filling stuck sloppily and vaguely inside of it afterwards. At least, this is my explanation for why piroshkies and baos taste so much better than burgers and sandwiches. :)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Sounds right to me! I haven't had a piroshki in a long time, come to think of it. Maybe I'll pick something up from Trader Joe's.