Wanna Bao
Having seen the restaurant show up repeatedly in my social media feeds this week, I decided to stop by for lunch today. They have a fairly decent parking lot that accommodates around 20+ cars, but all those spots were taken at 11:40AM. Add to it the Midtown construction and neighboring streets with the no parking signs, and the whole ordeal made for a stressful parking situation.
The restaurant was packed and it took a good 5 minutes before the hostess sat me. It was then I realized that they were severely understaffed with only 2 waitstaff serving the entire restaurant and the hostess doing double work. I was given a menu and water and it would take another 10 minutes before the hostess returned to take my order. Many of the larger entree items were fairly expensive and since I was dining alone, I opted for two relatively inexpensive dishes so I could sample more food. I ordered the Red Oil Dumplings and their much talked about Pork Soup Dumplings.
The Red Oil Dumplings arrived first after about 15 minutes. Despite confirming what I long suspected is a slight allergy to Sichuan Peppers, I found the dumplings fresh and incredibly tasty. I then proceeded to wait another 40+ minutes while people kept pouring in and were told there would be a 20-30 wait before they could be sat. Some waited patiently in the bar area, while many turned around and left.
I was completely neglected by the waitstaff and had to flag down the hostess to inquire about my soup dumplings. She couldn’t provide an ETA but said she could cancel the order at no cost to me. It was already almost 1:00PM and I needed to return to work, so I cancelled and ordered scallion pancakes to go because I was still hungry.
The reason I’m not writing an Angry Asian Review™ was because it was a soft opening and they clearly weren’t prepared for the influx of people visiting after their debut in several food articles. Secondly, the food I was able to eat was pretty damn good. The scallion pancake was by far the best I recall ever eating in Houston. I literally finished all of them in the car before I returned to the office.
There is definite potential here even with the more expensive price point, but besides not going at peak times in the near future, I’m going to give the restaurant a few weeks to settle in before braving the the parking nightmare and crowds again.
Hopefully next time, I’ll get my Pork Soup Dumplings and be able to try their Jasmine Tea Duck.
Attire: Casual
Family Friendly: Yes
Price Range: $$$ ($13-60)
2708 Bagby St
Houston, TX 77006
(832) 623-7265