In a city as vast as Los Angeles, tracking down the top spots for your favorite foods can prove to be a difficult journey. Especially when there are over 24,000 to consider. Whittle it down to cuisine, or even a specific dish, and you’ve still got quite the decision on your hands.
To lighten the process, start by considering bao. Maybe your mom makes it for you all the time. Maybe it stirs up memories of that heartwarming 2018 Pixar short. Maybe you’re just really in the mood for a dense snack. The meat or veggie-filled buns can be found across the region, from Century City all the way to Arcadia. Below are five places you can track down cao in Los Angeles.
View this post on Instagram
Located along the sprawling Beverly Boulevard, this loungey dim sum restaurant invites guests to indulge on small plates and inventive cocktails. What you’ll want to go all in on is the bao. Choose among the mushroom, pork, vegetable and spicy chicken options, or order all four and split with a group. Between its chic, yet old-world atmosphere and expert chefs, Bao Dim Sum House is a choice spot for both family dining and dates.
Yes, you will have to head to Arcadia if you want the very best bao. Thankfully, you’ll arrive to a large parking lot, making it easy to saunter inside the warm, relaxed eatery. Still, it's a popular restaurant, so you’ll want to plan to go possibly between lunch and dinner. In addition to standards meat and veggie options, the menu also includes shrimp, leek or shrimp dumplings.
View this post on Instagram
The name says it all. Dubbed “a bao and brew spot,” the Koreatown restaurant has a menu full of standard pub eats like burgers, fries, wings and nachos, but spices things up with the inclusion of items like a spam and egg rice bowl and mahi mahi burger. More importantly, the menu devotes a whole section to open-face bao buns, which range from beef to tempura vegetable. Finish your meal off with some deep fried oreos, too.
View this post on Instagram
The self-described “not so Korean restaurant” is tucked into a strip mall— the SoCal eatery mecca— not too far from MacArthur Park. The menu is stacked with Korean fusion options that you likely can’t get anywhere else, such as the bulgogi risotto or bolognese mandu. You’ll want to be sure to order the spicy pork hoppang though— bao full of pork belly, jalapeño and onion.
View this post on Instagram
Over in the corner of the Century City Mall, buckle up for a near-neverending smorgasbord. Not to mention the endless array of dumplings, Din Tai Fung offers three kinds of Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao: regular, crab and truffle. Dining here works best family style, so instead of choosing one, you can just choose them all. Be sure to cap your meal with an order of their mouthwatering chocolate buns.
See also: How to Make the Versailles Restaurant Famous Cuban Sandwich
Photography by: jonathanvalencia5/Pixabay
