Baos Pop

Tucked behind West End’s lively main strip, Baos Pop is an uber casual spot where you can tuck into shareable Asian feeds over a few glasses of wine or a tap beer. With both indoor and outdoor seating you can nab a table either inside in the sleek all-black dining room or outside by the rickshaw on the covered terrace. 

The more traditional Chinese-style bao you’ll find on the menu here are kind of like fried dumplings, with a soft round shell that’s nice and crispy on the bottom, and minced fillings like pork, beef and chicken (plus a vego option of course). The rest of the menu covers bites inspired by Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisine, including smaller plates like Korean fried cauliflower, steamed eggplant in sesame dressing and the vibrant five star sashimi tuna salad with yuzu, ponzu and radish. If you’re after something a little bigger, there’s main dishes like steamed barramundi with garlic chives, pork and shiitake mushroom, or the gob-smacking tea smoked half duck, which comes served in a fresh plum sauce.

Baos Pop isn’t just somewhere to eat and run though, they’ve also got a pretty sweet drinks list, with a handful of red and white wines, plus several beers on tap.

Image credit: Ranyhyn Laine