Review Fat Bao - Houston

Sajeev Mehta

This is my second time here and I seriously can’t believe I don’t eat Fat Bao more often. The individual Baos are absolutely delicious, to the point of mouth watering. Great location, friendly staff, quick service and the prices are fair. You won’t regret your meal that’s for sure.

mike mike

Friendly staff that made suggestions. The Avocado fries 🍟 were well made. The Bao were good, my favorite being the Pork Back and the Memphis. They had a chicken version named Big Byrd that was good but the Pork type are the best. Will get this as much as I can.

Feifei Le

Really yummy take on bao buns at this tiny little restaurant. My friends and I got a couple different bao to try out, and we all loved what we got. I don’t think you can go wrong with anything on the menu. I will say that some of the options are just too saucy and within minutes the bao is soggy and falls apart. Surprisingly we all agreed the best thing we got were the curry fries. Prices are fair and reasonable for each type of bao.

Josue Torres

Very good place to eat. All the bao fans will be pleased to come here. My app was the avocado chips with a jalapeño mayo that was delicious! I had the soft shell crab and it was amazing, crispy with a pillowy bun. Also had the fried pork belly and to be honest I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t battered. Then I had the original Ramuné to wash it all down! Overall very good experience, good food!👍🏼

Cristina Y.

Love their Bugolgi fries! Been coming here throughout my pregnancy. Their Baos are yuuuummmzer! And FYI: there is NO👏🏽PATIO👏🏽 or Noodles. This is a store in between two stores in a strip mall. 😒😒

Amira Sanchez

Lovely, friendly and comfortable atmosphere, delicious food. I recommend the bulgogi fries! Edit: we had dessert and the banana/Nutella and s'mores bao were fantastic!! Just enough to not be overwhelming or too sweet.

Claire Bear

this place was pretty good! they do have several selection of bao to choose from however nothing really sounded tasty aside from bulgogi and pork katsu. i did love the warm and soft bao and how 2 made me pretty full. good service. clean and spacious layout! will be back fot sure.

Ankita Banerjee

This is such a cool place in Houston. They make some seriously delicious Bao. A unique experience. I loved their habanero hot sauce. I don’t think you can go wrong with anything on their menu. The interior is cute and neat and the staff is very friendly and helpful. There is lot of parking space available outside.

Anthony Messina

These things are fantastic. I’ve only been to one of the restaurant that specialized in these and this blew it out the water. Service here is really good in the food matched as well. Bulgogi was my favorite and frying the bun made it even better. Dessert one was a bit of a let down, so I would probably avoid that next time.

Adrienne Miller

The bao’s here were delightful. I got the Spicy Thai and the Duck Bao and the Pandan Tres Leche. The bao’s were so flavorful and delicious but just a little softer than I typically like and quite messy because they were so stuffed, which isn’t exactly a bad thing for getting bang for your buck. The Pandan Tres Leche was absolutely phenomenal though. I wanted to try something new and this truly delivered it was moist, delicate, flavor packed and rich without being over powering. I will be getting it for sure again and am looking forward to trying another bao soon too. I’m so happy I stopped by here on a whim.

Kareen Nguyen

Delicious place! Highly recommend the crab daddy Bao and pork katsu Bao! They have so many unique baos and they’re all so yummy. First time here and I’ll definitely be coming back. Service was immaculate as well.

Sandria Carter

Absolutely Loved this spot. The food was great and service was awesome. Took my daughter for her Birthday and she Loved it. We ordered the Pork Belly, Curry Beef, Duck, and Spicy Chicken Boas and the Yummy Fries. Everything was very Good.

gau'tam shiro'dkar

Really love the Bao buns here, my favourite is the Spicy Thai - the sauce is spicy and delicious. The Bao is fresh and soft and worth trying. They have various options and i am sure that everything tastes good. One Bao is small and may be should try more than one. The Fat fries here are good too, the kimcheenaise tastes in the fries is really good. The fries are thin and crispy. Overall it's a good experience. It's a self service restaurant and I recommend finding a seat before you load your hands your order! 😬

J T

Visited from out of town and this was my favorite meal of the whole trip! Went for lunch - be prepared to order 2-3, 3 was just perfect for myself. I got the New Yorker, pork belly, and duck. All were delish, but the pork belly and duck are the same, just different meat. (I didn’t pay attention to anything after the meat 😅) I’d say pick one or the other, and try one of the others 🙂 My family ordered the bulgogi, pork katsu, spicy Thai, and crab daddy. I also enjoyed the spicy edamame. I’ve always had it plain or salted, so to have it spicy was new for me. It actually wasn’t even spicy, if you like spicy, but it still tasted good! Also tried the banana and Nutella dessert and it was delish, just what you’d expect it to be! Definitely recommend! Location is in a plaza and there is plenty of parking.

Traci V

Love that they have chicken options! The Baos did not disappoint and the fries took me by surprise! They were so tasty and came out hot.

Erin Vire

Such a wide variety of Bao. Great flavors, and friendly staff. My friend and I ordered 7 or 8 different Bao as well as the home made chips and we loved just about all of them! Bulgari, Pork Katsu, and fried fish were the absolute best. The Memphis and Thai were good, just needed a little something extra. The tofu and crab were our least favorite. Still yummy, but just not jaw dropping. The chips were super hot and fresh and everything came out so quickly! Will definitely go back again!

Leticia Garcia

I had a cigarette after this…& I don’t even smoke! Best Bao buns ever; spicy Thai, Yummy Byrd, Spring Chicken & Curry Beef we’re theee best ones! Had the beignets for dessert and *chefs kiss*

Sarah Yip

The New Yorker Bao is super good! As well as the duck and the soft-shell crab baos! I also love the bulgogi fat fries! The store isn’t the biggest, and tends to be crowded during meal times. I miss back when there was a Fat Bao location in Sugar Land!

Parul Aggarwal

Great Bao

Giorgio

Curry beef is my fav, portions are small but the good thing about that is that you can try multiple different flavors. Can't get enough of the curry beef though!

Abigail Borders

This place was so enjoyable! I do not eat meat and i really enjoyed the tofu option which can be easily switched to vegan minus the mayo based sauce. I would love some more veggie options on the menu but they were able to sub tofu for most of the meats. My boyfriend really enjoyed the meat baos he ordered including the fried chicken and the pork belly. My tofu bao and spicy edamame are pictured below :)

Joey

Awesome place for lunch. Nice little gem here. The different bun types they have here are awesome. Check out their website and you can see what they have. The place is small so get there early. The service was good and the place clean.

Francis Abbott

Food was made fresh! Fast! Taste great! Staff was very nice as I showed up 30 minutes before closing and had a million questions about the menu.

Run It Off

One visit and you are hooked! I am obsessed with their Fat Fries: hand cut and topped with cilantro, onions, kimcheenaise, sriracha and I always ads Bulgogi on top. In addition you've got to try the Bulgogo Bao if you're still hungry after the fries and the Smores Bao if you're craving something sweey

Vinitha C

Tucked in one of the strip malls, Fat Bao surprises. This strip mall has quite a few interesting places to eat. Order a counter and the food comes to you. The places gets crowded at lunch time. Fried Cauliflower 👍👍👍👍 Fries 👍👍👍👍👍 Spicy Thai Bao 👍👍👍👍 Big Byrd Bao 👍👍👍 Definitely worth a visit

Boutique Teacup Puppies

Special, hip, cheap, fast. Popular food truck turned brick and mortar, serving Asian menu products taco style on baos, or airy, steamed buns

L.C.

Fat Bao was great! It was hard to choose what to try since everything on the menu looked good. I ordered the Yummy Byrd, Spicy Thai and the Crab Daddy. My friend ordered the Fish and the Bulgogi. We ordered the Crab Daddy and the Bulgogi upon recommendation from the staff, however they were our least favorite. The Bulgogi was too sweet and the Crab Daddy didn't have enough flavor. The other three were perfect though. I didn't know what to expect with the "bread" they were served in. The texture looked like it would be gooey and stick to your mouth or overpowerful, but it was neither. We tried the avocado chips as well and we loved them.

Arthur Corbin

I can't get enough of this place! I would eat here everyday if I could! I recommend you try the Big bird, Memphis, Pork Belly, snow crabs with a side order of Bulgogi fries.🙌🏾🙌🏾 Also every Wednesday they have KFC night! It's some great spicy and sweet fried chicken! One of my top ten spots to eat at in Houston..

J. Ashar

Fat Bao is a unique restaurant in the Upper Kirby area known for serving specialty baos (bun filled with a variety of ingredients). Each bao can be in the ~$5 range, and you only need two to be satisfied. I like to order the Crab Daddy and the Peking Duck baos. The Crab Daddy is a deep-fried soft-shell-crab with Asian slaw and spicy mayo. The Peking Duck is crispy skinned-duck meat with scallions and cucumber. Although these are the two I typically order, I like to venture out and try the rest of the baos on the menu as well. Specials: -Monday and Tuesday: Ramen -Wednesday: Korean Fried Chicken What to order: -Crab Daddy bao -Peking Duck bao Pros: -Private parking lot -Japanese Craft Beer (although expensive at $9/bottle) -Weekly specials like Ramen and Korean Fried Chicken -Service quality -Lunch special Cons: -Can get expensive very fast

Jjd3

Unique, hip, cheap, fast. Famous food truck turned brick and mortar, serving Asian menu items taco style on baos, or airy, steamed buns. Pork belly French fries, soft shell crab bao, peking duck bao, and ____ bao.... Lunch, dinner. It's perfect.

Ambereen Ahmed

The baos are soooo soft and soooo delicious. Good prices too I think. The appetizers are so unique and awesome, but I honestly get tired of them near the end. Still an awesome place.

CT

Fat Bao is an Asian fusion restaurant that specializes in baos. Baos, or steamed buns, are used here as a blank canvas for a variety of fillings. And the name holds true, I felt like a fat bao afterwards. They have two locations, one on Kirby and another one in Sugarland. The Sugarland location offers more in terms of menu items, offering different types of ramen as well. We went to the one on Kirby, which was located in a really unassuming strip mall anchored by Office Depot. We arrived about 10 minutes after they opened at 11:00 and there was only one other table occupied. By the time we left, the place was almost full. The premise here is that you order at the counter and afterwards they bring out the food to you. At the time, they had a lunch special which included 2 baos of your choice (extra surcharge for pricier baos), a side, and a drink for about $9.25.

Blair Davis

A pleasant twist. Great bulgogi. Good duck. Customer reviews bout us here. Enjoyed the fusion. We will come back. Give it a try. The curry fat fries are awesome.

Aditi@confusedbawarchis

Fantastic place to grab a quick bite! We had the Salmon, Spicy thai chicken & Duck baos and they were incredible. Don't forget to order a side of the fish fat fries- totally stole the show! We're coming back again.

Gristle & Gossip

Cool little eatery to grab a snack or lunch. I had never tried the steam pork bun before but it was ok.. interesting texture. I suggest the lunch special. For $10 I got 2 Fat Bao's , Fries and a drink. Maybe not so bad but I felt like there was way more "bun" than meat. Now I will say the items were tasty. I ordered the Big Byrd & Fish Bao. The Big Byrd was great.. I could have used a little less basil sauce. The Fish Bao was very good, especially when you add some of their house habenero sauce. BIG BYRD fried chicken, sweet basil sauce, basil 3.5 FISH tempura fish, jalapeno mayo, pickled apples 3.5 They have CRUSHED ICE instead of cubes. I am a sucker for a crunch and I almost at more ice than food! Parking can be tricky depending on the time. Lunch is a little cray. The service is walk up counter, number issued and food delivered. You will have to sit next to strangers if you can't snag your own table. They also have TV's to watch sports, if you must do that.

KS

What a find this place was! Absolutely loved the baos that I had here, and I'm absolutely coming back for more. And just a heads up - their baos aren't traditional ones, but shaped like tacos :) Second experience On my second visit, I had one of the beers, a Japanese Hefeweizen, along with the Peking duck bao, the pork katsu bao, and the crab daddy (again), along with the curry fries with bulgogi! Absolutely insane!!! And the katsu scores over the prom belly fo' sure! First experience I had the pork belly bao (braised pork belly, hoisin sauce, pickled cucumber, green onions), the bulgogi (marinated beef ribeye, kimchi, green onions), and the crab daddy (soft shell crab, Asian slaw, spicy mayo). The crab daddy and the bulgogi were my favorite. The spicy mayo in the crab daddy did the trick. I'm a firm believer that any for of seafood needs to have some heat and/or acid, and this one was an awesome combo (I squeezed some lime juice onto my bao!). The kimchi in the bulgogi added the necessary twang to the beef. The pork belly was flavorful, but didn't have the characteristic fat you normally expect pork belly to have. I guess this non-compliance to my expectations resulted in being a little let down :) They've also got an amazing array of bottled beers and cider here. Perfect for those evenings when you just wanna relax and enjoy some nice, Asian comfort food. And believe me, it's absolutely comforting!

BigKidSmallCity

Hi, I’m Juliette! My husband, my 7-year-old and I love going out to eat and we are sharing our restaurant finds with you. Do you know what a Bao is? We didn’t either and now we are very happy that we do! It is a Chinese steamed pancake. It is then used as a bread and the inside can have a savory or a sweet filling and it is delicious!

Db

Weird that they don't do combo meals all the time when the place lends itself to it. Overpriced for what it is but at least it is tasty and something a little different from typical fast food.

Facebook User

Pork Katsu Bao. The best one they have

Thecelloscene

Tasty. We were running errands at the office depot in the same complex and were hungry so we stopped by here to get some food. Best decision ever. We're new to the Houston area and are still exploring the food scene. So far, this is definitely a favorite and it's close to where we live! The pork belly bao is decadent with cucumber that cuts the richness. You're given 2 thick slices of pork belly and it's tender and the bao is a great vessel for the pork belly. The Big Byrd bao is also delicious. The chicken was tender and flavorful and the crispiness held up despite it being tossed in a sauce. The curry beef bao was excellent as well. The brisket was tender and juicy and the curry was fantastic. Can't wait to come back to try the other menu items!

Neil

Peking duck bao was tremendous. Crab not as stellar, but still pretty damn good. S'mores did not shine at all. Yummy fries are 'like crack.'

Sonny

First Time - Very Good!. Having eaten at most local diners in the Upper Kirby/Alabama area that allows me to get out of the office and back within an hour, I decided to try Fat Bao. I had the lunch special, 2 baos (sort of like a small sandwich, your choice) Salad with Ginger dressing (yum) and a drink for $10. I had the Memphis Bao and the Peking Duck Bao. My 2 buddies tried the BigByrd, Memphis and Peking. VERY GOOD! We really enjoyed them and will be adding it to the list of places we frequent for lunch. Try it, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Leslye LeCompte

Amazing!. Love this place. We weren't sure what exactly to order to get full here. Myself, my husband and a friend are big eaters. But even still, what we did order was amazing. A couple of Bao for each of us and an order of Fat Fries with Bulgogi. The fries were absolutely amazing. Next time we're going to order two orders of them to share. The Baos were awesome as well, of course. I had the Peking Duck and New Yorker. Peking Duck isn't my personal favorite, but I'm not a -huge- duck eater. I was just tempted to try it anyhow to give it a shot. Duck lovers try it! New Yorker is my personal favorite. Based on the fries, I think I'll try the Bulgogi Bao next time we go.

Ed

Cool concept. Very unique. Affordable. Had the Peking duck bao and curry lamb. The filling wasn't the best (however acceptable) but again the overall concept carried it through to a clear "like". Not for the older generation Asians/ Chinese...

Ameena S

We went there after reading reviews on urban spoon and we loved the fat fries! We got them with beef and they were the best thing we tried!! We got big Byrd bao, Peking duck and fish they were all good. For dessert we tried the beignet bao fingers and I would say they were my least favorite item they were heavy and bland! I could not taste any honey or cinnamon in there. I would definitely go here again and would probably just eat the fat fried!!

Designateddiver

Phenomenal! I had both pork belly items and the soft shell crab bao. Amazing. These guys know how to combine ingredients and exploit the flavors that are produced.

Gastronomic Explorer

I had no idea what a Bao was when I came here, but the staff was helpful in explaining and making suggestions of some great dishes. I tried the pork katsu and the Memphis. Great choices. I'm sitting next to the cash register and I'm hearing a lot of people order the Crab Daddy, so I'll have to try that one next. Get here right at or a little before 12noon to avoid the long line.

Amnblack

It's good...it's really, really good! We tried 3 sides and 4 different baos. Also tried three different desserts. They were all great. Everything was fresh and made to order. Go here!

Jeff

I love Asian bar's so when I heard of this place I had to try it. To sum it up: fricking awesome! The Memphis Bao looked fatty, but was surprisingly meaty and flavourful. The perking duck bao was also delicious. The fat fries were slightly salty, but they give you so much that it could feed 3. I like the atmosphere and the cucumber water is cool. I'll definitely return to try the other bao's, oh and another Memphis Bao too. :)

Samiamj

I took two of my friends to this relaxed joint. We were warmly greeted by the staff. I am familiar with Bao, a Chinese white bread but with traditional fillings such as BBQ Pork or Sweet Bean or Yellow Yolk. However this place had a different spin with fish, bbq, raw salmon and so on. I didn't care for the BIG fries. It was too spicy for me but everything else was great from the onion rings to the fried tofu Bao to the fries fish Bao. Only negative is I will have to order more food next time. The lunch special seems like a great deal.

YKDacus

Great place. Had crab bao and pork Katsu bao. Awesome. And their fries are out of this world.

Troy Welch

Heck yeah! I love places like this. Yummy fries are awesome. Bigbyrd has excellent flavor as does Crab Daddy. Homemade habanero hot sauce is terrific!

Foodexploder

Lovely, perfect little baos come out very quickly here... I had the chicken and duck baos, my husband had the pork belly and bulgogi. All were delicious. The duck was by far a standout- perfect with the included hoisin sauce. Get it! The chicken was also good, tasted like General Tso-style chicken. The staff was super friendly and I was pleased with my experience. Thanks, Fat Bao!

Chefsgirl

Something so simple, but transformed into something so delicious! The idea of stuffed baos is not only impressive but the quality of the food is unexpected. Along with good food, the customer service here is....

Urban Swank

Unfortunately (for me), the word is out on Fat Bao, but if you haven’t caught wind yet of their innovative variations of a traditional Asian sandwich known simply as bao, here’s the deal.