Located in one of the busiest areas of Philadelphia, Bao-logy is set to tempt the professional masses on the go with exotic, quick and casual Taiwanese fare.
The menu is somewhat simple but effective, offering handheld Taiwanese street favorites like bao bun sliders and wraps, as well as entrée-like selections including bento boxes. The clean and simple décor, along with touchscreen menu ordering, elevate the restaurant’s modern yet casual vibe.
If you’re looking for something exciting but not too complicated for lunch or a snack, the pot stickers are delightful and come in a variety of flavors, such as chicken and chive or pork and shrimp with spinach and seasonal vegetables. Pot stickers come in orders up to a dozen. You can mix and match them in groups of three (starting at $3.50 and up to $12 for a dozen). Carnivores might be temped to veer towards the meat-based pot stickers but the vegetable options also are delectable, with silky-textured fillings that explode with robust, earthy flavors.
The bao buns ($3.75-$4.25 each) are available with proteins and veggies ranging from pork belly and short ribs to king oyster mushrooms. The bao-bun special of the day when we visited was the crispy fish, which was amazingly flavorful, giving the perfect crunchy texture to balance the pillowy softness of the steamed bun.
The crispy beef wrap ($4.25), meanwhile, delivered a welcome complexity, packed with sautéed veggies, hoisin sauce and crushed peanuts for a satisfying menagerie of savory and sweet. The smashed cucumber salad ($3.25), a side dish, was refreshingly cool and spicy with crushed red pepper and rice vinegar. Don’t miss the forbidden rice ($4.25), the perfect vessel for Bao-logy’s housemade hot sauce.
If you go:
Bao-logy
1829 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
215-999-2263
www.baology.com
Mon.-Fri.: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Sat.: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.