Baohaus — Review by Eater
New York, United States — Taiwanese Chinese with American barbecue influences
Eddie Huang's Baohaus has reopened as a full-service restaurant featuring innovative Taiwanese Chinese food influenced by American barbecue techniques and Southern upbringing. The menu showcases creative dishes like crispy duck bao, brisket bao with unique smoking and braising methods, and inventive seafood preparations. The restaurant represents Huang's vision of a neighborhood establishment that blends culinary cultures while maintaining authenticity and challenging traditional Chinese cuisine.
What was great: Innovative Taiwanese Chinese cuisine with American barbecue techniques, unique dishes like crispy duck bao with proprietary smoking process, brisket bao with smoky braise and pickled pepper mayo, mumbo halibut with crispy soybeans, high-quality execution and attention to detail, welcoming neighborhood atmosphere, creative use of Korean charcoal and patio space
What could improve: Nothing mentioned
The Dishes
Baohaus presents a thoughtfully curated menu that reflects chef Eddie Huang's Taiwanese heritage filtered through an American barbecue lens. The signature crispy duck bao stands out as a house specialty, featuring duck breast that roasts for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, then gets blanched in a proprietary mixture and rested for 24 to 36 hours before smoking. The skin emerges extra crispy while the meat stays medium-rare, creating a perfect textural contrast inside the fluffy steamed bao. The brisket bao showcases equally meticulous preparation, utilizing both cuts of the brisket differently - the fatty deckle gets smoked and braised into succulent pieces served with pickled pepper mayo, cilantro, peanuts and sugar, while the lean flat gets smoked, sliced thin on a deli slicer, and stir-fried with wok breath, aromatics, and house-pickled green peppers.
The menu also features lamb bao, chairman bao with pork belly, and a birdhouse bao with fried chicken. The mumbo halibut demonstrates creative innovation, combining poached halibut with crispy soybeans deglazed with mumbo sauce - a modified duck sauce from DC carryouts that accidentally became the preferred version after a kitchen staff member grabbed the wrong sauce. The Dover sole gets kissed with charcoal smoke for 3 to 5 minutes, showcasing the restaurant's commitment to smoking seafood on the patio's large commercial green egg.
The Experience
Baohaus operates with intentional energy and collaborative kitchen culture. The atmosphere reflects Huang's vision of a neighborhood restaurant with loud music and what he describes as inappropriate art. The kitchen operates with maximum staffing and collaborative spirit, with specialized roles like Ibrahim handling the bao station and Jayden managing seafood. The reopened location includes both a dining room and a back patio with proper commercial setup featuring a double XL Big Green Egg charcoal grill that required fire department approval.
Value & Pricing
No specific prices are mentioned in the transcript, but the level of technique, ingredient quality, and preparation time invested suggests mid to high-range pricing for New York City dining.
Notable Moments
I told myself that if I was going to do Baohaus again, it would be the neighborhood restaurant of my dreams.
We're cooking Chinese food on an American barbecue with Korean charcoal. That's how we get down.
I care about the neighborhood, I care about culture, and I care that people feel welcome here.
The backstory of Huang's path from selling weed on a bench in Fort Greene to launching a blog that became a bestselling book and six-season television show adds cultural context to the restaurant's significance.
The Verdict
Baohaus represents a matured culinary vision that honors Taiwanese Chinese traditions while confidently applying American regional barbecue techniques. The restaurant succeeds because it never apologizes for its hybrid identity - it's proudly Chinese food cooked with Korean charcoal on American grills by a team that respects both technique and intuition. This restaurant is best for diners seeking innovative Asian cuisine that respects tradition while pushing boundaries, and for those who appreciate the story and intention behind every dish that arrives at the table.