Beef brisket pocket bun @ Bao & Bap
14 Rodney St, Liverpool, L1 2TE
Located in the front of the same Georgian terrace that houses the venerable Café Porto, Bao and Bap is a restaurant about the size of an average living room.
They serve what the loud mural on the far wall describes as ‘traditional Asian comfort food’ — a pan-regional selection of rice and noodle dishes from bibimbap to laksa — and they do it very well and very quickly.
The last time we ate here our noodles were ready before our server had even got back from the fridge with our bottles of Tsingtao. Not that service is rushed or brusque, there just seems to be an understanding that you’re here for the food and nobody should wait a second longer for it than they need to.
Just make sure that in any rush, you still take the time to try their pocket buns or Mo. Sometimes described as ‘chinese burgers’ they’re a fried wheat bun, sort of like a flakier version of a toasted breakfast muffin, filled with belly pork, egg or — my pick — aromatic beef brisket. Highly recommended.
