Let’s review Wow Bao!
Wow Bao is a fast-casual Asian concept featuring steamed bao (a popular portable snack served throughout Asia), potstickers, steamed dumplings, rice & noodle bowls, and more. They are only available through the major delivery services in Wichita through the use of a dark kitchen model.
Dark kitchen is basically a ghost kitchen or cloud kitchen, in the fact that Wow Bao is made using someone else’s kitchen and employees. In Wichita, Wow Bao operates out of Fazoli’s.
Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of the major delivery services or these cloud kitchen restaurants. There doesn’t seem to be a face or person behind the business; it’s all virtual and very impersonal.
I actually tried to go into Fazoli’s and ask if I could place an order. They said no. So, I asked if I could place the order over my phone and just pick it up there and was told no again. My big fear with the bao was it being very dry upon delivery.
The only reason I even went ahead with this review was because of the numerous requests I had for it. You can find Wow Bao on Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats.
My order was placed through Uber Eats which according to the app was my third time ever using the service.
I went with a 6 pack of Bao with teriyaki chicken, BBQ Berkshire pork, spicy Mongolian beef, whole wheat vegetable, coconut custard and cheeseburger. For six bao to be delivered and tip, everything was roughly $25.
I grew up eating lots of bao and tried not to let the past experience sway my review, but it was hard. When the bao arrived, they were dried out and the paper was literally stuck to the bao. That was by far the least of my worries though.
There wasn’t much filling inside the bao. The whole wheat vegetable bao was possibly the worst bao I’ve ever had. It was so dried out and void of any flavor. For a second, I thought I had COVID; I couldn’t taste a thing. The best of the group was probably the Mongolian Beef, but that could have been by default.
I suppose if you haven’t had bao much if ever, these might be somewhat satisfying. But after eating on them for decades, I just couldn’t finish all the bao that I ordered. Waste of my time and waste of money. The best thing to come out of Fazoli’s is certainly not bao (surprising, I know). Had Wow Bao included free breadsticks, this review may have been better.
This experience may have ruined me and not sure if I even want to deal with ordering again from the ghost kitchen models.
Happy Dining,
Eddy
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