Lucky Bao

Small restaurant, huge flavours. I loved my time at Lucky Bao, the food was great and the staff were great. It had an incredible white, black and wooden scheme that made the restaurant minimalistic but incredible. Outside of the restaurant was a neon pink logo, it was three dots in the formation of a triangle, and a large circle surrounding them. I didn't know what it symbolizes, but a staff member told me that: In Buddhism, it represents the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha) within the circle of the universe. Not only does this logo look good, it has an incredible meaning behind it. A restaurant name or logo can have a deeper meaning than you expect, and Lucky Bao is a great example of that. 

 

I sat down at Lucky Bao and began to look at the menu. I immediately noticed all of the dominant flavours on the menu. These flavours were Korean (gochujang), Japanese (ponzu), East + Southeast Asia (sweet + sour) and Chinese (sichuan). Whether you like Korean, Japanese, East + Southeast Asian or Chinese food, Lucky Bao is perfect for you. All of these flavours can't go into one specific cuisine, that's why restaurants like this are called Fusion. In Lucky Bao's context, it would be an Asian Fusion restaurant. This was my first time trying a Fusion restaurant, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Although my taste buds were a little confused, trying four (possibly even more) different cuisines in one sitting, they all blended together seamlessly and created one incredible and unique taste. The amount of effort that the chefs had to put in to make these dishes flow perfectly is absolutely incredible, and I have nothing but utter respect for them. They couldn't have chosen more perfect dishes in the "Banquet" menu. The spice level went in a wave-like fashion. It started off with a little spice, then went to hot, then dropped down to no spice, then shot up to super hot with the "Taro Crack Fries", then went back down to no spice. For the final meal, you get to choose a bao bun, some are spicy (e.g. Taiwanese Fried Chicken) and some are not (e.g. Slow Cooked Beef Brisket), I chose to get the "Slow Cooked Beef Brisket" because two workers said it was their favourite dish on the current menu. There is a reason that it's their favourite dish, it was just perfect. The bao bun is a perfect way to finish the "Banquet" menu. 

 

Vegetables. When most people hear that word they just think of steamed broccoli, mashed potatoes or something that doesn't taste all that good. But Lucky Bao makes vegetables taste amazing. Green beans can taste horrible at times, but Lucky Bao made them from a simple vegetable to an incredible one. They had perfect seasoning, they were perfectly cooked, and they had perfect additions (chilli, soy and peanuts). Something so simple, such as green beans can become such an incredible dish as long as it's balanced well. I am positive that all of the other vegetables on the menu at Lucky Bao are just as good as these green beans, if not better. 

 

While I was waiting for my meal, I was writing a few things in my notepad about the restaurant. One of the staff members asked me if I was writing anything interesting. So I explained to him (Nath) that I have a food blog and I am doing a review of Lucky Bao. And he fully supported it. He was asking about why I started doing restaurant reviews, how long I've been doing it, what my favourite food is and plenty more. We were talking in between dishes, and even a few other staff members joined in the conversations. One of the key aspects of a restaurant is the staff, especially if you are going by yourself (like me). Normally when the staff at a restaurant is good, you will have an incredible time there. Everyone who served me at Lucky Bao told me exactly what the dish is, if it is popular or not, and other key information about the dish (e.g. the red cabbage in the "Twice Cooked Lamb Ribs" can be used as a palette cleanser or how the "Fried Chicken Wings" are super spicy). This especially helped me because I found it easier to write things about the dish because I knew what every element was. 

 

Just before I left I asked the owner (Emmi) and the staff member I was talking to (Nath) if they had a quote. They couldn't come up with one and then they both looked at each other and both said "Come as you are". Those four words have a huge meaning. "Come as you are" just means be yourself. Don't hide things or change things about your natural self. There are imperfections in everybody, but it is better to embrace them than to hide them. So, come as you are. 

 

I love seafood. Not just the fish and chips around the corner, but from restaurants like Lucky Bao. Even though they don't specifically focus on seafood, they have amazing seafood dishes. I had the "Salmon Sashimi", "Tempura Cuttlefish" and the "Prawn Gyoza". Seafood tends to be salty, but Lucky Bao embraced that salt and used it to balance their seafood dishes. From adding kewpie mayo to the "Salmon Sashimi" to remove that salty flavour, or from embracing the salt in the "Tempura Cuttlefish" which is still there but adds depths of flavour, and having the slightest salt flavour in "Prawn Gyoza" that makes the entire dish even better. Embracing the saltiness of seafood is better than trying to avoid it (maybe I should add that to the quotes section). 

 

I was very lucky that I found Lucky Bao. It is an amazing Asian Fusion restaurant that has a variety of meals that almost everybody will like. Although it was a relatively small restaurant, it was big in flavour. Every dish was spectacular and balanced incredibly. If you haven't tried Asian Fusion, then you must go to Lucky Bao to start your journey along that road of flavour. 

 

Thank you for reading.