As we head towards another set of stay at home orders in our county......well, maybe a fried food post would be some small (probably not) consolation.
A few weeks back; I decided to grab a snack (actually enough for lunch for me) for the skeleton crew we got working. It was rather early for lunch; like 930am....but heck; I get in at 5-515 these days so I'm ready for lunch by 10. I needed to clear my head a bit and perhaps some fried banh bao would do the trick?
The crew really enjoyed the last time I did takeout from TP Banh Bao; so I decided to head on back.
I really like the young lady who works here; she is so friendly, efficient, and very thoughtful. I got 2 fried "BB's" as I call them for each of the staff. As I finishing my order; the young lady asked if I just eanted to make it a complete box and order one of their newish "breakfast baos" - she recommended the "jalapeno-egg" version. Heck, she is so nice, so of course I got one.
I always love that they mark the box, so I don't have a "UFB" (unidentified fried bao) issue.
Here's a better photo.
So, the other 3 folks in the office got two fried bao each; one of my favorite; the pork and salted egg yolk, and one of the pork, sausage, and egg.
Even the folks who had no idea what the heck a "salted egg" was, enjoyed that version more.
"Is it just a boiled egg with salt?"
"Ummm, yes, that's right....that's the ticket."
There's something about the rich, salty-savory flavor that goes so well with the porkiness of the bao.
Also, my experience with the steamed bao's here are that they are on the gummy-mushy side and there a good amount of leakage. And no matter if it's banh bao or adult diapers (not that I have any first hand experience), leakage is "no bueno". Having them fried adds a nice textural constrast and I think it also reacts with the starch and sugars adding a layer of additional flavor.
Which was the problem with the jalapeno-egg banh bao.
The top portion was sort of fluffy; but the bottom was soggy and not up to the task of retaining all of that filling. The filling was decently flavored and I enjoyed the mild hit of heat from the jalapeno. This might actually be pretty good fried.
Man, after this I was pretty much (pun intended) "fried". I felt like I needed a shower.......I think two fried bao are pretty much the limit for me right now. The folks at work had no idea what the heck they were eating and they enjoyed it.
The service was great, everyone enjoyed things. I'll file this under "guilty pleasures". So, until next time....
T.P. Banh Bao 3
11271 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
Take care and be safe everyone!
I like how your coworkers enjoy being fed your deliveries of mystery balls.
Posted by: Jason | Friday, 04 December 2020 at 09:52 AM
Lol Jason......yes, they liked the "mystery balls"! ;o)
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 04 December 2020 at 10:28 AM
stay safe!
Posted by: kat | Friday, 04 December 2020 at 03:43 PM
The older I get my tolerance for fried food keeps going down. But those fried baos definitely a once in a blue moon guilty pleasure.
Posted by: Junichi | Friday, 04 December 2020 at 07:40 PM
Leaky diapers are not usually a visual I want when discussing food, but it worked well here and got a laugh from me!
Posted by: RedDevil | Saturday, 05 December 2020 at 08:54 AM
You too Kat!
Yes, I agree....definitely can't put away all that fried food these days either Junichi!
Sometimes my "stream of consciousness" style of posting yields some rather weird stuff RD!
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 06 December 2020 at 03:08 PM