Wow Bao

Love their bao and thai chicken curry fried rice is my favorite. Their employees are very friendly, special shout out to Jim for great customer service.

After walking all over Chicago my friends and I were crazy tired and hungry again even though had just ate so we went into check out Wow Bao. We tried three of their hot buns: thai curry chicken, teriyaki, and coconut custard. The coconut custard stood out to me the most! It was just the right amount of sweetness and perfect texture. The curry chicken came in second, it was flavorful but not super spicy which is the kind of curry I like, this allows you to truly taste the wealth of spices in it.
I am not sure how legit the baos are since I have never had one before this but they were very tasty.
This location is pretty small so if you are with a big crew you may want to plan ahead. Very relaxed atmosphere and a good place to chill with your friends

The two bao I had — Kung Pao and teriyaki — were not good at all. The meat in the Kung Pao was tasty (teriyaki not so much), but the bun itself was terrible — very dry, flavorless and flaky. However, I also ordered a Thai curry chicken bowl with jasmine rice, and that was DELISH! Had I only had that dish, I would’ve given this place 5 stars. The chicken was just the right amount of spicy, the bowl the right ratio of chicken to rice and overall, a decent sized meal. Stick with the bowls not the bao despite the name of the establishment.

UGH ok so it’s totally my fault for coming to a clearly Westernized fast food Chinese restaurant, but I like to think I keep my standards realistic.
Wow Bao did NOT even meet my low low standards for quick fast food.
FOOD: I got two buns (teriyaki chicken and bbq pork), the cool pad thai salad, and a vegetable lo mein bowl. The buns were the best part of the meal, but to be perfectly honest, I have no idea which was which. They tasted the exact same! The meat was also questionable, a lot of fatty chewy bits that I had to spit out. The pad thai salad was awful, cold and flavorless. It came with some spicy sauce to pour on top that was 100% oil and no flavor. The vegetables in the lo mein were fine, but there was, again, zero flavor, and everything was cold and overcooked.
Oh, and I did takeout, but they didn’t even give me any utensils to eat it with. BOOO.
I doubt I’ll ever come here again — I’d be better off buying frozen food at Trader Joe’s down the block and paying half what I paid here.

Great food! I love this place for the tasty baos and bowls. It’s a staple for lunch hour. I normally get the bbq chicken or curry bao, which are great compliments to a bowl.
The management at this location are very helpful, which adds to the reason everyone should go here.

Prior to coming here, I never tasted nor heard of a bao. I walk by this place routinely and figured I’d give it a try. The restaurant is clean, the food was delicious, and the employees were extremely polite.
The restaurant itself is small and super clean. A glass wall allows customers to view the machinery involved for making baos, which I find pretty cool. If I recall correctly, the fountain drink machine offers refreshing, hip and unique drinks such as ginger soda, lemonades, and teas.
The menu itself is simple, not overwhelming, and allows customers to choose individual items or meal options. I went with an employees advice and tried Meal Option 5 for my dinner, which is two baos and a bowl. My meal cost roughly ten dollars which I considered reasonable. I believe individual baos cost around two dollars.
The baos themselves are about the size of a softball cut in half and are warm, fluffy, and somewhat sweet in flavor. The breading reminded me of O’ Charley’s honey rolls. I chose the Chicken Teriyaki and Spicy Kung Pao Chicken boas. I liked both and would definitely get them again.
The bowl I chose was the spicy mongolian beef with lo mein noodles. The spicy mongolian beef was finely shredded beef and had some kick in terms of spiciness. It was just a bit greasy, but that’s kind of expected with shredded beef. Overall, it was good.
I will definitely be coming back to Wow Bao. There are many interesting items that I would like to try and Wow Bao conveniently serves breakfast and dessert items in additional to the traditional lunch and dinner options. I also like the fact that Wow Bao isn’t too unhealthy, meaning it didn’t make me feel like crap after eating there. Overall, I was extremely satisfied with the meal, cleanliness, and customer service at Wow Bao and would suggest going here for a relatively inexpensive meal.

Wow Bao is great when you’re at a fest and I’ve had it at outdoor festivals several times. Their baos are always soft & fluffy which is great. For me, their flavors are hit or miss. BBQ Pork is hands down the best of the bunch and if you’re feeling like something spicy, the thai curry chicken makes my mouth need water ASAP.
Prices are very reasonable and it’s a decent choice when in need of a quick & easy little something.

Growing up eating homemade bao all the time, I am a little bit pickier than most when it comes to Asian bao. That said; I decided to try out this place since it was here in the neighborhood. Overall, I like the restaurant and the atmosphere, it was clean, bright and fun with good music — and the staff was friendly.
As for the bao, it was not as flavorful as I thought. They were small for the price and therefore, I did not feel it was worth the money. If you want awesome bao, go to Chinatown where you can get bigger and better tasting bao for less. Neat concept but too pricey for my taste.

LOVE LOVE LOVE.
However, I’m willing to admit I didn’t at first. Wow Bao comes to my work for lunch and I was truthfully so overwhelmed by the concept I couldn’t get into it and never really knew what I was ordering because honestly there were so many choices. That being said, once I took the time to read the menu, I loved it.
Huge fan of the spicy peanut noodle salad (easy on the sauce, the name doesn’t lie) and the chicken potstickers and I love how they never give me and issues with asking for extras, things done differently, etc.
Also, I love how you can order things using their touch screens. Time saver and helps you get in and out quickly.
So glad I live a few blocks away and am able to stop by frequently, this place is a real find!

The atmosphere is cool and calm great relaxing music. 5 star
The staff are 5 star
Owner and manager 5 star
Portions 4 star
Taste 4 star
Overall experience 4 1\2 star

The worst Asian food experience for me. I couldn’t eat my Kung pao. I had to eat the bao because I was hungry. I didn’t also enjoy the baos. We ordered 3 different one and the logic is the same with them all. Chicken-​pepper-​parsley-​ginger-​some spices and spicy-​sweet sauce (wasn’t spicy at all). Beef-​pepper-​parsley-​ginger-​same spices and teriyaki sauce or Mongolian sauce. Idk I am disappointed with the food taste. It’s simple food, small dish and overpriced.
I admit that I’m picky with my food but my husband is not and he even didn’t like the taste even though he LOVES Asian food! As a fast food chain Panda Express is waaaaaaay better. Not going again.

I mean, the bao are cool (you can get a pack of 4 pork buns at TJs for $ 3 a block away. Just sayin). The edamame bun stands out, but are we all just going to ignore the fact this place is trying to charge like $ 7 for 2 buns and broth?
BROTH
Like, please sir I want some more.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, the small and random choices are not worth the price.
2 stars for the FAB employees here though and they almost make me want to go back. Definitely made me smile and giggle a few times, so yeah here’s a million dollars for some BROTH
BROTH

«Hot Asian Buns» is what can be found in small print under the Wow Bao logo… (and no, they’re not describing someone’s behind…) this sounded unique. However, hot asian buns along with rice/​noodle bowls, pot stickers, asian salads, soups, and so on was what got me to walk in and finally try this new addition to the neighborhood. They really should advertise that they serve much more than just bao.
After reviewing the menu and getting a little help from the cashier, I ordered a bowl combo. The bowl combo had the choice of noodles/​rice and meat/​veggies for the bowl and three pot stickers on the side for just under $ 10.00. They have no seafood options so being a pescatarian, I was able to order the vegetarian options. I chose the lo mein noodles with the vegetable toppings and vegetable pot stickers. I also got their homemade ginger ale. After ordering, we sat down and only waited about three minutes before our food was ready. This is definitely a plus if you want to grab a quick lunch or carry out dinner. The vegetable bowl with lo mein noodles were swimming in a thin light sauce (make sure you mix it up before you eat because the sauce was at the bottom of the bowl). The veggies were chopped so it was kind of hard to tell exactly what they were but I’m pretty sure it included mushrooms, carrots, and edamame. The pot stickers seemed to include the same chopped vegetables as the bowl and a yummy dipping sauce. My fresh ginger ale had a very strong ginger flavor which I enjoyed. Overall, I liked the food and would return.
Additionally, the customer service at Wow Bao was great! I noticed they had forgotten my ginger ale when I got my food and mentioned to them that it was missing. I was told that it was not on my bill and I hadn’t paid for one (the cashier must have forgotten to add it) but they were kind enough to quickly prepare a complimentary one for me anyway. Additionally, the cashier was very helpful when we were ordering giving suggestions and explaining different items since it was our first time.
This was a good option for lunch and I would return when I am looking for a quick, tasty and inexpensive meal.

I was hoping the experience would be comparable to big bowl, but it wasn’t even close. First of all, the flavor was disappointing, but more egregious was their ridiculous portions. They put the meat on top of the bowl so it appears to be a fair portion but once you dig in you quickly find that your bowl ⁹⁄₁₀ rice and ¹⁄₁₀ meat (and that’s being generous. It might actually be ¹⁹⁄₂₀ rice and ¹⁄₂₀ meat). There’s literally just enough meat to cover the rice. At big bowl they serve the meat and rice side by side so there’s no visual craftiness going on. I don’t care about the placement, I just can’t believe how ridiculous the meat to rice ratio is. Even the individual pieces of chicken are itty bitty compared to big bowl.
They also put heaps of cilantro on top of their bowls. Take that as you may.
Furthermore, the music is at approximately the same obnoxious level that you experienced at A&F when you were an angsty teenager.
Do yourself a favor. Don’t waste your money at this establishment. There are too many other great restaurants in the neighborhood.

My review is solely about their food. Carryout specifically; since I hosted a little holiday party and told everyone to bring a yum something. My cousin chose to purchase a great many baos for our family function, so the six-​pack deals were the best buy. She got some BBQ pork, spicy Mongolian beef and the spicy Kung pao. I personally favored the Mongolian beef and the pork. Even though, she’d traveled some time with them, they were still mighty good at the party. Flavorful with ample filling. I like the wholesome feeling the carbs of it’s covering (bao shell) gave me.
As wowed for their baos, as I’ve been & been again, I haven’t yet been… able to get my ass into any of their locations! I gotta go and will so soon. hopefully. Till then, still enjoying, shared & delivered baos.

Great food option for the neighborhood, but the store itself sucks. Hole in the wall place with a only a handful of tables to sit. It also seems claustrophobic. I was surprised this location kept downtown prices for the same things up in this area. I’m also not in love with the are-​your-​ears-​bleeding-​yet volume and bass of the music. We get it – loud thumping music turns customers, but this is the border of Lincoln Park and Lake View. All Wow Bao locations shouldn’t feel like tourist traps, and this outpost’s interiors feels cheap and uninspired. Couldn’t LEYE have made this a nicer experience?

Wow Bao is good for a snack, but not for a meal. I’m also one of the lucky human beings with a genetic predisposition to hate cilantro. There is a lot of cilantro in this stuff, so make sure you ask kindly that they leave the cilantro in the hell bucket it comes from. The rice bowls are yummy, and their homemade teas/​lemonades are pretty delightful. The buns themselves are a trendy, creative way of making an Asian dim sum thing more mainstream, which I give props for. However, my suggestion is to check out a more authentic bun establishment, like the Dumplings shack over in front of the Joong Boo Market. You have a smartphone with GPS technology, so get over there and tell me I’m not crazy.

My first legit Wow Bao experience and it was average. Their orginal bao buns are just okay. I tried the new pork belly bun which was decent but not the best I’ve had.
I also tried the srirracha chicken bun and the chicken was that fake rubbery kind. I don’t suggest trying this one. Mongolian beef was meh.

Potstickers were dry and poorly put together. The dough was separated from two of the five potstickers and hard on exterior. I also got the wrong order and they refused to fix it so I would not recommend this place.

Wow Bao is a solid lunch choice, and now it’s convenient for all of us in East Lakeview. I was really surprised by how delicious and not caloric some of the menu items were. A hearty and tasty thai curry chicken bowl with quinoa was less than 500 calories. The baos were pretty tasty, although not authentically Chinese. I’ll definitely keep this on my lunch rotation!