Baoism is closing this Thursday
And another one is leaving us. Alex Xu and his team are bao-ing out of Baoism.
After three years of serving up twists on baozi and other takes traditional Chinese eats, one of the founders Xu announced this morning that they'll will be shutting up shop. That means you've only got a few more days for Korean fried chicken baos, cheeseburger baos, hongshao carnitas baos, fried lotus chips, black sesame soft serve...
Having initially started as a pop-up concept serving modernised versions of Chinese street foods, Baoism emerged in 2014 and found a home in the lower level of Xintiandi's Hubindao mall. Since then, it's become known for hip booze-heavy events, an evolving menu and of course, innovative baos. Remember Battles of the Baos, that Chinese gangster-themed showdown between Xu and Chef Simon of Liquid Laundry? And Beats, Baos and Bottles with the YETI and Jameson crews? Ah, memories...
Despite their seeming success, Xu and his team are on to new things. 'We've had a great run; it's been three years,' says Xu, 'but we've really just decided that it's time to move on. We're going out on top and I have no regrets.' Xu will be setting off to tackle a new long-term project: running a vineyard and making wines in Yunnan province.
Baoism is open this week and will close up after dinner on Thursday 26.
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