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Bao Basha brings Asian fusion to Swefieh Village
By Raja Attar, Jordan
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AMMAN — Bao Basha
is a relatively new Asian fusion restaurant located in Swefieh Village. They
mainly serve bao sliders, rice, and noodle dishes, as well as a variety of
gyozas. اضافة اعلان
While the menu offers a wide array of Asian flavors, it also marries and fuses different influences from places such as North America and the Mediterranean, which is a nice twist that is bound to suit local tastes.
Upon entering I was able to see their kitchen behind the counter. The place was spotless and the staff were extremely welcoming and warm. I ordered a gyoza platter, chicken katsu curry, cold noodle salad, six baos, and a side of kimchi.
The restaurant intertwines East Asian flavors with North American and Mediterranean touches. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
I sat at my table with a friend while we waited for our food. The seating area is small and cozy. And the space was well-furnished and tastefully decorated.
First up was the gyoza platter, which is a variety of six gyozas — a style of Chinese dumplings — of our choice. We picked two chicken, two beef, and two veggie gyozas. Like most dishes, the gyozas arrived in a steamer basket. The beef gyoza was the star of this round and brought everything together.
The veggie gyoza has a very pleasant crunchy and almost fresh feel to it. Unfortunately, the chicken gyoza was the most underwhelming and felt like it needed some depth to make it as impressive as the other gyozas we had.
Bao Basha’s gyoza are available filled with chicken, beef, or vegetables. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
The food arrived very quickly and almost all at once. We moved on to the chicken katsu curry and the cold noodles salad. The chicken katsu was served on top of a bed of fluffy jasmine rice and a curry sauce, garnished with marinated cucumber slices. The katsu was perfectly breaded and fried, and the chicken was pleasantly plump. The curry sauce was a bit of a letdown by comparison; the base was very good but needed a pinch of salt.
The Cold Noodles salad features cucumber, carrot, daikon, and green onion on egg noodles with a sweet peanut dressing. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
The cold noodles salad was undoubtedly one of the meal’s shining stars. A generous portion of cucumber, carrot, daikon, and green onion on top of cold egg noodles, all brought together with a sweet and nutty peanut dressing that gave the salad a beautiful contrast of flavor. Definitely recommended!
Finally, we brought our attention to the bao sliders. We ordered 6 baos in total: two classic beef, two fried chicken (apparently their most popular), and two panko eggplant. The bao itself was soft and fluffy, yet firm, a perfect vessel for an array of ingredients. The classic beef bao was stunning on so many levels and so simple yet very complex in textural contrast. The beef was very tender and flavorful, the beef gravy accentuated the beef flavor and gave it a great deal of depth, while the pickled cucumber provided a much needed element of crunch and acidity to tie it all together. Simply stunning. Highly recommended!
The beef bao stood out amongst the other bao offerings for its deep taste and textural contrast. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
Up next was the fried chicken bao: a plum piece of breaded fried chicken topped with Asian-style slaw and spicy mayo. As much as I enjoyed this bao, I was yearning for the Asian flavors to come through. It was very pleasant but had more of an American flavor profile.
The fried chicken bao features breaded fried chicken, slaw, and spicy mayo. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
We wrapped the meal up with the funkiest bao on the menu, the panko eggplant. Unlike the other baos, it was cut like a bread roll. The eggplant mash was breaded with panko and topped with fig jam and a slice of grilled halloumi. The marriage of those three ingredients with three different textures and flavors was very interesting. I felt the fig jam could have been less sweet as it overpowered the rest of the ingredients. The grilled halloumi was essential as it provided a savory aspect to this unique bao.
The panko eggplant bao, a perfect option for vegetarians, includes eggplant mash breaded with panko bread crumbs, topped with fig jam and grilled halloumi. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
Overall, we had a very good meal. From smooth and quick service, to elegantly served dishes, Bao Basha serves up a unique combination of flavors that is definitely worth a try.
Read more good food
While the menu offers a wide array of Asian flavors, it also marries and fuses different influences from places such as North America and the Mediterranean, which is a nice twist that is bound to suit local tastes.
Upon entering I was able to see their kitchen behind the counter. The place was spotless and the staff were extremely welcoming and warm. I ordered a gyoza platter, chicken katsu curry, cold noodle salad, six baos, and a side of kimchi.
The restaurant intertwines East Asian flavors with North American and Mediterranean touches. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
I sat at my table with a friend while we waited for our food. The seating area is small and cozy. And the space was well-furnished and tastefully decorated.
First up was the gyoza platter, which is a variety of six gyozas — a style of Chinese dumplings — of our choice. We picked two chicken, two beef, and two veggie gyozas. Like most dishes, the gyozas arrived in a steamer basket. The beef gyoza was the star of this round and brought everything together.
The veggie gyoza has a very pleasant crunchy and almost fresh feel to it. Unfortunately, the chicken gyoza was the most underwhelming and felt like it needed some depth to make it as impressive as the other gyozas we had.
Bao Basha’s gyoza are available filled with chicken, beef, or vegetables. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
The food arrived very quickly and almost all at once. We moved on to the chicken katsu curry and the cold noodles salad. The chicken katsu was served on top of a bed of fluffy jasmine rice and a curry sauce, garnished with marinated cucumber slices. The katsu was perfectly breaded and fried, and the chicken was pleasantly plump. The curry sauce was a bit of a letdown by comparison; the base was very good but needed a pinch of salt.
The Cold Noodles salad features cucumber, carrot, daikon, and green onion on egg noodles with a sweet peanut dressing. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
The cold noodles salad was undoubtedly one of the meal’s shining stars. A generous portion of cucumber, carrot, daikon, and green onion on top of cold egg noodles, all brought together with a sweet and nutty peanut dressing that gave the salad a beautiful contrast of flavor. Definitely recommended!
Finally, we brought our attention to the bao sliders. We ordered 6 baos in total: two classic beef, two fried chicken (apparently their most popular), and two panko eggplant. The bao itself was soft and fluffy, yet firm, a perfect vessel for an array of ingredients. The classic beef bao was stunning on so many levels and so simple yet very complex in textural contrast. The beef was very tender and flavorful, the beef gravy accentuated the beef flavor and gave it a great deal of depth, while the pickled cucumber provided a much needed element of crunch and acidity to tie it all together. Simply stunning. Highly recommended!
The beef bao stood out amongst the other bao offerings for its deep taste and textural contrast. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
Up next was the fried chicken bao: a plum piece of breaded fried chicken topped with Asian-style slaw and spicy mayo. As much as I enjoyed this bao, I was yearning for the Asian flavors to come through. It was very pleasant but had more of an American flavor profile.
The fried chicken bao features breaded fried chicken, slaw, and spicy mayo. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
We wrapped the meal up with the funkiest bao on the menu, the panko eggplant. Unlike the other baos, it was cut like a bread roll. The eggplant mash was breaded with panko and topped with fig jam and a slice of grilled halloumi. The marriage of those three ingredients with three different textures and flavors was very interesting. I felt the fig jam could have been less sweet as it overpowered the rest of the ingredients. The grilled halloumi was essential as it provided a savory aspect to this unique bao.
The panko eggplant bao, a perfect option for vegetarians, includes eggplant mash breaded with panko bread crumbs, topped with fig jam and grilled halloumi. (Photo: Raja Attar/Jordan News)
Overall, we had a very good meal. From smooth and quick service, to elegantly served dishes, Bao Basha serves up a unique combination of flavors that is definitely worth a try.
Read more good food
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