Chinese food hits the spot, but we get tired of the repeat acts of the same fancy banquet halls and fluorescent-lit, hole-in-the-wall options.
Tannis Ling, the former barkeep at Chambar, puts a stop to that with Bao Bei (meaning “precious” or “darling”), an intimate modern-vintage room serving authentic Asian fare.
Ling’s cocktail prowess shines in the Madame Chiang cocktail ($8), and everything—literally, everything—on the menu is delicious. The Banh-Mi ($7), the pork wontons in black bean broth ($6) and the gluten rice cake ($8) blew us away, as did the trio of adventurous ice creams ($5) and the décor, the latter of which got design help from Craig Stanghetta.
We’ll see you there for an encore performance.
Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie
www.bao-bei.ca
163 Keefer St.
604-688-0876
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