Tom's BaoBao is a fast casual restaurant specializing in authentic, traditional, hand-made bao. At the first international location of the China-based restaurant company, in Cambridge, Massachusetts’ Harvard Square, several varieties of authentic Chinese steamed buns are handmade in front of customers. Bao is a delicious street food that first appeared over 1,200 years ago in China. This leavened dough can be filled with anything from pork to curry beef to spicy lotus root. Bao grows during the steaming process into a large, fluffy bun that encapsulates its flavorful filling. In modern China, the vast majority of bao is frozen and mass-produced by machines.
History
Tom's BaoBao Harvard Square is the first international location of the Chinese fast-casual bao restaurant, Ganqishi, which has more than 200 locations throughout China and has been serving nearly 250,000 bao a day since it was founded in 2009. Interested in expanding his passion for quality bao, founder and CEO Tom Tong fell in love with Massachusetts and Rhode Island while on vacation and knew it was the perfect place to introduce his concept abroad. A second location opened in Providence, RI on October 15, 2016.
Restaurant design
Tom's BaoBao is a modern, bright white space with tile floors, hand-painted murals and wood finishings. Stools and communal tables for up to 13 guests reflect both the sleek design and dedication to nature. The restaurant's design seeks to bring to life the four senses of bao through large murals depicting the bao-making process cast all over the small space. Red flags with Chinese characters reading "We enjoy the food we eat and the clothes we wear," and "We are safe, we are content" hang from the side wall as guests enter the restaurant and proceed to the counter to order. Behind the counter, a large glass window looks into the kitchen so that guests can watch the baoists at work. The restaurant is located on the ground floor and has a large window that looks directly onto Winthrop Square so that passersby can take a look inside. The store design also ensures quick service; less than thirty seconds from initial order to fulfilment.
Menu
The menu at Tom's BaoBao is small with several different bao flavors that combine historical Chinese recipes with modern innovations and local ingredients:
Each Tom's BaoBao restaurant also features a signature bao specific to the location. The Harvard Square menu includes a lobster bao with locally sourced lobster. The menu changes seasonally. Drinks served with bao include Oolong tea, which comes from Wuyi Mountain in China where Tom oversaw the harvest; fresh brewed New Harvest Coffee from Pawtucket, RI; soy milk made fresh in Cambridge by Chang Shing Tofu Inc., and seasonal fruit and vegetable juices.
