C Bao

Decent food but not outstanding. Prices are reasonable. Baos on the surface seem pricey but they are larger than you find at some other places. Nice to have tried it once but I wouldn’t go out I my way to come here.

Giving this place 4 stars even as I know they’re moving locations. You order at the counter and then fine a table to sit — it’s quite spacious, especially for NYC. Love their authentic Taiwanese cuisine. Their beef noodle soup is surprisingly delicious, as well as their dan dan noodles, and minced pork over rice. Sad to see them go as there isn’t another place like it in the area!

The attitude of staff is horrible. My friend and I have each ordered a cup of HOT bubble tea. When my friend got her order, it’s iced instead of Hot, so she asked for the cold one instead, the male staff replied by saying «I’m following the order» while the cashier said «I didn’t put it down», without saying sorry. Then it’s my turn, when I realized mine was iced as well, I told the staff politely that mine should be hot, then the female cashier said «you didn’t tell me» with a bxxxx face. That really pissed me off. I’ve told her twice when I order, but she wasn’t listening at all! And the way she treat costumers is unbearable.
And btw, this isn’t really owned by Taiwanese, guys, don’t get fooled!

I just paid $ 18 for a bland bulgogi bao, «shrimp» dumplings which was nothing but soggy fake crab meat that only tasted like its wrapper, and over-​sweetened mango fizzy. What a waste of money. Let’s see how sick I get tonight. Whoever rates this place high is seriously high or is used to eating from a toilet.

I’ve ordered here multiple times cause I like the food. Both times, the delivery service was awful. Took them two hours to bring my food both times. If I were in a rush, I would’ve been an hour and a half late. And the food arrives looking messy and unprofessional. It’s not just a one time thing; it’s happened multiple times with different delivery guys. They’ve lost themselves a customer tonight. Ridiculous.

I stumbled upon this place after a night time stroll on the high line. The baos here are okay. I ordered the original #1. The pork belly was just average, nothing super memorable. I do remember however that there was a lot of seasoning on the bao, so if you like sesame flavors, this place is for you! Though the baos cost about $ 5 each, the portion is very big, especially if you’re comparing it to the ones from Bao Haus. Overall, it was an average experience, worth a visit but not sure if I’ll come back.

The review is for the bao and only the bao: overpriced and flavorless. The bread was most filling, but the meats and dressings inside tasted like typical take-​out Chinese fare. Each bao was about $ 5.05, which was about 1.50 more than I would have liked to have paid for. I ordered the traditional bao and the bulgoki bao. Both minimally seasoned and tasteless.
The bubble tea was good, though.

i wish i could give a 4.75 star!
this place is so unassuming and really deserves way more credit. everything is clean and fresh and bright and sunny… the staff, the place, the food.
the price is amazing! i would give this a five if the food execution was a bit different…
either offer less menu options but really make sure what is offered is cooked to perfection.
or… keep an abundance of variety but offer things a little less typical. maybe more regional cuisine options? or more vegetarian variants? or really fun and different bao options. go outside of standard :)
for what they currently offer, very good stuff. the eggplant meal box even came with woodear mushrooms! so yummy!
the best surprise was the brown boiled egg. i have such fond memories of when i first discovered this egg style. i was so happy to receive such a surprise in my meal box today.
the staff really enjoys opening up today, the place was bustling with happiness & productivity. i’d come back just to engage with the cheery staff again.

Had their Peking Duck Bao (bun) at a street fair in the East Village. The deck was moist, tender and absolutely deliciously amazing. It took them two years to perfect their bun and perfect it they did! Watching the chef lovingly prepare it was icing on the cake.
Perfection plain and simple! We will be visiting their restaurant next time we are downtown. We cannot wait!

Had the Peking duck bun. It was pretty decent, but I wouldn’t pay $ 6 for it again. The inside of this place was a bit shabby and empty when I went.

At first glance, the restaurant looks like a crappy Chinese takeout store (they have a freshly made but oh so typical buffet line). There are gross dining booths and tables, and the layout is confusing. That being said, I am so glad I came.
I ordered the Taiwanese popcorn chicken and the Original Bao (#1). The popcorn chicken was crispy, juicy, and had the spice and powder (white pepper, red spice, salt and secret tofu) that majority of the Taiwanese popcorn chicken in the US are missing. They used dark meat like they should. The chicken was authentic. The only thing I would add is basil and a stick to stab your chicken with.
From experience ordering Taiwanese popcorn chicken from all sorts of places, I knew that it takes FOREVER to cook. I didn’t mind waiting for a fresh batch. If you ever order popcorn chicken and get it under 10 minutes, then you know that your batch wasn’t made especially for you. Even so, the staff was apologetic for the wait and it was much appreciated.
The bao was pretty large for New York standards (bigger than my palm). All the ingredients tasted fresh and it was made just like they do in Taiwan. From the large cut of pork belly, to the sugar peanuts, to the suan cai (pickled cabbage), it was all on par. Sometimes, when you get gua bao there is more sugar than peanut, but not here.
I can’t wait to go back and try their other Taiwanese specialities. Their bubble tea flavors look legit too.
Don’t forgo this place just because of it’s appearance! If you are that afraid, get delivery or takeout. If you don’t you’ll regret it.

I got their food from the international night market in queens. My bf and I got their crispy pork and shrimp tempura bao. Omg it’s so good!!! The bao itself is so light and fluffy like a pillow. Perfect chewiness and the crispy pork is a huge piece (they didn’t skimp out). It comes with lettuce, mayo and tomatoes. My bfs shrimp tempura came with slaw and cilantro with some soy Sauce type of sauce but it’s a perfect combination.
If I’m in the city one day, I’ll want to stop by here and check out the rest of their menu :)
Super yummers! :)

I was really craving Taiwanese food so I tried to find some Taiwanese food in Manhattan and this is where I ended up. First impressions: The sushi bar was closed when I was there. The tables were dirty, doesn’t seem like there was any staff cleaning up. The bubble tea station didn’t look very clean so I didn’t order any. Okay, now on to the food.
I actually didn’t try a bao this time because I felt like $ 5 was kind of pricey for a bao!
I opted for the braised pork over rice and the Taiwanese popcorn chicken. Although neither of them are super authentic, I still enjoyed both.
Braised pork over rice: I liked that they put a lot of sauce on this so the rice on the bottom can soak up some sauce. Lots of sour vegetables, which I love. Also comes with an egg! The flavor was good and the pork was juicy and fatty. Just how I like my braised pork over rice. Like I said, it’s not totally authentic Taiwanese flavor, but it still tasted good.
Taiwanese popcorn chicken: Although pretty salty, that’s how I like my popcorn chicken. I liked how crispy the chicken was, but there were a lot of small pieces that was basically fried fried stuff with no chicken.
I’d come back again and try the bao. I’d give this place 3.5 stars as of now.

This place renovated and reopened yesterday. The layout makes a lot more sense now, and they now have a sushi/​to go and a self serve buffet section, the latter of which I would like to try sometime. I think the renovation was a smart move.
I had previously reviewed this place on thr ComeBuy bubble tea page, but the renovation seems to prioritize CBao now.
The food here is akin to comfort food, and, along with the laid back, spacey atmosphere is of solid value. I usually get the classic beef noodle soup, but opted for the Roast duck this time, and was reminded of a favorite place back in Maryland.
Conclusion: Five stars because of price, food, atmosphere and service. Kudos on the layout redesign.

WARNING: DO NOT ORDER TAKEOUT FROM HERE
I ordered lunch for delivery from here today. After an hour and 20 minutes, I didn’t get my food so I called to follow up on my order and they told me they didn’t know when they could deliver my food and would get back to me. Another 40 minutes go by and still no food or response. I finally got a call from Grubhub saying that C Bao has decided not to full fill my order but didn’t bother to let me know.
I typically only write reviews based on the food and actual experience at the restaurant but I just wanted to give a heads up to people who are considering ordering take-​out from here. Don’t do it. You’ll just end up grumpy and hungry.

This is my second time to visit this place.
Different to west coast, this store operated in special model. I tried the boba milk tea, fried sweet potato, Peking duck Bao and braise pork rice.
Its easy to find good boba milktea but it’s not easy to find authentic braise pork rice.
Here is the place offer good Taiwanese pork rice. The fried chicken is also good and tasty. Those food make me nostalgia!
By the way, I think US people will like Peking duck Bao because the sweet sause.

More like a 2.5*.
I wasn’t too impressed with C Bao, but the buns were HUGE.
I was wondering why they heck they cost so much. I would have preferred smaller buns with smaller prices to match. I felt like there was too much bun and not enough pork belly in the #1 that I ordered.
I would have had to order 3 of them to get full, so if you do get boba, you’re looking at a $ 20 meal.

I was initially drawn to C Bao for their wide variety of baos. They have 11 types. There has been a special all November — 50% off (orig $ 4.75) grilled pork baos so this is the only type of bao I’ve had. The fluffy steamed bun is stuffed with a small thin pork chop which is nicely seasoned plus a slaw, cilantro, and a hoisin type sauce. It’s a bit larger than a slider, so you’ll need two to feel satisfied. Overall, it’s a decent bao but would probably prefer the pork belly.
I saw they also serve some Taiwanese food/​snacks and tried the POPCORN CHICKEN and the BEEF NOODLE SOUP. Watch out, the popcorn chicken was pretty spicy but seasoned well with 5 spice and was extra crispy. The beef noodle soup had a flavorful broth and the pieces of beef were tender. I would recommend eating this dish here. I ordered take out and by the time I arrived home (25 mins later) the noodles were overcooked. Not sure if they were already overdone or b/​c it was sitting in the soup too long.
C Bao has a fairly large menu. They also serve dumplings, a variety of noodle dishes, fried rice, meal boxes, and some sides. All at reasonable prices. The setup is fast food style, you order at the front counter and wait for the food in the back. There’s lots of seating and saw some folks camped with their laptops. Seems popular with the college crowd. They also share a space with Comebuy, the bubble tea shop, which is a nice bonus.
Overall, a decent place for an Asian lunch or afternoon snack.

We walked into C Bao and before we got a chance to inhale for oxygen we heard «Welcome to C Bao». Now that’s quality service! What’s on the menu? A list of variety of Baos, selection of meal boxes, dumplings, noodles, combos with Bao + Boba + sweet potato fried for $ 5 on top of the price of the Bao, dinner specials for $ 27 for two, and Comebuy (what’s Comebuy?). Confused yet? We were.
Immediately suffering from a case of menu overload I spoke to the cashier for several minutes asking what is included in the combo which is limited to certain boba and does not include the price of the Bao. Figured the deal was not worth $ 10. The special of the month was the grilled pork bao for 50% off. Ordered it. After viewing the menu for several minutes tinkering around items (large menus intimidate a food fickle), we decided on the Original Bao.
Without given instructions we sat down at an open table. Do we pick up the food? If so where? Are they going to bring it to us? How will they know the order is ours? Mystery. After 5 minutes I hear someone shout «Number #23» in the far back.
Both Baos were excellent. We liked it so much we ordered another original Boa and Medium Green Tea with Honey that came in a cup the size of a Starbucks Grande.
I found the Baos to be severely overpriced. $ 4.25 for a single bao? 4 bites and it’s gone. Nevertheless they were mad delicious. Go for the Grilled Pork Bao 50% limited time.

bummer.
we were pretty excited to come here for the soup dumpling and bao, but they didn’t have soup dumplings anymore. (i don’t know if she meant «no more soup dumplings» as in EVER again, or just for the day, but regardless, we didn’t get to have any…)
we stood at the front doors awkwardly for quite a while, as it said to wait to be served… unfortunately there was no staff there to serve us. when she finally did surface, she didn’t really know much about our menu questions.
I ordered a duck bao, and a milk tea. both were mediocre. the service at the bubble tea booth (inside Cbao) was good, the guy working was friendly.
It was really depressing in there too — no music on, dead quiet, and even though it was basically empty, there was still garbage on a couple of the tables… but…Free WiFi, so that’s a plus, i guess.