Baopdx

Nothing quite compares to the steaming fresh bao you can find in Taiwan’s bustling night markets, but this comes pretty close. The Spam and Tamagoyaki bao was my favorite. The sweetness of the tamagoyaki (a sweet Japanese egg that sushi lovers will be familiar with) complemented perfectly with the saltiness of the spam and slice of seaweed. For those who like to multi-​task and eat/​walk — it’s a delicious, non-​messy option.
The Ginger Orange Tofu bao was a bit underwhelming after the spam bao, but to be fair, this is a carnivore speaking. It is a good (and the only) bao option for vegetarians.
The baos were both fresh and soft — just how they should be! I’d recommend stopping by the cart as early as possible. They tend to sell out pretty quickly.

This is based solely on the Spam and Tamagoyaki bao. I was in town on Labor Day looking for a particular food cart and found that they were closed. Bummer. However, I spotted this cart. First thing I saw was the pork belly bao. The cart opened at 11:00 am and it was 11:15 am when I got there and they had already ran out of the pork belly. Really? I was so bummed out. Maybe that is why there was no line for this cart. So I decided to try the Spam and Tamagoyaki bao. It was really good. The bun was soft and fresh, the sweetened egg toned down the saltiness of the Spam. The tamago was topped with nori strips so it tasted like a musubi. But the whole bao itself was pretty small for $ 3 so you need to get two to satisfy your hunger.
They have tofu, bbq beef and chicken baos. If you want to make it a combo, you get two baos, a bag of chips and soda for about $ 7 if I remember correctly.
After I had ordered, two other people came and tried ordering the pork belly and they also were disappointed. They need to make more pork belly since this seems to be the most popular out of all of them. Please Baopdx, do make more pork belly baos so that there will be more happy people and stomachs.
²⁷⁄₃₀

Why the lineup at this cart wasn’t longer is beyond me. Pork belly bao was big and fluffy and filled with the best kind of pork belly, and that’s the type with the nice layer of braised, soy sauced fat. They’re surprisingly large, and a person could probably feel quite comfortable with just two buns and a drink.

One of the better food stand meals I’ve had was from BoaPDX. The pork belly boa buns are amazing! The pork belly itself isn’t ground up like you see most places. It’s actually sliced which gives the overall sandwich some nice texture. The pickled vegetables are also a nice touch which also cuts some of the richness of the fatty pork. This is a great little food stand that sticks to a small menu and does everything on it the right way.

Hmm… pork belly buns. I wonder how they compare to Bay Area’s The Chairman. They ran out of pork belly on my first visit at around 2:30pm but I went back earlier the next day and got some. Along with other fillings.
The buns are quite big (compared to regular ones), fluffy and not dry. Good buns.
Pork belly: two thin slices with garnishes are yummy but too little given the bun size.
Spam, Japanese omelette and seaweed also taste good together but the overall package felt quite dry. And also the bun to filling ratio suffers the same problem with pork belly.
Jerk chicken didn’t have the problem since they stuffed quite a bit of it. Taste great with the cilantro garnishes.
Overall, it doesn’t top The Chairman (which is irrelevant anyway given the different cities) but it’s still pretty good.

I, for one, welcome our new Taiwanese-​Jamaican overlords with open arms.
My mouth might be open too.
Yeah, that’s probably going to happen.

GIVE THESE GUYS SOME LOVIN!
Located on 9^th and Alder, this place that serves bao is the freshest cart on the block. Cheap eats, simple menu, good food, friendly guys– how can you say no?
My recommendations: The pork belly and the spam tamagoyaki. Get both, even. Because they’re pretty small, I would recommend ordering two or more.

The bao pdx cart is good but not great. I like the concept but had higher expectations than what I got. The bao buns are very good but I’m just not digging the goods inside.
Tried one curry and another pork belly. Curry was good but I thought I would like pork belly better. I did not. It was an overly fatty piece of bacon with less flavor inside the bun, it wasn’t up to par. It makes me me question if I even like pork belly, but I’m pretty sure its like anything else, done well it is amazing, this was not.
I liked the other sandwich enough to try some others but the expectation will be much lower and can’t say I will go out of my way to get it.

The guy taking the order was extremely friendly and at $ 3 the pork belly bao was the perfect little bite. I loved the moistness of the meat contrasted with the tang of the pickled veggies and the softness of the bao (so nice that it wasn’t dry as bao buns sometimes are apt to be!).

I really liked this place! My boyfriend and I tried all 4 meat bao which were perfect for a light lunch. My favorite was the BBQ Beef, but I also really enjoyed the Spam and the Pork Belly. The buns were really tasty and I thought the meat to bun ratio worked well. I’ll definitely be back.

Walked by today and decided to give Bao a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. I tried the BBQ beef with cabbage. So delicious. The bun was spongy and fluffy, light and warm. The perfect vessel for some decadent BBQ beef. I would have liked a bit more cabbage, and less beef, but hey most people would say I’m crazy for wanting a lower meat ratio, so maybe that’s just me. Great, filling snack for $ 3; I would be hard pressed to eat two for a full lunch, but I’m sure I could manage!

I just tried the Jerk Chicken Bao and the BBQ Beef Bao.
The BBQ beef had nice flavor and the garnishes were good compliment to the dish. However, the bao is much too thick which gives it a «doughy» texture.
The Jerk Chicken was not tasty and needed more acid. Same comment on the bao.
Overall, I think this is a novel concept that would be more successful if they (1) lowered their prices to $ 2, (2) changed the Jerk Chicken recipe and (3) provided hot sauce with each bao.
I will not be returning.

I liked it, refreshing new cart, nice to see something a little different. We got the Jerk Chicken, BBQ Beef, Spam, and Pork Belly Baos. BBQ Beef was my gf’s favorite; Pork Belly and Spam were mine; we didn’t really care for the chicken one. The bun were good, nice and big and doughy. Great option to have, I will definitely be back.
Now what would be really awesome if you had some kind of roasted duck bao, or Chinese sausage bao. More traditional for sure, but for good reason!

I want to jump for joy and yell out Baooooooo!!!(and karate chop a table)…but i can’t. The guys were extremely nice, i really hope and wish them well in their new business, BUT i got «Beef» with them, or should i say Belly, or not enough belly with them?! or, nvm. I had the nice little soft breaded Pork Belly snackerwich. It was $ 3, definitely need at least 2 for a lunch meal. The meat was delicious, the fresh veggies were good, the bread soft.
«So Mike, where’s the Belly?»
Exactly. The ratio of pork belly to soft bread was off. If it had 2 slices of pork belly we wouldn’t be having a 3-​star conversation. And with this sandwich being the ONLY meal that didn’t make me smile from ear to ear in my week long trip to Portland, I can’t validate giving it the 4 – 5 star première status.
2 slices pork belly=5 star. I shall return.

A bao cart in PDX? That’s something new and exciting. My mission after reading the
Unilocal reviews was to search out this place and see what it was all about. I love bao with anything, especially with pork belly.
I was torn between ordering one or two bao. One is not enough and two is too much. So I finally decided to order the pork belly, the whole reason why I went there anyway. After my first bite, I was utterly disappointed. The pork belly was undercooked. The skin was still intact and it was crunchy and super chewy. Usually, a well-​cooked pork belly literally melts in your mouth. I would have thrown it away if I hadn’t paid $ 3 for it and if the hungry children from the third world wouldn’t look down on me for wasting food. But seriously, I wouldn’t open a cart if my pork belly turned out like that.
I give them credit for opening a bao cart. The bao bread was decent but the meat needs a lot more work. I would like to see improvement in the meat’s texture. Has anyone ever said that the pork belly was so good because it was crunchy from biting into the fat? Not really. At least they could have removed the plasticy skin.
I don’t know if I want to come back here to try it out again. First impressions are kind of important, especially when there is so much competition around.

I visited the cart at the tail end of its first full week. Everything had been selling like hotcakes. Larger batches of food were made each passing day, with sellout after sellout. And they still sell out on a daily basis, so get there early!
I only got wind of the place after it popped up on Unilocal,where people had been posting rave reviews. I found them on Twitter and mentioned that I would try to get there early to assure myself some food!
Matt and Max are the owners, aiming to grace Portland with their take on great street food. And come on, bao is ideal street food, isn’t it?
At the window, another nice dude, Carter, took my order. Each bao is $ 3, with a $ 7.50 combo option also available (2 bao, chips, and a drink). This time, I opted for just two bao (pork belly and jerk chicken), no combo.
In case you’re wondering: yes, they make their own bao, freshly steamed each day!
The pork belly was wonderfully flavored, savory-​sweet sensations caressing my tongue. The tangy pickled veggies contrasted excellently in texture and flavor.
And we’re talking tender pork. Tender loving make-​sweet-​love pork. I found it futile to part from the fine meat, although I willingly removed the top layer of fat on my piece. Anyway… (continues to chomp away) Oh bloody hell, it’s all gone? Damn. Still got another bao, though.
The jerk chicken was moist and juicy. Again, the blessing flavor is present enough to allow you to appreciate all the components. Do people really believe cilantro tastes like soap? My dad would probably say yes, but fortunately, I have my mom’s taste buds. We’d probably eat cilantro straight by the damn fistful.
These guys also have spam, that awesome mystery meat thingy that has a cult following in Hawaii. I would say that’s winner winner spammy dinner.
Matt stepped out of the cart during peak lunch feeding time and personally talked with me for a bit. I’ve been to a lot of carts, folks, and not every cart owner does that. Max was working his other job at the time, so I didn’t get to meet him. I certainly wish everyone here well. Downtown has major foot traffic, but incredible amounts of competition. Fortunately, the product at Bao PDX is simple, very affordable, and makes them stand out from the rest. Check them out ASAP!

Maybe it was the green sign that had me, or the fact that it was just one of the simplest words, but when I saw this place walking down Alder between 9^th and 10^th, I had to stop by. They have a pretty simple menu: 5 Baos to choose from (Pork Belly, Spam & Tamagoyaki, BBQ Beef, Jerk Chicken, and Ginger Orange Tofu) and one combo (2 Baos of choice, chips, and a drink). Nothing out of the ordinary, just simple and easy — two good things I liked about it already. I noticed, too, when I was walking up to the cart, that they had the SQUARE logo — which would mean they would accept my debit/​credit card. Definite bonus since I only had some coins and a dollar on me – and because most food carts only accept cash.
I placed my order with the friendly guy at the window — I was going to pick the pork belly, but because they had peanuts on it (I’m allergic!) I couldn’t get it – so BBQ Beef Bao it was. The bao, after talking with the guy, was freshly made, along with the slaw inside the bao. Within a few minutes, my order was ready, and I was able to walk (and eat!) at the same time. And… oh my gosh — the BBQ beef was cooked to perfection with amazing sauce. It was so yummy, I definitely regretted not getting the combo. Actually, thinking about it now, I think I’m going to head over and get one; but after this review, of course.
All in all: fast, cheap! (all Bao’s are $ 3! Seriously. So. Cheap.), and soooo good. The best in Portland I’ve had so far. Try it out for yourself!

This new little food cart has got my attention because the «Bao» they made is one of the street food in Taiwan where I grew up.
I only tried the pork belly bao so far, and the pork belly was great! It was not over cook to be too soft, yet it has just the right amount of flavor in it.
I’m going back soon to try their other bao, in fact, I’m telling lots of my friends about them now.

Bao!!! I came crossed this foodcart last Monday. I walked by and the guy who was working as a cashier was super friendly and talkative, telling me about their baos and their new opening, etc. And they take credit cards!!! So, I decided to give it a try.
I ordered the Combo since it was just $ 7.50 for 2 bao, chips, and a soda! I chose their Pork Belly and Spam & Tamagoyaki. It reminded me a lot for the Chinese Pork burger I had at a Chinese restaurant in Seattle before. New kind of Asian food, Asian fusion… with great flavor!
They seemed busy, but the food didn’t get that long to prepare compare to other foodcarts around. In 3 – 5 min, I’m already taking my first bite to my bao…
The Pork Belly scared me when I first saw the layers of fat… After taking one bite, I’m hooked! It was marinated with great flavor but not oily at all!!! Wished there were a little sauce on the bao, but I’m not sure if the bao get wet, will it be able to maintain the great texture. The flavor reminded me of this Chinese dish with pickle veggies…
I saved my Spam & Tamagoyaki to eat after work (snack before dinner). I microwaved it a little to warm it up… I was super surprised that the bao stayed in great texture after all these hours. The spam, seaweed and egg reminded me of Hawaiian/​Japanese food… great combination!
They’re all interesting bao combinations/​creations, wondering if they’ll come up more ingredients for other bao creations later???
It could be a snack or a full meal… and the portion is just right. I got full but I didn’t get a food coma… I hope they’ll maintain the good quality I’ve experienced, and I’ll be back again for the other baos on their menu!
I’m a Fan!

happened upon this stand, and knew I had to try it. got the spam and tamagoyaki bao, as well as the pork belly bao and both were deeelicious. the bao was very reminiscent of my grandmas mantos, the seaweed and green onions with spam and egg were perfect. pork belly was a little fattier than necessary but so well flavored and melt in your mouth yum. glad to find oout we got to try a totally new cart on our short trip in town!
btw $ 3 each is an epicly good price.