Review of 'Master Bao (Westfield London)'

Recent refurbishment of the food court at Westfield London (Shepherd's Bush) has introduced a few new restaurants including “Master Bao”, serving up Taiwanese cuisine, specifically, “bao” - small steamed buns filled with deliciousness. Soon after it opened I grabbed a copy of their menu to have a look but recently I had a chance to finally give it a try.

The small Master Bao stall is located on the 2nd floor of Westfield (near the escalator up to Nando's on the way to the Vue cinema; on the same level, and opposite, the Nike and Apple stores). Their simple menu is in the form of an Asian newspaper with the menu part of it split into only a few simple to understand sections: “Bao”, “Sides”, “Noodles” (dan dan noodles) and “Drinks” (including alcohol as well as fresh juices), along with various meal options. The sections are simple with only a few options in each. There are six Bao on offer at £4.50 each (yes, PER bun) or you can choose the “Master Bao Meal” which is £12.00 for any two “Baos” and a side dish (add on a fresh juice for another £3). This is the choice we made for ourselves (my companion opted for the juice but I had a Taiwanese soft drink), placing our orders, given an electronic “buzzer” and told to find a seat.

Despite it being early in the evening (5:45 pm on a Tuesday) we waited a very long time for our food, about 15 minutes which is quite a long time for fast food. I suspect it could have been what we ordered though we did notice others waiting for what seemed like a long time also.

Our sides were “Tenderstem Broccoli” and “Pork Dumplings” which were both perfectly fine. The creamy dipping sauce for the broccoli packed a bit of a punch but added necessary flavour to the otherwise bland vegetable. The dumplings were, oddly, slightly underdone but were quite adequate with the pleasant sour/salty dipping sauce.

We had an assortment of Baos: “Chicken Bao” (“24 hour marinated chicken, fried, wasabi mayo, house kimchi, coriander”, yes, a hodge-podge of cuisine here), “Beef Brisket Bao” (“Braised beef brisket, pickled mooli, wasabi slaw and coriander”), “Mr Bao” (“slow braised pork, house pickles, roasted peanut, coriander” again), and “Prawn Bao” (“marinated king prawns, fried, pickled mooli, spiced spring onions” which I suspect may have kept us from getting our order sooner). The buns themselves were all perfectly cooked, not too soft but more than adequate to hold the filling and be eaten with the hand. The fillings were very good indeed with the prawn not overcooked and a good size.

Quite tasty and we will be back though at about £15 each it is not a cheap option. The ingredients are fresh but do not be surprised if you have to wait a bit for your order…

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2019-10-01

Cuisine: Taiwanese

Address: The Balcony, Ariel Way, Shepherd's Bush, London W12 7GE ENGLAND

Public Transport: Shepherd's Bush

Location: London (England) - Shepherd's Bush

Map:

Telephone:

URL: https://www.masterbao.co.uk/