The 10 best D.C.-area casual restaurants of 2023

Once you grasp the exacting, painstaking steps required to produce Taiwanese bao, you understand why so many places rely on premade buns. But Kevin Hsieh, the chef and owner behind this ghost kitchen, had a good mentor to help him navigate the process: His dad, Peter, spent much of his adult life in restaurants, as a chef, owner and manager; the elder also raised his family on Taiwanese gua bao, the traditional pork belly kind that has become increasingly rare in a world of endless variations on the stuffed bun. Kevin Hsieh’s braised pork belly, enveloped in his downy bao, practically melts on contact with the tongue, blurring the line between bun and filling in the process. The garnishes are, seemingly, what prevent this graceful bite from floating off into the ether; the pickled mustard greens, sweetened crushed peanuts and aromatic cilantro keep this thing securely tied to terra firma, their flavors fast and immediate. The tofu version of the same bao is, I’d suggest, every bit the equal of the traditional one.

11910 Parklawn Dr., No. 0, in the back of the warehouse, Rockville, Md., 240-750-5618; for takeout and delivery only; baobei.menu.

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