When Boa Bao, a trendy Asian restaurant in Porto, reached out to me for a blogger collaboration, I was beyond stoked! You may be wondering why we would agree to collaborate with a restaurant that isn’t Portuguese food. Well, Akshay and I actually enjoy trying different types of cuisines in other countries because they had their own twist. We were curious to see what Asian food would be like in Portugal, and we were honored to get that opportunity at Boa Bao.
Arun and Joana, the floor and general managers, respectively, made our experience very personal by taking the time to sit with us and giving the history behind the meal we were eating. Fun fact: The menu is based off of cuisines from 11 different Asian countries!
Currently, they have two Boa Bao locations in both Porto and Lisbon, with plans to open a couple in Spain in the near future. After our meal, I asked if they could open one in Orange County, California, but unfortunately, they are sticking to Europe for now!
Boa Boa is owned by three individuals: a married couple, Natalie/Greg, and head chef, Chris. Another fun fact: After taking a tour in Asia, the owners were inspired to open up Boa Boa in Portugal and share the flavors they were exposed to during their travels.
Natalie, Greg, and Chris were very passionate about the food being true to the Asian culture. In fact, they have a garden on the roof of Boa Bao where they use imported seeds from Asia to grow fresh herbs! Additionally, Boa Bao is constantly trying to figure out ways to reduce plastic and be more environmentally friendly. One creative way they’ve found is buying bamboo straws from Thailand and another is purchasing their straws made in a Berlin feminine work prison! Little touches like these make the restaurant stand out even more.
Now, onto the food! Since I was recovering from being sick, I asked if we could order a couple of bowls of soup. They obliged and brought out a cup of hot and sour for Akshay and wonton soup for me!
Wonton Soup: I could tell all the flavors were fresh. Probably because most of the ingredients came straight from their garden! The soup broth was more salty than what we are used to in the States, but I personally love salty food, so I didn’t leave a drop!
Hot and Sour Soup: Back in the days when I was still in school, I happened to work at two Chinese restaurants (at different times and pure coincidence!). I remember the chefs would mass produce the hot and sour soup and store them in huge tin heated pots, where a slimy film would actually form on top if it wasn’t stirred frequently. I actually stopped ordering hot and sour soup at Chinese restaurants. When I had a sip of Boa Bao’s hot and sour soup, I could immediately tell this soup was made as soon as it was ordered. Plus, the ingredients were really vibrant and flavorful. There wasn’t as much vinegar in the hot and sour soup as we are used to, but I thought it was still very tasty!
Sortido de dim sum: I love love love dumplings, so I had to order this item. This appetizer was a combination of pork dumplings and shrimp su mai. They paired the dumplings with a cucumber sauce and a hot/sour dressing, which surprisingly paired well. Make sure to add a bit of chili sauce to add a little bit of kick!
Sundried beef jerky: This was hands down our favorite! The sauce is filled with vinegar and the beef is salty and tender and so good (ok, I feel like I’m sounding a little too obsessed with salt, but it’s just so good)! Akshay and I were literally fighting over it. The main ingredients in the sauce were coriander, lime and chile. (Akshay’s note: probably one of the top 2 or 3 dishes I had in all of Portugal or Morocco, and that’s saying something. I’d literally come back just for the jerky, it was that good. The sauce was amaaaazing.)
After, we ordered two entrees:
Shrimp Pad Thai: Our favorite Thai dish is Pad Thai, so when we saw this on the menu, we were excited to try it. The main difference we noticed is that the Pad Thai here is a lot less sweet, but still has the peanut flavors. Other than that, it was still our same noodles of goodness!
Chicken Bao: It’s a piece of chicken breast marinated in tamarind sauce and arranged between a fresh, fluffy bao bun. This dish was very unique to me since I am normally used to only pork or duck being the only meats available. The chicken was tender, and the dish had a nice, light sweetness to it. I was very impressed with the various options, including vegetarian, since I personally am not a huge fan of duck.
At the end of our meal, Akshay and I were pretty stuffed and ready to be carted out. However, Joana insisted we try their water chestnut dessert. I’ll be honest. I hate water chestnuts. So when she was describing it, I was politely nodding, but a little bit apprehensive. When they brought the dessert out and I took my first bite, I was blown away! This was the second dish Akshay and I fought over. (Akshay’s note: spoiler – I won. Also, I dislike coconut desserts and dislike water chestnuts, so the fact that I devoured this too says something.) The water chestnuts are steamed, so the texture changes from crunchy to soft. They then coated the chestnuts with sweetened tapioca and pink food coloring. It’s served in coconut milk and topped with coconut sorbet and jackfruit. Really really good!
We also had the opportunity to browse through their super creative cocktail menu, which looks like a passport. I ordered a lychee drink (featured image) and Akshay ordered a pho based drink (yes you heard it right, Vietnamese pho). It was a lot sweeter than expected! We were just so impressed with the presentation and the creativity behind the ingredients used in all their drinks. As you can tell from the photos, it is very apparent a lot of thought went into it. We also had the opportunity to try another cocktail called Old Thoughts. It has Monkey Shoulder whiskey, ginger, cinnamon and is served in the cutest monkey tumbler!
We spent 3 hours at this restaurant and it was truly a memorable experience. We appreciate that the Portuguese take their time and want their customers to savor each item on their menu. Thank you Boa Bao for such a great time! We can’t wait to come back one day!
