Best Bao in SF/Napa?

[snowbordinglife]

My wife and I are heading to SF and Napa in a month or so and I have a strange obsession with Bao. Any great places besides "Out the door" in the Ferry Building?

[gordon wing]

just before you get to the Napa Valley ..... in Vallejo there are several Filipino bakeries that have pork buns I bellieve. Valerio, Sunshine, Goldilocks ..... haven't tried them myself though.

[Melanie Wong]

Good suggestion to stop in Vallejo for bao/pao. To add to your list, Chow King also has some pao.

[Robert Lauriston]

The small baked pork bao at City View are great.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/3764...

I don't much care for the steamed ones, they remind me too much of Wonder Bread.

[TenderNob]

I'm hardly an expert, but I'm fond of You's Dim Sum at 675 Broadway. Big baked cha siu bao, lots of filling, about $1each. And a wide selection of other items. English is maybe not the language of choice, but they manage to understand mono-lingual me.

[Chandavkl]

I'll second the bao at You's. Also in Chinatown, Blossom Bakery and Blue Sky Cafe.

[wontonsoup]

The baked Cha Shao Bao at Hong Kong Lounge II (on Geary at Parker). Different and delicious. A plus: there will be other bao options.

[bobabear]

I second this. Best variation of bao that isn't just steamed.

[chocolatetartguy]

I haven't made a study of it, but I really like the steamed cha sieu bao at Good Luck dim sum on Clement. Good meat to bread ratio and a slightly sweet sauce. They heat up great in a microwave.

[grayelf]

If you're up for trying a food truck, you might want to check out Chairman Bao. I had a superb pork belly bao from there in November.

[moto]

concur with the Chairman Bao citation. they're made fresh to order, which is very difficult to find in the take out bakeries or sit down places. their stuff is hybrid/fusion in a positive way with the use of fresh veg's and dressings. the prices of course are 3-4x the conventional take out spots which is still around what a decent burrito goes for.

[CarrieWas218]

No Bao in Napa.

What else are you looking for in Wine Country?

[Tripeler]

I agree with this. Napa is probably a Bao-Free zone.

[Melanie Wong]

Is Dim Sum Charlie still in business?
http://www.dimsumcharlies.com/#2752

[Tripeler]

I have never been there, but from the look of their website it doesn't seem they are.

[CarrieWas218]

I'm fairly certain Dim Sum Charlie's is shut down for the winter. Besides, they don't make it themselves; they are buying it from suppliers in the city and just re-heating it in the truck anyway...

OP, do you have any specific requests for Napa other than bao?

[shanghaikid]

would agree that no baos are made in napa. any baos present are probably premade elsewhere (chinatown).

[Chandavkl]

Which means they're probably better than if they had been made locally.

[gordon wing]

Cafe Bakery & Restaurant on Noriega & 21st Ave. has very good baked pork buns. http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2011...

[Civil Bear]

There or tons of good Chinese bakeries in SF. Where will you be staying in SF, and will you be taking 101 or 80 to Napa?

[bobabear]

I haven't had bao at Out the Door, so excuse my question: what type of bao are you looking for? There's pork buns, chicken buns, mushroom buns, egg custard buns, sesame buns...

[snowbordinglife]

Pork buns would be preferred but I am up to try anything...

[bobabear]

Good Mong Kok in Chinatown has great fresh bao, however they have a tendency to run out of certain varieties after 11ish to noon. The baos are huge, cheap and delicious. Just take whatever they have. They're a bit rude and speak little English, but plenty of non-Chinese folks are always in line.