A Chinese bun shop adds some fun menu options as it opens a second Salt Lake City location

Hello, Eaters! It’s Kolbie! After three months of maternity leave, I’m baaaaack, and your girl is ready to start writing about Salt Lake City’s dining scene again. Let’s get to it!

Xiao Bao Bao — which specializes in steamed Chinese buns called bao — has opened a second location in the Milk Block at 416 E. 900 South. (The entrance is on the east side of the central building; look for red lanterns.) I went and checked it out last week, and found there are some fun differences between this new spot and the original, at 216 E. 500 South.

The origin story: Xiao Bao Bao was founded in 2023 by Salt Lake City pastry and chocolate queen Romina Rasmussen and twin brothers Dwight and Derrick Yee. The trio started the bao shop inspired by Rasmussen’s years of living in Asia, and the Yees’ childhoods spent eating bao with their family.

The vibe: The new location is bigger and much cozier than the original, where the tall seating is meant for people having a quick lunch during the workday. At the Milk Block, the seating is made up of normal tables and chairs, meant to be lingered in. Rasmussen told me they chose the tables because they were the perfect size for a full-sized mahjong set. (The owners hope to start a mahjong night.) Make sure to check out the photos hanging on the walls, all taken by Rasmussen and the Yees in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The menu: Bao with various fillings (my fave is the charsiu), boiled dumplings (called “jiaozi”), carrot salad, cucumber salad, edamame, wonton soup, Hong Kong milk tea and a couple of sweets. New items at this location only are a fried chicken sandwich (read more in “Dish of the Week”) and gluten-free rice bowls, with flavors including chicken curry and eggplant tofu — the January special is a rice bowl with marinated tofu. Rasmussen said they have plans to add a Saturday-only item called youtiao, which is a long, skinny Chinese doughnut.

The hours: The new location of Xiao Bao Bao is open Tuesday through Thursday, 3 to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. Rasmussen said they plan to soon change their hours to 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

Live deliciously,

Kolbie

Food News

• Corinne Zinn has sold her cheese-making business, Park City Creamery, to Ballerina Farm and has plans to retire, reported the Park Record. I interviewed Zinn for National Cheese Lover’s Day a year ago, and we chatted about her award-winning cheeses, like the lovely brie-style Treasure. According to the Park Record, Ballerina Farm will produce cheese using Zinn’s recipes, but under its brand and made with milk from its own cows, while also exploring new products.

Openings:

• Old Cuss Cafe opened its new brick-and-mortar location last week at 325 Pierpont Ave. in Salt Lake City, according to an Instagram post. Old Cuss Cafe specializes in vegetarian comfort food and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner; all of its dishes can be served vegan, and most are available gluten-free.

• Pinkbox Doughnuts was scheduled to hold a grand-opening celebration on Saturday for its first location in northern Utah, at 610 W. Main St. in American Fork, a news release said. Based in Las Vegas, Pinkbox is known for its from-scratch doughnuts, which range from classic to over the top. The event, which will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., was expected to include doughnut-eating contests and giveaways for free doughnuts, the release said.

• Penny Ann’s Cafe just opened its fifth location, at 7495 S. Union Park Ave. in Sandy, according to a news release. Penny Ann’s is known for its sour cream pancakes and other comfort food.

• Flower Child, the health-conscious fast-casual restaurant chain, has opened a new location in Riverton, at 4422 W. Tree Sparrow Drive in Mountain View Village, according to a news release. Sean P. Means, my editor, enjoyed Flower Child’s “forbidden” rice with grilled tofu when he dined there in 2024.

• The Hirsch, a new “modern alpine” restaurant that replaces the former Goldener Hirsch Restaurant in the Goldener Hirsch hotel in Deer Valley, opened in December, according to a news release. The Hirsch’s executive chef, Jeff O’Neill, puts his own spin on alpine cuisine, creating dishes like dill-cured salmon with root vegetable beignets.

Booze (and Drink!) News

•Kiitos Brewing (in Sugar House and the Granary District) has created a new beer made with ube (a purple yam from the Philippines) and fonio, an ancient grain native to West Africa, according to an Instagram post. Ube has flavors of coconut, vanilla and pistachio, the post said, while fonio has notes of lychee and passion fruit. Sounds delish! (Note: This beer is not gluten-free, unlike the regular fonio beer, which is gluten-free, according to an employee.)

Dish of the Week

When I visited Xiao Bao Bao, I ordered Popo’s Fried Chicken Sandwich ($10.50) with a side of tater tots. Rasmussen told me that they added a fryer to the new location’s kitchen, which is why they’re able to make fried items like these. The word “popo” means “grandmother” in Chinese, so named for the Yees’ grandmother.

This is a delicious new take on the typical fried chicken sandwich. Xiao Bao Bao takes organic, free-range chicken, marinates it, batters it and fries it, then puts it on a steamed chive & garlic bun and completes the sandwich with marinated cucumbers and rich Kewpie mayo from Japan.

Biting into this sandwich is a treat — the batter on the chicken is so crispy. And the freshness of the cucumbers really pairs nicely with the juicy chicken and the umami flavor in the mayo. The tots were great when dipped into Xiao Bao Bao’s sesame fry sauce. Next time, I’ll also order a carrot salad, for even more freshness to balance out all the fried flavors.