If ever there have been a meals deserving of the rabid anthropomorphization that’s occurred in recent times, of being made right into a sticker or keychain or plushy or cute, squishable throw pillow with expressive eyes on the proper, white expanse of its broad facet, it’s gua bao.
And I wish to assume that these jolly, marshmallowy delights, a Taiwanese avenue meals that originated in China’s Fuhian province, would giggle on the prospect of being adored to the purpose of consumption. For one take a look at the pork stomach confit handheld from Sanford’s Sizzling Asian Buns, essentially the most conventional of its small however rising roster, and there’s just one factor you’ll be pondering.
Get in my stomach.
That is exactly how Chau Vo and Jimmy Nguyen felt, in actual fact, after they tried their first gua bao on a visit to New York Metropolis many moons in the past.
“It was love,” says Vo. “The pork and the peanut powder and the mustard greens … that was it. We had been offered. And we knew that if we introduced them to Orlando, it will be so distinctive and enjoyable.
It’s how the long-heralded (and humorously named) Sizzling Asian Buns meals truck was born. Nevertheless it didn’t occur in a single day.
Vo was working within the company world on the time. Nguyen, who’d all the time had a ardour for cooking, had logged time working with chef Kathleen Blake at The Rusty Spoon downtown. They’d been on the lookout for a enterprise concept, and the spongy, candy and savory avenue meals struck a chord.
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They’d a restricted funds and wanted one thing low-entry.
“A meals truck!” she says. “It’s avenue meals. It’s hand-held. It’s enjoyable!”
They picked one up for about $5,000 and spent the subsequent few years constructing it out for bao.
It’s an undeniably scrumptious phrase, however it may be complicated.
Sizzling Asian Buns serves gua bao, however “bao” is usually used generically, an umbrella time period that may refer to numerous sorts of Chinese language steamed buns, just like the equally fluffy however totally enclosed baozi.
Extra importantly, these splendidly tender, taco-like sleeping luggage, the star element that cradles elements from Korean-style fried rooster and tempura shrimp to Latin-influenced pork asada, are made solely in-house. It was a course of that took Nguyen about as lengthy to excellent because it did to construct out the $5,000 used meals truck that Orlando foodies would finally flock to.
And one which constructed expertise that will earn them a $20,000 win on the Meals Community favourite, “Man’s Grocery Video games.”
It was a payday they mentioned they’d use towards their dream of a brick-and-mortar, which got here true earlier this yr.
Now open for about six months, Vo and Nguyen are discovering their groove in a comfortable spot on S. Sanford Avenue, folded, just like the star of its menu, between two standard watering holes, with which they share a courtyard and many prospects. New faces are discovering them, from Bokey locals and people from outer-burgs like Debary and DeLand to longtime regulars from Kissimmee and Lake Nona.
“They’re so comfortable they don’t need to chase us down from week to week anymore,” says Vo.
The six-bao menu has been joined by a number of rice bowls, that are proving standard, in addition to an all-new add that pays homage to the couple’s Vietnamese heritage: fried rooster wings tossed in a caramelized fish sauce.
“We tried doing them on the truck, however the house had a whole lot of limitations,” she says. “They’re doing rather well right here, although.”
Warned forward of time that summer season might be gradual, the couple feels fortunate to have loved a gradual stream of enterprise that continues to develop. Come fall, with their toes beneath them, they hope to introduce some new menu gadgets, a brunch and extra merch, as properly.
Proper now, Tuesdays are “bao day.” With the kitchen closed, the crew churns out the buns that can provide their shops for a full week. It’s an arduous activity, however one Vo says Nguyen insisted on from the outset. Regardless of what may be dough’s temperamental nature, they’ve received it fairly properly down and stay up for bettering the method much more as they’re in a position so as to add extra tools.
Their truck is parked for now, she says, permitting them to concentrate on the burgeoning brick-and-mortar, however a cell crew is one thing they hope to construct sooner or later.
Time is an ingredient that’s been good to them.
“Taking it gradual enabled us to fine-tune,” she says, with persistence permitting issues like constructing the truck, the menu and even their rising household to occur organically.
Deliciously.
Wish to attain out? Discover me on Fb, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. E mail: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For extra enjoyable, be part of the Let’s Eat, Orlando Fb group.
For those who go
Sizzling Asian Buns: 204 S. Sanford Ave. in Sanford, 321-363-3075; fb.com/HotAsianBunsFoodTruck; instagram.com/hot_asian_buns
