While looking for dinner options for our girls reunion, Cinnamon suggested Bai Bua. She had raved about it before and I’ve heard great things from other people as well! I am really glad we ended up coming here.
This post is a combination of two visits!
Bai Bua is conveniently located in East Van, by Hastings and Nanaimo. Within a couple of blocks, you are in foodie heaven… Tacofino, Red Wagon, East Cafe, Platform 7, Aer Cafe, Sushi Nanaimo… and of course, Bai Bua!
We weren’t sure how busy it was going to be, so I called in to make a reservation for four a few days prior.
Throughout the night, it was pretty quiet, which was good because we had brought our belated Christmas presents to exchange after dinner. Throughout the night, service was pretty decent although there was confusion around them forgetting one of our dishes.
Walking in, I really liked the decor of the restaurant. It felt very cozy and warm, with some hand painted artwork on the walls.
Tom yum noodle soup, $10.90: Cinnamon had been here a couple times before, and said the tom yum noodle soup was pretty good. Despite not being allowed to eat spicy food, she decided to break the rule that night because this soup was just THAT good! It packed a good amount of spice and was a generous portion.
Curry noodle, $11.90: It took us awhile to order because I was having a hard time choosing what to get. Everything sounded so good! In the end, Sangria was nice enough to offer splitting two dishes! The first dish we ordered was the curry noodle. Sangria had also been here before, and really loved these noodles.
All of their curries are made in coconut milk, meaning that it was safe for me to eat! The curry noodles were nice and creamy with a rich broth, and a good amount of spice. There was a combination of both the pad thai noodles and fried egg noodles (I think that’s what it was?). The protein in the curry noodles was chicken breast, which there was a good amount of.
Roasted duck red curry, $12.90: Originally, Sangria and I had ordered green curry. But after placing the order, we saw the roasted duck special listed on their chalkboard and both wanted that instead! Then, Cocoa read the menu as well and decided that SHE also wanted to change her pad thai to the roasted duck red curry as well.
We were really glad we changed it, because this was aammaazziinngg! The roasted duck was very tender, juicy and flavourful. There was quite a bit of roasted duck in there as every spoonful was met with pieces of duck meat. As for the curry, it was sweeter due to the cane sugar and pineapples. I wish that this was a permanent item, but all the more reason to come back again before February ends!
Cocoa isn’t much of a spice person, but she enjoyed this because it was more on the sweet side with only a hint of spice. I brought the leftovers back and the boyfriend scoffed at me for ordering red curry instead of green curry (because green curry is better), but quickly changed his mind once I heated it up for him with the coconut rice.
Tom Yum Noodle Soup, $10.90: The next week, I took the boyfriend here! We were both wanting to try the tom yum soup, so why not get some noodles with it too? I’m glad I double checked with the server because although it didn’t sound like it, this dish contained both coconut milk and regular milk.
This was my least favourite dish so far. Although I liked how it was spicy and sour, I wasn’t a big fan of the herbs they used in the soup- there’s a spice that I don’t like in Thai food, but I can’t put my finger on which one exactly it is… Maybe since we couldn’t have the regular milk inside, that made the taste of the herbs a bit stronger? However, the boyfriend enjoyed the dish and happily ate the rest of it.
I was also unlucky and ate a big chunk of dried, chewy lemongrass. I also didn’t really like the texture of the noodles either. Oh yeah, and the beef was dry and rough.
Green curry, $11.90: On my first visit I tried the red curry, this time it was the green curry! The green curry wasn’t as spicy and more on the sweet side. As with the red curry, the green curry was rich and creamy from the coconut milk. The chicken was moist and juicy, with a good amount of veggies inside.
Coconut rice large, $5.00: A Thai dinner isn’t complete without coconut rice! Their coconut rice is so good. It has a strong coconut flavour and is slightly sweet. Any curry and their coconut rice is the perfect marriage!
I recommend getting the large for two people, as you can pack it up with the remainder of the curry sauce and eat it for lunch the next day, as I did 😉
Phew! Such a long post… but for good reason! I definitely see myself coming back here in the future and I’m glad Cinnamon suggested this place!
Yay!
Tofu Rancheros, $19.95: Since I can’t have dairy, we tried the vegan menu only. The tofu rancheros was a tofu scramble, with spicy chilli, served on grilled corn tortillas, topped with guacamole, pico de gallo, ranchero sauce, fresh cilantro and green onion.
Banana French Toast, $16.95: This sounded good on the menu, but it was really disappointing. The french toast was made with an almond milk and banana infused batter. It was very bland and we could only taste burnt toast that had a soft and moist texture.
Field Roast Sausage, $5.00: Vegan Buddy and I were both curious as to what the sausage would taste like, so we ordered this as a side. It was decent and resembled the texture of sausage, although it wasn’t as juicy.
Once inside, it is pretty spacious although it can feel cramped during peak hours. Once you get in, you order your food at the till. The workers will bring you your food with the corresponding number stand.
Shrimp taco, $2.75: The shrimp taco is on the far left. I am a huge shrimp lover and devoured this! The shrimp was big and juicy, with a fresh and crunchy batter. It was topped off with crunchy and fresh veggies, and a spoonful of spicy mayo. So good! All the flavours went perfectly together!
Pierna, $9.05: Instead of ordering tacos like my cousin and I, the boyfriend ordered a burrito! And boy, was it massive. It was bursting with rice, beans, cabbage, sour cream, and more.
As expected on a Friday night, there was a bit of a wait. The restaurant is pretty small, and the kitchen is on the top floor. I always feel a bit bad for restaurants where the kitchen is on another level, because of the servers who have to walk up and down.
Pink Bike Cheeseburger, $12.50: I ordered their standard cheeseburger, but without the cheese due to my dairy restriction =(. It came on a toasted sesame bun, naturally raised local beef, veggies, and the pink bike sauce (a combination of mustard, ketchup, and relish).
BBQ Island Bison Burger, $15.50: The boyfriend also really enjoyed the bison burger. As with my beef burger, his bison burger was thick and juicy as well. It was topped with smoky cheddar and BBQ sauce.
Virtuous Pie is a new vegan pizza/ice cream parlour that opened up in Chinatown. One thing I’ve really missed is pizza, so I knew I had to come here!
After placing your order and paying, you can see the pizza being assembled in front of you. Each pizza is made fresh to order, and baked in the oven.
Fennel & sausage, $12: I really wanted to try this because of the faux sausage! I am a big meat lover, and other meat alternatives like seitan just do not cut it for me. With that said, the sausage tasted really legit and I was really impressed!
Stranger Wings, $12: Stranger Wings was the most raved about on Yelp, so we had to try it. It is a vegan take on buffalo chicken, where they use cauliflower as a substitute.
Superfunghi, $12: I really liked this pizza! It was a bit different than I was used to because they use a mashed potato sauce in place of your standard tomato sauce. The potato was nice and garlicky, and so delicious!