First Bite: Xiao Bao

When I first heard about Xiao Bao in January — serving out of a red trailer by the pool at the Dive Motel — I was more excited than I’d been about any restaurant news in years. My wife and I had visited and loved Joshua Walker and Duolan Li’s Charleston, S.C., restaurant, Xiao Bao Biscuit, and the discovery of their new Nashville enterprise had me preaching the gospel of hand-pulled noodles and fried pork-filled mochi to anyone who’d listen. As I wrote in a March 3 Scene story, “Some of the best food in Nashville is currently being served out of a nondescript red trailer on Dickerson Pike.”

As of Monday, Xiao Bao is now open as a full-service restaurant at 830 Meridian St. in East Nashville. There is a large strawberry sculpture out front, big enough to stand inside, but the building itself, like the trailer, is nondescript, with a plain industrial exterior that only serves to heighten the enchanting atmosphere of the interior decor. When I spoke to Li earlier this year, she said she was going to take design cues from her younger years in China during the Communist era. She told me not to expect “that new or ethereal California vibe” that is so common to new restaurants here, and she was right. A reddish-plum color permeates the room, on walls, accents and even the plush sofas in the small lounge area near the entrance. An abundant assortment of decorative curios and retro light fixtures all contribute to a sense of being transported to not only a different place, but also a different time.

After 10 or so meals from the trailer at the Dive, we had pretty high expectations, and our experience at a soft opening Sunday evening did not disappoint. We skipped the biang biang hand-pulled noodles with chili cumin brisket — which I described in my March story as “hands-down the best noodle dish I’ve ever had” and which are becoming legendary around these parts — because we’d had it so many times from the trailer, and there were too many new options to sample. 

We started with the tuna tartare, a refreshing, slightly sweet tuna crudo served with a crispy rectangle of beef-fat hash browns, a pairing that might sound odd but is quite delightful. We also had the yam — the Thai term for “mix” or “salad,” not the root vegetable — which featured local turnips and eggplant dressed with lime leaf, chili, fish sauce and lime juice. It had a nice citrus-y heat, a flavor profile not unlike som tum, the traditional Thai papaya salad (a dish that is also in the Xiao Bao rotation).

I had ordered and enjoyed the la zi chicken — a Sichuan stir-fry dish — a couple of times from the trailer, so I was intrigued when I saw la zi cauliflower on the menu. While I was a fan of the chicken, I enjoyed the cauliflower dish even more. And it’s worth pointing out that, though the trailer didn’t have many meatless options — in part because it had a limited menu to begin with — there are plenty of intriguing choices for vegetarians. One such dish, the bing — a leavened bread with scallions and a crispy exterior, served with whipped feta, charred eggplant, ginger, scallion and chili garlic sauce — is at the top of our list for our next visit. Another great veggie option is the okonomiyaki, a savory pancake made with a flour batter and a variety of vegetables, typically cabbage, carrots, scallions and kale or some other green.

The crab fried rice was also excellent. You can add spicy chili for heat, but we passed, since we had ordered a couple of other spicy dishes. The rice was bright and nuanced, relying on butter and citrus for flavor, as opposed to the soy-sauce-heavy version typically found in Nashville, and featured a generous portion of crabmeat. We skipped the guo tie (pork potstickers connected by a lacy crust) and the fried mochi (balls of glutinous rice flour filled with lemongrass pork), only because I’ve had them so many times before. (I raved about the mochi in the Aug. 11 Scene cover story on Nashville’s most indulgent bites.)

Xiao Bao has an intriguing selection of cocktails, as well as wine and beer. We tried the Personality Crisis, which Walker describes as “our take on a Manhattan.” It’s made with Rye, Cocchi vermouth and a five-spice bitters made by Bitter Queens, not to mention a floating pod of star anise. It was the perfect autumn drink, and we’d get it again in a heartbeat.

Oh, and about that strawberry sculpture in front of the restaurant? “We were inspired by a series of fruit bus stops in Japan from 1990,” Walker tells the Scene. “They were designed to welcome visitors and in turn inspired by the pumpkin carriage of Cinderella. In this way, it’s much like the restaurant itself — a combination of fantasy, nostalgia and possibilities.”

Xiao Bao is open Thursday through Monday, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday. For the time being, the hours are 4:30 to 11 p.m., though they expect to begin opening for lunch at 11 a.m. starting Nov. 3.