Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Wu.
Alex, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Bao or baozi—soft, steamed buns stuffed with savory or sweet fillings—originated nearly 1800 years ago. The tradition has endured: baozi is a popular street food and breakfast staple in China (with variants on buns throughout Asia) but is not widely known or readily available in the United States.
Originally from the Fujian province in southeast China, Chef Ting Lin grew up enjoying juicy pork, egg cream, and red bean bao. After starting his own family in America, Ting wanted to make baozi for his daughter and began to consider how he could share the traditions and flavors of his childhood with all of his family and friends. Following years of research, including trips to China to learn different baozi styles, Ting developed his own bao menu using authentic dough and delicious fillings.
In 2017, Ting and co-founder Alex Wu established Bao’d Up, which now has four Austin locations in Mueller Aldrich, Sunset Valley, UT West Campus, and on Burnet Road. The popular fast-casual eateries specialize in high-quality Chinese comfort food, created with ease, accessibility, and freshness in mind. The Bao’d Up menu offers signature baozi made in-house daily, authentic regional noodle dishes, delicious boba teas, and so much more. Bao’d Up is committed to sharing the familiar flavors of Chinese cuisine alongside Texas-inspired ingredients to redefine Chinese takeout in the US.
Has it been a smooth road?
We tried really hard initially on educating American customers about what bao is because most of the customers have never tried the food. Also, it is really challenging to strike a balance between staying traditional and catering to mainstream’s palate. We finally figured it out. By putting twists on traditional Asian bao flavors, we are one of the most popular restaurants in Austin, where customers really appreciate the convenience, diversity and uniqueness of the food.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are bao’d up, and we focus on making and serving the best bao. We want to provide the ultimate convenience and variety of food to our customers. Bao is the most popular and common food item across Asian countries, but it is not well-known here in the US, and we are changing that. We recently started franchising to allow entrepreneurs who share the same passion to join us.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas is definitely a great place for our concept to join. It has such a large and diverse population and it is growing at a really fast speed.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5207 Brodie Ln, Sunset Valley
1911 Aldrich St, Austin - Website: baodup.com
- Email: business@baodup.com
- Instagram: baodup
- Facebook: atxbaodup
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