I love new finds.  When you discover a place for the first time you’re going in blind and essentially giving them your trust. Sometimes this pays off with wonderful new experiences that cause one to rush home and tell the world. Other times….

The sign held promise, I’m a big fan of a good bao. First hiccup, they were out of chicken. No big deal. Duck and veg were ordered, as the prices seemed cheap, along with a babycinno. ‘That’ll be $10 for the buns and $3 for the babycinno’ the waitress informs me. My daughter is told they’ve sold out of babycinno.

After a wait the duck bao arrives. Apart from a filthy plate and an odd inclusion of mesclun lettuce mix it holds some promise due to the abundance of duck spilling out. The meat was indeed tasty but the rest consisted of lettuce and cucumber in a stale bun. No dressing, no spices, no seasoning. I powered on though as I don’t like to waste and halfway through, with a mouth full of food, the waitress raced out with an important condiment that the chef had forgotten to include in the dish.

I politely declined. She insisted that I should try but I did not want to add further insult to what was once a noble bird.

I could only hope that the vegetable bao would redeem things, but where was it? I was approached again : ‘We’re out of buns’. At 11:30 in the morning. ‘Would you like it in toast instead?’. Ok, things can’t get any worse.

The vegetables themselves were zuchinni, carrot and mushroom, the funghi being the star. Everything else being a soggy, overcooked mess and slathered in that bloody Masterfoods Honey Mustard Sauce. Contained within two lightly toasted slices of bread it  was perhaps the most bizarre thing I’ve encountered since The mystery of the Chow Mein Taco.

Will I go again? No. Will I name and shame? Also no. They seemed genuinely nice and perhaps it was just a series of unfortunate events. My search continues