Bao bun and Hawaiian food vendor joins Dockyard Social
Mr Foodie went along to a food and wine pairing night at Dockyard Social in Glasgow‘s west end to check out the latest addition to the weekend food stalls.
Far Out Bao are located at the front of the building (towards Haugh Road itself) and on this special wine tasting menu with Alliance Wine there were four courses, paired with four different wines.
First up was Pöloli (hungry), Huli-huli chicken dumplings with pickled green papaya salad. Huli-huli is a Hawaiian sauce comprising soy with ginger and garlic, and these were tasty little gyoza-style morsels.
This was served with a Romanian wine, Calusari Vinul Verii 2020, which is made from 68% Riesling with the rest from two native varieties. It’s a dry, acidic wine with lime and pineapple flavours.
Next course was Makai (towards the ocean), Oahu garlic shrimp on a bed of flat rice noodles, with ginger, soy and chilli oil. Noodles and garlicky prawns, with a little bit of heat from the ginger and chilli and heaps of fresh coriander, Mark‘s favourite herb, yum!
This was paired with a glass of Aka Primitivo Rosado 2021 from Italy. This is similar to a Californian White Zinfandel so has the same clear, bright colour and Jolly Rancher flavours of strawberry, raspberry and watermelon but it‘s drier and more acidic than the American variants.
The third course was Mauka (toward the mountain), Kalua pork dressed in lilikoi barbecue sauce with candied pineapple in a bao bun served with jenga fries and banana ketchup. The bun was excellent, soft and full of flavourful pork in a sauce using lilikoi, which we discovered is the Hawaiian word for passion fruit, so this both sweet and tangy.
It was paired with a Nostros Gran Reserva Chardonnay 2014. Being a Gran Reserva from a decade ago, it has spent some time in oak so has a strong buttery, vegetal yeasty aroma. Dry, and very acidic with sharp peach, pineapple and lemon juice taste.
The final course was Pau Hana, fried ube and guava ice cream dumplings. Ube is another name for purple yam, like a purple sweet potato and popular in desserts in Asia. We’ve had purple yam ice cream in Japan and this tasted like how we remembered it.
This was paired with Branco Colheita Tardia (Late Harvest) 2019. A sweet dessert wine from Portugal with a plasticky aroma (not a criticism but the best way we could describe it). It was sweet but not sickly sweet with a honey and ginger taste.
Overall verdict
This is a great addition to the Dockyard Social, food with lots of flavour, especially the Bao bun course. Hawaii is not somewhere we have visited, so it was great to try something a bit different. Although it is similar to Chinese and Japanese cuisine, the main difference to us was that the sauces were sweeter and fruitier with less umami.
Location
Dockyard Social
95-107 Haugh Road, Glasgow, G3 8TX
Opening Hours
Friday : 17:00 – 23:00
Saturday : 12:00 – 23:00
Sunday : 12:00 – 20:00
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Author: Glasgow Foodie
Writes for here and Foodie Explorers website. Usually found napping.