When it comes to the Bao family, we’ve got our eye on… the coffee shop! After Petit Bao, Gros Bao and Bleu Bao, Céline Cheung and Billy Pham have stormed the Bastille with their bao buns. The spot in question? A former button factory that’s been transformed into an Asian neo-bakery, with a hidden cocktail bar in the basement – The Underpool. On the ground floor, in the diner-inspired space, you can grab a seat in a booth or take it all to go: explosively flavorful lava bao with a caramel-peanut center; delightful pineapple bao, a sort of brioche bun that’s soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, which you can wolf down at breakfast with butter and jam, or at lunch with ham, Comté and pickles; plus black sesame and white chocolate chip cookies…. And to wash it all down, there are ginger lattes or classic Americano coffees. // Louise Delange
The hidden gem: The black sesame lava bao with a sweetened condensed milk center (€6).
