B is for Bao Bar...

When lockdown does for Bistro 46 and the lack of an up to date passport prevents travel to Hexham; tasty Asian fusion saves the day.....

Between the Locksmith and The Barbers, no not Richard Hawley's latest album, instead it is the easily wandered past Bao Bar (206 Chillingham Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 5LN). To overlook this little gem would be a heinous crime. More of that later.

It seemed like only yesterday that we had done A and before you know it B is here. The plan had been to go to Bistro 46 in Jesmond. Locally sourced and slaughtered nose to tail fine dining - they stalked their own deer at four in the morning and did misty things with mushrooms. Alas, the hardships of running such an enterprise, including two robberies, and the move to a new venture in Morpeth thwarted my cuisine scheme. Rabbit tagliatelle at Bouchon Bistrot in Hexham then beckoned, but let's face it, who wants to go abroad for food in the current Covidy climate?

A few people told me of a place in the buzzing boho-student environs of Heaton, so with my hat** on my head at a jaunty angle and a spring in my step, I set off up the Coast Road. (**Some will know of my deep desire to get a hat, the one in the window of Union on High Bridge, but a fear of looking a d*ck prevents me buying one.)

The food - Chicken Dumplings in Tom Yum Sauce with coconut and herbs.

Five pillows of boiled doughy dumplings filled with minced chicken and herbs sitting in a soft and sour sauce infused (I'm getting good at this food bloggy lark) with coconut, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice, fish sauce, and crushed red chili peppers (I think). Perfect comfort food. It was accompanied by a cheeky glass of house white and me going "this is fantastic" every two mins. A couple of hours after eating, I could still taste the meal - in a pleasing way, rather than a dodgy hot dog way.

The place - it doesn't look much from the outside and inside it is the smallest restaurant I have ever been in, only eight counter seats, but that really adds to the experience as well as the taste of the food. Staff are nice and helpful in between turning out salmon tartare with crisp potato, caviar and wasabi; prawn skewers with lardo and steamed buns crammed with char sui.

You usually get some nice mood setting music when having a meal - a bit of Dave Brubeck soft jazz or Ravi Shankar giving it big licks on his sitar. A power cut meant that all of the house alarms in nearby Rothbury Terrace were screaming at the top of their lungs. A beer truck stopping suddenly set off three car alarms. All very Hitchcockian.

The score - a chopstickytastic 95%

We stand on the verge of the letter C. Are you not entertained?