by Suzette Smith • Apr 22, 2021 at 10:00 am A variety assortment of bao from Bao Bao. Suzette SmithTop point of order: If I impart one tip to you, in this week's Takeout Club, it is that you must order Bao Bao's little 6.5 oz jar of Chili Oil with your order of bao, noodles, or any of the other delights the inner Northeast restaurant has on its menu. The chili is simple, spicy, and a little goes a long way. The flavor combination of a couple drops—mixed in with juicy bao filling—is just perfect. Bao are pretty plentiful in the Portland area thanks to the city's integral and diverse Asian community. You'll find similar versions of light, spongy, steamed buns with filling inside under different names, because the bao is a popular to-go food across Asia. A fun note on the word bao is that, in this context, it essentially means "bun." So saying "bao buns" is like saying "buns buns." It's the ATM machine of the food world.