This is a continuation on my earlier post on Bao Bao's interesting flavour of steamed Chinese buns. I cover the Coffee Bao and the Azuki Red Bean Mochi Bao in this post. They are the brown and speckled red buns in the middle of the picture.
Coffee Bao
First, the coffee bao. I really enjoyed this one.
There was a very rich, dark and fragrant coffee flavour. It was toffee-like, similar to the flavour profile of instant coffees such as Nescafe. Those expecting barista brewed standards won't get it, but I love the dark toffee coffee flavour for pastries and breads such as this case, so I thought it was perfect.
As you can see from the texture, the filling seems to be red bean paste that is browner, so I think the coffee flavour was added to red bean paste or else possibly lotus paste. But I did sense the woodiness of red bean paste rather than the nuttiness of lotus, so I think it's the former. The bean paste brought a nice depth to the coffee's toffee-like notes.
I also liked the bean-paste texture, which was smooth but substantial rather than runny. A very nice tea-time snack.
Azuki Red Bean Mochi Bao
Next, the azuki red bean mochi bao.
In terms of texture, the bean paste seemed drier, and the mochi was melty and stringy. There was also quite a lot of mochi, it seemed more than the red bean paste.
I actually preferred this azuki paste over the typical traditional Japanese ones. It felt more Chinese - there was a darker earthier taste, and it was much less sweet compared to the Japanese versions, which I enjoyed.
The mochi was smooth enough and soft enough even at room temperature. I think it would have been nicer if I had tried it warmer, either right after they served me or else perhaps microwaved for a few seconds. But no complaints even at room temperature. Mochi dessert lovers would enjoy it.
I just personally wasn't really into mochi because I find it bland, so I wished there was more red bean paste and less mochi. I felt the mochi and the bun sandwiching the red bean paste made the overall flavour less strong, and it tended to be on the sticky and dry side. But IMO these are minor points, and it's still enjoyable overall as a dessert, just not my favourite.
Across the four flavours covered in this post and the last ones, none of them were too sweet, and they were all good and worth trying for sure. But I would say my two favourites are the coffee bao and the orh nee bao. I had covered the Orh Nee Bao and the French Chocolate Lava Bao in the previous post, linked below, so check it out.
Discover other interesting bao
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