Secret Bao Divulges All - Santa Barbara Independent

Food & Drink Secret Bao Divulges All After Year of Pandemic Pop-Ups, Peter Lee and Felicia Medina Open Their Own RestaurantConsider the bao.

“It was a secret because it was in our apartment!” said Lee of the Secret Bao name, a weekly meal offering that was quickly selling out within hours.

The owners let them set up shop in their kitchen, and Secret Bao thrived from Friday to Sunday for seven months, powered primarily by social media.

The Ana owners spruced up the place, but the Secret Bao menu required pricy investments in equipment, namely the Rational iCombi Pro oven — which can slow-roast pork belly, quick-steam bao, and do everything else in between — and a dough divider-rounder, which cuts 36 bao per minute, formerly a multi-hour task.

The fast-casual, affordably minded Secret Bao formula is designed for these current pandemic-emerging times, but nothing is set in stone.

Published On: Mon, 29 Mar 2021 23:03:39 GMT