First time ever eating here and the bao buns were actually really good. Asked the workers which buns to get and we ended up with a cheeseburger and a szechuan pork bun. cheeseburger bun was good and great for our younger one, but the pork one was super good! great service, good, and the prices were actually pretty reasonable. read more

I am Voting for the food only!!! The dudes that worked the counter were completely the worst. Bad attitudes and the way they talked to me and my friend was appalling. Maybe my time in Louisville Kentucky has made me come to expect a smile or greeting or any gesture of hello other than "what do you want!!?" Both the cashier and the cooked looked and talked to us like we were inconveniencing them. We ordered 2 pork bao and 2 chicken bao. We got 2 more pork to split between us. They were so delicate and flavorful! It was bbq pork in a bread cloud. I would eat there everyday if I lived in Chicago and could get there easily! They had good prices and that helped. I would go again but I would hope that Delta bravos serving us food wont be there to ruin the experience. read more

The buns were terrible besides the cheeseburger ones... i tried every single one. They are dry, overcooked, and most of the flavors are gross and over powering in taste. Highly recommend you don't try! read more

The baos are delicious; I ordered the 2-pack spicy mongolian beef and BBQ pork. I preferred the BBQ pork, although the beef was good too. Very flavorful, although the flavor is more Panda Express than authentic Chinese bao filling. The setting is a great, grab and go place by the entrance to Water Tower, and service was very quick. However, one of the staff members was not friendly at all, ruining a bit of the experience. Just keep in mind this is a fast food establishment, and yes their baos are from frozen. However, they occupy a niche food in a mall where baos and other Asian items would be hard to find. read more

Wow Bao - Interior - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place is literally garbage. You can tell they threw all their money into aesthetics. We paid 11 dollars for roughly 2 ounces of meat with white rice. 17 dollars for Frenched up dumplings that had nearly no filling, and it was 7 dollars for 5 potstickers. They were the size of my pinkie. My wife and I will never eat here again. Disgusted. read more

Wow Bao - The most over priced meal I've purchased.. I will never order from here again. The food was trash and the portions were trash. - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

"Wow Bao" really didn't have the wow factor to me. It's just another mall food place. Hubby was working on a call at the H&M across the street. Me? I was looking for "Chansey" to catch since it was the only one I needed for completing the Pokedex. Inevitably, I was getting hungry... Fine, I would give "Wow Bao" a try. I placed my order via one of the self-service kiosks. The entire ordering process was quite easy, except I didn't know exactly the serving size for each item, and there wasn't much explanation on it. In the end, I was given a receipt with an ordering number. My soup dumplings and the iced hibiscus tea were ready in approximately one (1) minute after the receipt popped out of the machine. Fortunately, the wait time was minimal since there was no one in front of me. The "soup" dumplings didn't have much juice in them. For $4.99 (as of 01/04/2017), there were four (4) petite pieces. The taste was passable. There was absolutely nothing to write home about. The iced hibiscus tea, on the other hand, was alright. I used to work at one of the retail stores at the Water Tower Place. The "Bao" thang didn't entice me at that time. Well, in terms of "authenticity," we don't really need to go this far. The location is on the first floor inside the Water Tower Place, next the "Lush" at Macy's. read more

Wow Bao - Soup dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The price for one single bao was more than I anticipated. I love the idea of this place but maybe because this was located in the mall, the quality was not what I expected. The BBQ pork bao that I had did not have any resemblance to the ones I've eaten growing up and while visiting China. I also ordered the dumplings and I thought the soy dipping sauce was good and they cure my hunger while shopping in this center. read more

Wow Bao - BBQ Pork Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We stumbled into a mall in Chicago to see what they offered for lunch and this was the first place we saw and decided to give it a shot. We were pleasantly surprised with how good it was! The lady who took our order was not very friendly, kind of heard to hear as she mumbled along but we figured out what we wanted even though they were completely sold out of all of the salads that we wanted. I got the teriyaki chicken over rice with dumplings. The chicken and rice were delicious but I have definitely had better dumplings. I would give it another go next time I am in Chicago! read more

Wow Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Wow Bao stand is located to the right at the entrance of Water Tower Place Mall across the American Girl store. Location is convenient but can also get crowded; especially since there no sit down areas. This is def. a hand held on-the-go meal which is great for mall walking. We ordered the six pack: 1 spicy Kung Pao chicken, 1 BBQ pork, 2 Thai Chicken Curry, 1 cheeseburger, and spicy Mongolian beef. However, they were out of the Thai curry chicken and would be a 6 minute wait so they substituted with the coconut custard. All were great except the coconut; would not attempt their desserts again. Their savory baos are flavorful and better than expected for Asian fast food. read more

Yes it is not REAL in that it is a bit Americanized. We go to Chinatown too and we love it. But it is quick and reliable and tasty. We like to keep a few of the frozen packs in the freezer for those times when you need something like that. For a quick lunch or snack while in the area, we stand by them. Remember to get and use your Lettuce Entertain you card--which loads extra money on your birthday. read more

Sure these buns are Americanized, but sometimes an authentic dim sum place filled with steamy carts is not readily available. I ordered a refreshing cold peanut noodle salad and two steamed buns - Thai Curry Chicken and the seasonal Pumpkin bao. I liked the salty and sweet combination, and this helped me avoid getting dessert later in the day. The buns are small with limited filling, so the fun was in trying something new if you want to shake up your snack routine while shopping in Water Tower Place. read more

Wow Bao - My pumpkin bao experience - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I didn't get everything that I ordered in the combo, the portions are super small, the prices are high and you get better tasting product from the walmart frozen section. My potstickers were absolutely covered in burnt greese. My closest asian market is over and hour away - but I'd rather make the drive then order from here again. read more

I was happy to see that Wow Bao was still here, this trip to Chicago... It had been a few years since I had been to Water Tower Place. My friend and I wanted something to tide us over for an hour or two before dinner, so we each got a BBQ pork bao (about $2.20 each I believe). It was hot, fresh, and delicious. They have various bao with savory fillings to choose from, and also a few dessert ones too. Their bao is good for a snack or a meal, and I'd come back again. read more

It's pretty good for asian fusion fastfood place. It's in the inside lobby level of a business building right next door either CVS or Walgreens. Opted for a combo meal that included bun bao, fresh noodles, and rice with chicken teriyaki. Food are made fresh daily and efficient employees. If you're hungry for fast asian food pick up try this place. read more

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When I worked downtown, I ate at Wow Bao at least once a week. At least. Usually more lol. The bao are great- freshly steamed throughout the day so they taste fresh. The chocolate bao is ridiculous- the chocolate is melty like the inside of a chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven. They have revamped their salad offerings over the last few years and no longer have my old favorite (pad Thai chicken salad- omg so good!!) but I did try their new spicy peanut noodle salad and it's really good (and the sauce has a nice spice to it). read more

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Nice location at the front of Water Tower place, perfect for a quick snack while shopping. Located right next to Macy's. I wasn't previously familiar with Wow Bao and it's a pretty interesting/cool concept to see a fast food version of dumplings/bao. I'm a big fan of dim sum, and steamed BBQ pork buns are one of my faves, so I couldn't pass up a quick snack while shopping. Wow Bao offers several flavors of bao, including teriyaki chicken, curry, orange chicken, BBQ pork, matcha coconut, chocolate, and coconut custard. I had the BBQ pork bao and it was good. Bao are about $2.20 a piece or 2 for $3.98, and 4 for $7.96. They also offer soups, noodle bowl entrees, potstickers and dumplings. Bao was a great snack on the go but they probably could use more convenient seating close by if you were eating a full entree. read more

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LOVE LOVE LOVE! Without a doubt, my favorite grab & go place in Chi-town. The Bao balls are amazballs... the noodles/salad are the perfect size and hit all the right spots. My dream would be for them to have more locations around the USA. There's seating up the escalators of the Water Tower next to the Starbucks if you feel like sitting down to eat! read more

Wow Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I didn't have super high expectations, and they didn't disappoint. At delivery, the food looked terrible. It looked like the last of the scrapings from the bottom of a pot and tasted about the same. The potstickers were good, and the egg rolls were okay, but the bao were dry inside. I was so disappointed. Won't be ordering again. read more

I tried the bao (buns) at Wow Bao, but they must of forgot to add the "wow" to that batch. This is fast food Chinese-style buns and dumplings, but without Chinese taste or texture. The BBQ Pork Buns were disappointingly light on flavor, juice, or warmth. A pile of steamed Chicken Dumplings was worse. The wrapper for the dumplings was too thick and chewy, but somehow the flavor escaped anyways. We all need to eat fast-food from time-to-time and since my wife is from China, we often choose Chinese food. We won't be choosing Wow Bao again because it's a classic example of what Yelp defines as 2 stars: "Meh. I've experienced better." read more

I don't know why I keep giving this location the benefit of the doubt. Employee's entire nose was out of his mask right over the food he was preparing for people. He then announced at 5:35, 25 minutes before closing, that he'd would be closing, with several people in line that looked like they'd been there a while. No "I'll take your order since you've been waiting but then we're closing." Glad I'm not the owner. read more

It's a tiny little fast food setup at the front of Water Tower Place Mall which has been there for quite a while, but you can't go too wrong. Get the BBQ Pork bao, by far the best. I also like the chicken dumplings though the skin is a bit too thick however the dipping sauce makes everything great. It's also nice that they have two automated order terminals right next to the line so definitely consider that rather than waiting in line like we all used to. Great option for quick and tasty food on the Magnificent Mile. I'm still a fan. read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! buns are so delicious and taste restaurant quality. I love the pork ones specifically! Super quick with food and also have great drink options (i love the hibiscus lemonade!). slightly expensive but you get very filling food! Can't wait to come back. read more

Wow! That's really all there is to it. You totally have to stop at a place and try it when it says WOW on the sign. I tried a spicey Mongolian beef hot Asian bun which was excellent. I can't wait to go back to try more! read more

Wow Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The spicy chicken bao was lackluster because of overpowering ginger flavor and extreme sweetness. I would've given it a 2 stars but the bone broth bumped it up by one star cause although average for a bone broth, was still tasty read more

Wow Bao - Thai Herb Bone Broth, veggie bao, spicy chicken bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Does the company have a dress code? I don't need to see someone's underwear and butt crack while waiting for my bao. Dirty dirty station and old bao. Both employees had their noses completely uncovered. I ordered via the kiosk and it was too late to cancel my order after I saw how gross the counters were and the staff not adhering to COVID protocol. The bao were old and stiff. I threw one of two away. read more

These were sooo yummy we brought some back home to TX!!! spicy Mongolian beef-good thai curry-good kung pao-good bbq-ok kinda sweet (different taste from the dim sum joints) didn't get a chance to try the noodles read more

Wow Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I didn't review this place, like, right away? Wow... but JUST wow... wow without the bao. Guess what, my friend who planned the itinerary for this trip (happened last Nov, btw) had this place on our list. The day we passed by one (closer to the Marilyn Monroe statue), it was closed -- figured that place was geared toward office clientele, so understandably so it was closed on the weekends. We were looking forward to visit the one on THIS location the day after. It was Sunday, about dinner time, and this place is right under the Lego store, so you bet it's open. So we entered into the building, and being AT LEAST 15 FEET away from it, behind the crowd that was in line for some buns, we started to take some pictures of their store front. No flash, mind you. And then we were about to order some buns to try ourselves. Suddenly, a very harsh voice yelled out to us: "NO PICTURES!!! NO PICTURES!!!" An Asian (presumably Chinese) man looked at us and screamed angrily from behind the counter, while busily prepping his orders or rolling dough or something. Interestingly, last time I was "barred" from taking pictures by the store staff while on MALL GROUND was in Shanghai. Are Mainland Chinese THAT protective of their store that they think they own the air surrounding it as well? And was that man thinking we probably wouldn't be patronizing given that we were also Chinese, so he might as well shoo us away so we're not in his way? Sadly, I was going to patronize, but I won't now. Coz your discrimination against your own race is more unappetizing than any bao that I might or might not have even seen you make. Too bad, coz I was about to contribute to my people and patronize their business, and I was actually excited to try their bao. But bc I took one picture too many to their liking, I was treated like a plague. Who in the right business mind doesn't like free advertising these days? I would tell you all: don't even bother "checking-in" to this place, coz they probably wouldn't appreciate that very much, either. If you're in China, they might have already shot you by now. Funny thing is, I was practically standing on the ground of the BUILDING, so I was not even in their "domain" of control. They had no "store" to enter into; I was ON PUBLIC GROUNDS. So unless this dude was a uniformed guard or something, I don't think he had the right to command us. And it's not likeI was being stupid or using flash, or even video-taping his "business secret", you know. Power trip much? Bottom line, if you REEEEALLY have a problem about people taking pictures of your work, I say put a stupid sign up (and I will respect that), or do it in the basement. On second thought, why not close your store altogether coz we can't even take a picture of the STORE -- not that we were zooming into his hands trying to get between him and his dough, you know! The whole idea of him hating on us taking pictures and admiring their work, is plain ridiculous and uninviting. So yeah, at the end of the day, wow is right. Just no bao. read more

Wow Bao - the ONE picture i shot before being yelled "NO PICTURES!!!" at for no apparent reason. i was NOT being intrusive or anything! - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

About a 2-2.5: After roaming around on Michigan Avenue, we came to check Wow Bao out for a quick snack. There was a huge line, so that was quite exciting! We chose to order their 1/2 dozen, eliminating the 'sweet buns' and going for their savories: teriyaki chicken, spicy kung pao chicken, whole wheat edamame, thai curry chicken, spicy mongolian beef, and bbq pork baos. It seemed that after the first couple of buns, they all manage to taste the same :P I think my favorite out of the whole set was the whole wheat edamame, with whole edamames in a wheat bao - no sauce in this one - pure vegetarian-like. I've also had their 'signature homemade' ginger ale - it was like sparkling water with ginger syrup. +wheat edamame read more

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This is my kind of fast food: being half Asian I'm a huge bao lover. It's a good thing I don't live here because I would be a regular and gain tons of weight. All that aside, we only had short time for a quick snack. Ordered the bao with pork. It was delicious. Absolutely delicious. read more

Gross. Unless you have no idea what you're ordering. The idea is great. The execution was not. The young workers at this location were not attentive. We went with a 6-pack. We should have ordered ZERO. Nothing tasted right. There was a wait for their featured item. Keep in mind that there was no one in line in front of us and it was NOT busy. The self-order kiosks had a hand written note that said "not all items may be available" so that's cool. Their technology is clearly behind. They got two stars because of concept. But food is like -1 star. Just sayin'. Save your money. Your tastebuds will thank you. read more

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Why is this place listed as $ on yelp? It should be $$. Baos are not big and quite expensive--at a normal restaurant you should be getting about twice the quantity for what you pay here. It is fast though and ordering through their atm machine thing was very easy. Taste of baos is aight. BBQ pork was decent and teriyaki chicken was a bit too sweet and Americanized. read more

Wow Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Wow Bao does the job as a fast casual Loop spot that leaves my body feeling like it made the right decision, even if the meal is ultimately not memorable since the food is pretty plain as-is. I went with a Teriyaki Bowl with veggie dumplings on my last visit. Totally fine, and with a free cup of water this came out to $11.35. I remember a previous visit not filling me all the way up, but this meal actually worked pretty well. The seating at this location is not great; you go up an escalator and hang a left to find about a half-dozen tables that fit for quick conversation with maybe one other adult. This is better to take back to your office, which I'm guessing is the norm for 90% of the people who eat here! read more

The bao from here is awesome. The bowls are BAD. Go here for bao NOT bowls. I will return but will elect to get 4 bao and not a combo.

Grabbed something from here because I was already in Water Tower Place and just wanted a quick bite. I ordered the teriyaki chicken bowl. I was hoping that I could get half rice and half lo mien but they wouldn't allow for that, so I just ended up getting the lo mein. I also ordered a teriyaki chicken bao and a BBQ pork bao. I also contemplated ordering a ginger ale, but wanted to try their limited time flavor, but the cashier said it was something about it already been proportioned out... Anyway, the teriyaki bowl was underwhelming. The lo mein was good but the teriyaki chicken was way too salty and wasn't very appetizing after 2 bites. Same thing goes for the teriyaki chicken bao. The bao itself was good, but the meat inside was no good. The BBQ pork bao was a tad better, but not enough to impress me. The stars I gave were for fast and somewhat friendly service and decent prices. read more

The buns at Wow Bao are decent, expensive but decent. Not to mention the size of those buns. I can finish a bun in two bites, but then again, quality over quantity. For some reason my friends and I were not hungry that day, so as a result, instead of getting full meals, we ended up just getting buns. The BBQ pork buns were delicious, I would actually come back for those. However, the Thai curry chicken buns were aight. Did not taste like curry at all. Asides from the buns, they also serve soup, salad, steamed dumplings, and bowls (teriyaki chicken, spicy Kung Pao chicken, and the Thai curry chicken). Not exactly sure how tasty those bowls are. But hey, there is always a second time for everything. Overall, I would come back here for a snack, but not to get full since those portions are SMALLL. read more

Wow Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This made me depressed portions are small so don't expect a big meal. Also there was at least 3 pieces of hair in my food. This place looked good but it was biggest mistake of my life. The bowls are just rice with a tiny scoop of chicken and even then there wasn't much rice. These are 10 dollars each. The bao was good but there were definitely not fresh made but frozen and heated up. Waste of money.‍ read more

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We got a quick snack at the Wow Bao and thought that the food was good, inexpensive, and quick. Interesting concept, a automated screen takes your order with a credit card. Within a few minutes your order appears on the screen and you grab and go. We got a pack of six baos in a variety of flavors (pork, veggie, beef), and shared them on the steps leading up into the mall. It was a good snack to help us fend off some afternoon hunger pains while we checked out the mall. read more

Wow Bao - Chinese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

small portions and expensive. orange chicken ain't even good. I would score it less if I could fr

Grabbed a bite to eat here after doing some serious shopping. It's just a little stand right inside the mall, but they make some tasty options and they're pretty fast. The girl at the counter could have been more helpful, but we figured it out without her help. My orange chicken was tender and delicious, as was the rice. I enjoyed the dumplings as well, overall a great lunch! Be aware there isn't a spot to sit right by the location but if you take the escalator upstairs you'll find the rest of the restaurant options and a food court area to rest your legs. It was super busy when we stopped by, but it was the weekend of Black Friday, so could be an anomaly. read more

Wao Bao was good. It's not like extremely good but it's decent. I like how they have different variety of flavors.