
Boa-Bao Has a Special Menu That Can Only Be Tasted This Christmas And New Year ♦ Japan, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia. At Port 30 of Largo Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, in Lisbon, and at 61 Rua da Picaria, in Porto, Christmas and New Year are celebrated towards the east, with the new festive menu prepared by Boa-Bao, which can be enjoyed in both the capital and Invicta between December 20 and January 1 – including 24, 25, 31 and 1, as space does not close. Secrets From Portugal brings you has the plates you can taste in Boa-bao these days, try not to star mouth-watering, and enjoy.
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In all, there are seven new festive dishes to sample at this Pan-Asian restaurant, all of which – except for the more creatively interpreted dessert – loyal to the traditional cuisine of the country, which represents, as is, the design of the project. Gregg and Nathalie Hupert, and Chris Gielen, also an executive chef.

The trip starts with a classic of Chinese cuisine: a dim sim of scallops flavoured with mushroom sauce and black vinegar (9,50 €). Another new entry is the Indonesian Beef Soup, Calon Sap (€ 6.50): it is common to cook in Indonesian celebrations and takes water squash, a genus of this fruit that only exists for four months a year in Asian countries. Spicy lovers will enjoy this soup, with beef being previously marinated in a mixture of Balinese spices.

After the recent experience with bamboo black charcoal bao, Boa-Bao is back to betting on typical Taiwanese rolls in this festive menu. This time it is a black bao, with choco paint, and stuffed with lobster, pork belly, cucumber, seaweed and red miso mayonnaise (19 €), a proposal that can enhance a lunch and dinner or snack outside mealtimes, since the restaurant kitchen does not close. Tamarind Soup with Sea Bream (17 €) – or Penang Asam Laksa – is another novelty developed by Chinese immigrants who took root in Malaysia. It comes in a generous dose, but it can and should be shared at the table.

Main courses reinterpret the well-known Thai soup Tom Yam with Khao Pad Tom Yam Talay (€ 19.50), a version of seafood fried rice. Japan is also featured on the new festive menu, featuring Japanese Wagyu steak, served in a bowl of steamed rice and accompanied by ponzu sauce, eringii mushroom tempura and a quail egg (€ 24.50). A farewell is the Thai-inspired Tab Tim Krob (€ 6): made of tapioca-coated Asian chestnut cubes, served with salted coconut milk, jackfruit and ice cubes, mixing various textures on the same plate.

The festive novelties are in addition to Boa-Bao’s fixed menu, which is also available with its 60 proposals, including the two best sellers, Pad Thai and Malaysian Curry Soup. Still, there will be renovations as early as 2020, as well as new dishes to sample with the arrival of the Chinese New Year, as is customary at the Pan-Asian restaurant, which promotes the idea of a gastronomic journey not only at the table but in some places.