REVIEW: We’re Ranking ALL the Options at Universal’s Newest Restaurant!

At Universal’s CityWalk, you can find all kinds of delicious food! And there’s a NEW spot to grab a bite now!

Bend the Bao is a new restaurant that serves Asian-style bao buns with all kinds of flavors! We stopped by and tried every bao bun on the menu! Here’s our definitive ranking of the buns!

Bend the Bao is located on Universal’s CityWalk, and it’s open from 11AM to 10PM.

There are seven kinds of bao buns on the menu, and we tried them all! You can get two bao for $11.99 and add a third for $4.49 extra.

Here’s our definitive ranking of all the bao buns on the menu!

7. Crab Cake

The Crab Cake Bao has Maryland style crab cake, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and mustard aioli.

This was last in our ranking. It was pretty *meh* if we’re honest. It tasted like fake crab and was very salty with a fishy after-taste.

6. Kimchee Fried Chicken

The Kimchee FC Bao is kimchee fried chicken, kimchee butter, gochujang, cucumber, scallion, and sriracha aioli.

The Kimchee Chicken Bao was fine, but wasn’t the most exciting option on the menu. That being said, if you’re in a party with picky eaters, this is probably one of the more popular items to try!

5. Veggie

The Veggie Bao has roasted oyster mushrooms, spinach, sweet potato, caramelized onion, smoked ricotta cheese, and tomatillo salsa.

This bao was a surprise hit for us! The veggies had a really good, smoky flavor, and they went great with the soft bao bun.

4. Beef Brisket

In the Beef Briskey Bao you’ll find beef brisket, fried jalepeno, pickled red onion, cilantro, and avocado lime crema.

This bao was really good, with lots of flavor and a good kick from the jalepeno. The brisket was tender, juicy, and smoky, melding together with the other ingredients for a delightful taste.

3. Shrimp

We’re in the top three! The Shrimp Bao had fried shrimp, shredded cabbage, avocado, pico de gallo, and chipotle crema.

This bao had a lot of good texture contrast with the fried shrimp and cabbage, and we really liked the flavor of the chipotle crema. This was our favorite of the fried options!

2. Duck

And the runner up is the Duck Bao! This bao has braised duck, kimchee slaw, XO sauce, cilantro, and 5 spice aioli!

The texture from the slaw was great in this bao, and the XO sauce (a spicy seafood sauce) was incredibly tasty. We thought the duck was cooked perfectly — it was moist and had a great smoky flavor.

1. Pork Belly

The winner is….Pork Belly! The Pork Belly Bao had pork belly, scallions, cucumber, honey roasted peanuts, and cilantro.

The peanuts were surprising and really good in this bao! With such a soft bun, we think the crunch from the peanuts and the cucumber was perfect. The pork belly was tender and juicy and the sweet sauce complemented it well. We just loved this one!

Overall, while this wasn’t our favorite restaurant at Universal, it’s a fun new spot to check out, and a welcome addition to Universal’s CityWalk. If you’re with a group that wants to try a bit of everything, or are looking for a quick bite to eat by yourself, Bend the Bar is a place worth stopping by the next time you’re in Universal Orlando.