The soft, mighty Bao is conquering all: good

HAD the pub chain Wetherspoons put bao on the menu 10 years ago, customers would've had no idea what they were dealing with. Yet such is the bun's triumphant rise to the fore, 'Spoons has started experimenting with the Asian import, filling a pair with strips of fried chicken, katsu sauce and pickled red onion and sending them out to the masses.

- Josh Barrie

Whether or not bao becomes a regular fixture on the menu in the country's most affordable pubs remains to be seen. The fact Tim Martin and pals thought to even bother trying is testament to its emergence as a mainstream dish in Britain, arriving assuredly and pitching up next to pizza and sushi.

Bao (often referred to as "bao buns" here, though redundantly, given "bao" loosely translates as "bun" anyway) is simple by virtue: here, it is most commonly the term given to a soft, fluffy and folded steamed bread that holds meat, fish or veg, though is often used to describe closed, filled buns too.