If there is food worthy of the personification of rabies that has happened in recent years, a sticker or keychain, or a gorgeous, or adorable, creakable pillow, embracing expressive eyes in the perfect white spread of its wide side, it is guavao.
And I like to think these cheerful, marshmallowy delights, Taiwanese street food that began in Huheer, China, and that they will laugh at the prospect of being worshipped by the points of consumption. Take a look at the handheld of pork berry confit from Sanford’s hot Asian bread.
It’s going into my belly.
This is exactly when Chau Vo and Jimmy Nguyen tried their first Guavao on a trip to New York City a few months ago.
“It was love,” says Vo. “Pork and peanut powder and mustard greens… that was it. We were on sale, and we knew it would be very unique and fun if we brought them to Orlando.
It’s a long and long (and humorously named) way that Hot Asian bread food trucks were born. But it didn’t happen overnight.
Vo was working in the corporate world at the time. Always a passion for cooking, Nguyen worked with Chef Kathleen Blake at Rusty Spoon downtown. They were looking for business ideas, and the cavernous, sweet and flavorful street food hit a chord.
In the record-breaking summer heat, Jaleo’s Gaspacho is soup – cool
They had a limited budget and needed low input.
“Food truck!” she says. “It’s food from a street stall. I have it on hand. It’s fun!”
They picked up one for about $5,000 and made it for BAO for the next few years.
That’s definitely a tasty word, but it can be confusing.
Hot Asian bread serves guavao, but “bao” is often used in general. This is an umbrella term that can refer to various types of Chinese steamed bread, such as the equally fluffy but completely surrounded by Baoji.
More importantly, these wonderfully tender, taco-like sleeping bags, star components that cradle the components from Korean-style fried chicken and tempura shrimp to Latin-style boar Asada are made entirely in-house. This was just as perfectly nguyen-drawn process as Orlando Hoodies would build a $5,000 spent food truck that they would eventually flock to.
And he built the skills to win a $20,000 victory on Food Network’s favorite, Guy’s Grocery Games.
It was payday they said they would use it towards their brick and mortar dreams that they realized earlier this year.
Vo and Nguyen, which have currently been open for about six months, are S. Finding the grooves in a cozy place on Sanford Avenue. Like the stars on the menu, it folds between two popular watering holes and shares many customers with the courtyard. The new faces find them from Bokey locals and Outerbergs like DeVery and Deland, to long-time regulars from Kissimmee and Lake Nona.
“They are so happy they don’t have to drive us away on weekdays anymore,” says Vo.
Six Bao’s menu has been added with several rice bowls that have proven popular. It is also a whole new addition to paying homage to the couple’s Vietnamese heritage.
“We tried them out on the truck, but there were a lot of limitations in the space,” she says. “They’re doing really well here.”
Warning ahead of time that the summer could be late, the couple felt lucky to have enjoyed a steady stream of business that continues to grow. It’s autumn with their feet under them and they want to showcase some new menu items, brunches and other products.
Currently Tuesday is Bao Day. When the kitchen is closed, the team stirs up the bread that supplies the store for a week. It’s a tough job, but one Vo says Nguyen insisted from the start. Despite the nature of the fabric’s temperament, they are doing it fairly well and look forward to further improving the process as they can add more equipment.
Their trucks are parked for now, and she’s making sure they can concentrate on the fast-growing brick and mortar stores, but the mobile team hopes they’ll build in the future.
Time is a good ingredient for them.
“Late it and we were able to tweak it,” she says. She says with patience that she allows tracks, menus, and even growing families to happen organically.
Delicious.
Do you want to reach out to me? Find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @Amydroo or the Osfoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join Let’s Eat and Orlando Facebook Group.
If you’re going
Hot Asian Bread: 204 S. Sanford Ave. in Sanford, 321-363-3075; facebook.com/hotasianbunsfoodtruck; instagram.com/hot_asian_buns
