Big Bao Fairfield is a bao and dumpling takeaway on Heaphy Terrace in Fairfield, Hamilton, holding a 4.9 rating from 52 Google reviews. Reviewers most often name the pork belly, fried chicken and beef cheek bao, and describe fast, friendly service and a good spread of menu choices.
With a bao, the bun is the test: a good one is steamed fresh, pillowy with a slight chew, never dense or dry, and rich fillings like pork belly want something sharp or crunchy alongside to cut through. Takeaway buns fade if they sit, so it pays to eat them soon after buying and let the chilli oil do its work. Dumplings are a fair measure of the kitchen too — well-seasoned filling, properly cooked skin — and a short menu of house favourites usually beats a long one.
In Fairfield, Big Bao gives Heaphy Terrace a solid reason to stop.