Bako on Broadway Brings Modern Chinese to Capitol Hill

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Photo by Abbie DavidBako brings food from cosmopolitan Hong Kong right here to Capitol Hill’s north end of Broadway. From food, to drinks and décor, owner, Keeman Wong successfully melds traditional elements with a contemporary feel at his newly opened Chinese restaurant.

This is not your regular hole in the wall International District Chinese restaurant delivering cartons of soggy Chinese food. It’s clean, modern and hip yet embraces vintage values and ideas. It fits in here on Capitol Hill joining independent restaurants like Poppie, Olivar, and Altura in proclaiming the North end of Broadway as a popular foodie destination.

Bako’s menu features modern Cantonese cooking using locally sourced ingredients. “Fortunately the tradition is very much in line with modern values. Local sourcing. Doing the minimum to the food you have to do to bring out the flavors. A better balance of meat and vegetables,” Wong said during an interview with CHS Capitol Hill Seattle blog.

They say you eat with your eyes first, but that’s not always true. Here at Bako, you definitely eat with your nose first as the smell of Chinese aromatics pleasantly permeate the restaurant. During a short wait at the bar while waiting for a table to open, I watched cooks prepare and dish out food as it came out of the kitchen. I grew hungrier and more excited with every plate that came out.

Abbie and I, along with our out of town visitors, Rion and Brinn were seated at the long granite community table that divided the dining area. Seeing how good each dish looked coming out of the kitchen, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Bako’s menu items ranged between 8-15 dollars.

Craving small bites to share amongst the four of us, we ordered shrimp chive potstickers and pearls - seasoned pork studded with pearl rice and a sesame soy dipping sauce. The pot stickers were juicy morsels of pureed shrimp. My only complaint about them is that I wish we had two orders. A plate of 5 dumplings for 4 people is kind of a teaser with only having one bite of something that’s this good.

On the other hand, the pearls were visually intriguing, but I felt like the “seasoned” pork lacked seasoning and flavor. It was a juicy bite of pork and rice, but the supposed seasoning along with the blandness of the rice did nothing to bring out the sweetness that we all love from steamed ground pork. I’ll pass on these next time I come, but perhaps a tweek or two of the recipe (some sesame oil, ginger and salt perhaps) will make this dish stunning. I love the concept, but it’s just not there quite yet. The people at my party also agreed.

Looking down our community table, the Singapore Noodles was a very popular dish, and for good reason. These noodles with wild American white prawns, honey roasted pork, bean sprouts, curry and rice noodles were a favorite amongst our party, and other guests at our community table were more than satisfied with their order. The curry really propels this dish to excellence adding just enough heat, spice and sweetness to the lovely noodles, shrimp and pork.

I ordered the Shrimp and Scallop Noodle, a crispy nest of noodles with monterry squid, diver scallops, seasonal vegetables and a sweet-hot chilli sauce. This dish is probably the most visually stunning plate that I saw all night and many people throughout the restaurant had it in front of them. I enjoyed the meal very much, but I must warn you, this dish packs a lot of heat, something my waiter failed to mention. Good thing I like spicy food.

The star of the evening’s dinner was Abbie’s oxtail man tou buns. These sliders are bursting with Asian flavor. The salad of apples and fennel that comes with this dish is a perfect contrast against the rich savory flavor of the meat and crisped clam shell shaped buns. If When I come back here again, this is what I’m ordering, either as an appetizer or two orders as a main dish! If you’re looking for brilliance in a bun, make sure you order some. Photo by Abbie David

Bako also separates themselves from other Chinese restaurants by having an excellent list of cocktails. We Capitol Hill dwellers are spoiled to have places to drink such as Tavern Law, Knee High Stocking Company, and Sun Liquor. It’s almost shocking that a Chinese restaurant would offer drinks of the same caliber. That’s part of what will make Bako so special.

Owner Keeman Wong sat and talked with our table for a few minutes. Along with the food and drinks, we all complimented his restaurant about the great décor, which fits his vision of traditional elements and contemporary feel. We debated whether Seattle loves or hates community tables (I think we love it as evidenced by community tables at Bravehorse Tavern, Serious Pie, Volunteer Park Café, etc.) and how his granite community fits the room perfectly and is conducive to a interactive dining experience.

A modern image of an attractive leafy pattern is projected against a white wall while vintage wallpaper inspired from the movie In the Mood for Love decorates the southern wall. A sexy vintage portrait of a Chinese man and woman marks the Men’s and Ladie’s room. White curtains drape down as a division between the bar and dining room area. Wong even says that chandeliers have yet to be installed. It all comes together very nicely adding to a fantastic dining experience.

I was glad to have eaten at Bako and even happier to meet owner Keeman Wong. He’s the type of person you meet and immediately want to patronize his business based on how nice of a guy he is. Keeman’s execution of his vision here at Bako is making the north end of Broadway quite a delicious and hip place to eat.

For those of you who do end up at Bako, let me know what you think! 

Bako

606 Broadway E.

Seattle, Wa 98102

(206) 829-8958 

The Shop Agora Brings The Northern Mediterranean to Capitol Hill

I was in a grumpy mood on Sunday afternoon while walking on 15^th Ave. I then caught the glimpse of a large wine display that I’ve never seen before. “What’s this?” I asked my wife, Abbie as we both ventured into The Shop Agora.

I must have stood there with my jaw wide open as my eyes soaked in what was before me: a center table with samples of bread, oils, olives, vinegar, and truffle popcorn, a large wine display to my right, and specialty food items such as pastas, anchovies, and breads to my left.

Suddenly, I wasn’t so grumpy.

The Shop Agora recently opened its doors at its new Capitol Hill location this past Friday, August 5^th  and is a family run specialty food store featuring high quality food and wine products from the Northern Mediterranean. Owners Nikos and Alexis merged their passion for food and wine to establish a dream: to provide a beautiful space with equally beautiful, and delicious products.

“We love hosting. We love to pour wine and serve food for people sitting down, whether it's at our home or here at our shop” Alexis preached as she sat down with me over a glass of wine. “We can’t do that at our other store. It’s just way too small with only one stool to sit on” Alexis laughed. “We want people to feel welcome.”

Nikos and Alexis’ first store have been providing Northern Mediterranean products to the good people of Phinney Ridge for the past 4 years. Both Nikos and Alexis shared their excitement about opening their 2^nd store here on 15^th. “We’re excited to have more space and be part of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood. Our opening night was so much fun; we had live music and a lot of people in the shop. Everyone seemed excited for us to be here.”

A large selection of premium olive oil, nuts, pastas, truffle products, vinegars and more decorate the northern wall of the store. Olive oil by the same name of the store was also on the shelves. “I grew up making olive oil and wine,” Nikos proudly said. Towards the back of the store is a deli display that showed off a wide variety of cheeses, sandwiches, olives, cured meats and salads.

A small bar invites customers to sit down and try small Mediterranean bites with wines and beers by the glass. I ordered some kalamata crown figs that were wrapped in pancetta, stuffed with penacorato blue cheese and marcona almonds. I also had to have the burrata ali panna, Italian fresh cheese served with homemade crostini brushed with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.

Alexis, who is working on her Masters degree in nutrition at Bastyr University, spoke about their menu at the tasting bar. “It’s important to me that there are some vegan and gluten free options on our menu.”

Curious about Alexis’ influence on the menu, I asked her which dishes can she take credit for. Proudly, Alexis smiled and said “The Kalamata crown figs and the Maida Italian Artichoke hearts!”

One bite of their figs immediately prompted a huge thank you for placing them on the menu.

Nikos then came and guided me through wines of his home country, a wine country of which I know very little about. The Sigalas Santorini, which featured the white grapes Assyrrtiko and Athiri was a white crisp wine with balanced minerality, acidity, and fruit. Nikos explained how they grow on an island in the middle of the Aegean Sea where the vines are trained to shape into low spiraling baskets. The grapes hang inside to protect from the sun and the wind.  The Mercouri Foloi Roditis was another white that is from Niko’s hometown and was much dryer with a bit more minerality than fruit. Finally he poured me a red from Halkidiki Limnio Merlot that was surprisingly light and easy to drink with a subtle and elegant red fruit flavor.

A quick browse through the wine section highlighted wines mainly from, Greece and Italy, but there were many wines also from Spain, France, South Africa, and the Northwest. “We want to highlight wines from the Northern Mediterranean, but I also want to have wines that I love from all over the world” explained Nikos.

I saw a handful of customers who happened to wander in the store, and they all appeared just as wide eyed and astonished as I was. The Shop Agora offers such a rare combination of a boutique retail food store with a warm and welcoming sense of hospitality that the Capitol Hill community is sure to embrace.

As one of many Capitol Hill foodies, I'd like to be one of the first to welcome Alexis, Nikos and The Shop Agora to the neighborhood.

The Shop Agora

346 15^th Ave E

Seattle, Wa 98112

206.322.1103