BaoBuddy

Picked up some beef and scallion buns here as well as pork and scallion. The process was super fast. They had out all their freshly made buns and we were able to grab them and pay swiftly. The buns taste delicious and super glad to have this place to buy fresh buns instead of going through the trouble of doing it myself!

Walked in, I just wanted 2 Pork Scallion buns (#20 on the menu). Lady comes up to the counter and starts speaking in Chinese. I said sorry I don't speak Chinese. She points to the counter and says "only this one". I say, "Can I order #20?"She's says, "No, only this one."Again, she's pointing to the counter with some stuff that's already been packaged. I think there were only like two or three options, none of which I was interested in. So again, I say, "But I want pork & scallion."And again she says, "No, only this one."And then she turns around and walks away. Okay, interesting business model here. You dictate what it is I'm going to order based on what you already made. No thanks.*edit: I'm adding a footnote as an indicator that I've read the other reviews, mostly after the fact. It's fine if the business model is not to order, operated by a single lady, whatever. Make note of that somewhere then, put up a sign that says you don't make the buns to order, that they take a long time to make, etc. Don't repeat the same four words to me then turn around and walk to the back without any further explanation. That was a truly baffling experience.

I went here a few times, and I did read the reviews here and while I feel the price might be above average but it's not bad. Like if you eat bahn bao from Vietnamese places, they are usually 5 a bun as well. And the chef/owner is not rude about menu but more because sometimes she works alone, making the buns and says not many people want to do it by hand because it is tiring. If you come in the afternoon, she typically stops making new buns, but the ones on display are all made in the morning. She says you can pre-order items off the menu since there are like 20 different types of bao and it doesn't make economical sense for her to make these and hope someone buys them. In any case, I would ask her for her "secret menu" items since she switches it around. One week she had these amazing fried meatballs, and they go fast.

Listen up, the bao zi here are some of the best northern chinese style buns. They have the same fresh taste as the ones I used to eat every morning for breakfast in China. All flavors are bomb, the dough is soft and fluffy with the perfect balance of filling to bread. Fillings are explosive in flavor and soo juicy inside. My favorites are the spicy cumin lamb, pork and chives, and vegetarian chive.You can't compare these to the frozen ones from Great Wall next door, these are made with skill and love. Price point is good too @ $3-$4 / bun which is cheaper than most of the viet or dim sum places in falls church. Wish you could mix and match flavors so I don't end up buying 15 buns and gorging on them all. Oh well, at least they freeze well.

To all of the people who are complaining....you obviously don't understand how baos are made and how long they take to make them "fresh". I am from Texas and used to purchase boxes of baos all the time from grocery stores. Yes, these are pricey, but given that the DMV is pricey in general for literally everything, the price is proportionately rational as compared to the prices in Texas. Yes, I'd like to pay less too (in fact, wouldn't it always be better if things in life were free?!), but it is what it is and it was my choice to live in the DMV. Don't blame the business owner. If you want cheap baos....move to Asia? I am really glad to have found a northern Chinese bao place that is pretty decent and also authentic. It breaks my heart that entitled people are bashing it because they simply don't understand how the food is made and whether they are priced correctly.

Overpriced. I tried ordering something off of their menu, then was rudely yelled at because you can't order things off of the menu. Only items are available are whatever is on the countertop. Menu isn't there for you to order? It's just there to show you what you're missing out. Ordered a box of their bao for $20. It's old and cold. Lots of dough, and little filling. Not sure how this place is still in business..... avoid avoid avoid

Over charge, nothing special about it but they charge $20 per box qty of 6 regular pork bun!! Bao Buddy in Great wall at fairfax way too expensive for me! That lady said all their bun is hand made! You know what! the BBQ chicken and roast duck next to their shop, they charge $22 for half roast duck and $16 half chicken!!! They both fresh and also handmade, taste so good and fair price! people can you see what am I trying to say? I did not ask for refund because I know I am not going back to them for sure.

I rarely write reviews but feel like I have to this time because the experience is SO bad. First of all, the owner was RUDE. She told me I cannot even touch the food container if am not buying it. If I don't take a look at it, how do I know if I want it or not?! Secondly, it is overpriced and the food is not fresh at all. When I saw the price, I told myself, the food must be very good, otherwise they wouldn't charge you this much and be this rude. But I was SO wrong. The truth is this is a ripoff and they are just rude. The taste is not good, filling is little, and most importantly, the meat is not fresh!!! It tasted sour like the meat had gone bad. Will never never go back again!

Love the service, the employee recommended amazing side dishes for our bun. We did get the mapo tofu buns, it was great but a little salty. Would recommend trying it!

Delicious bao made fresh daily. ​many other reviews complain that you can't order off the menu, but that makes sense because they take a long time to make and can only be done 1-2 batches at a time in such a small shop. The price is fair considering how fresh they are and tasty, plus they're fairly large. It has become one of our favorite lunch spots and we recommend it highly to all of our friends.​