Baobar, the delicious bao counter in the Marais

Head for the Marais at to enter Baobar, the bao counter located right next toEataly on rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie. Baobar is the latest addition to the MAMAHUHU team founded by André Tan and Lucas Sauquet, who have already created Panda Panda, Tiger Tiger and Dumpling Queen.

For this new venue, decorated byarchitect Régis Botta, the group has decided to move away from the street food cantine spirit to offer a slightly more upmarket concept. At Baobar, you sit at the counter with a direct view of the kitchen. You can watch the cooks at work, and chef Joelle Karam bustling about, putting the dishes together as soon as the shot is fired.

This chef, who has gained extensive experience in the world of gastronomy in Asia and the United States, offers inspiration from her travels on the Baobar menu. Barbecue-roasted cauliflower with red miso and black sesame (€11) is absolutely divine, as is black mullet with wasabi-wakame emulsion and ginger oil (€12) and crispy fish balls with shrimp and hake (€11), dipped in a saucy katsuoboshi mayonnaise.

Do you like spicy dishes? Let yourself be seduced by the steamed sweet potato (9€) seared in peanut sauce, or the excellent free-range chicken marinated then fried (12€) with gochujang - a chili paste - spiced just right.

Of course, you can't go past the gua bao, the place's star recipe, which comes in 5 à la carte varieties: with miso-marinated mushroom (8€), soy sauce-marinated free-range chicken (9€), beef brisket with tamarind sauce(8€) or marinated pork belly with ssamjang sauce (8€; our favorite!), or monkfish breaded with panko (8€), you're spoilt for choice.

We love watching the smoke from the steaming baskets billow, and the cauliflower and grilled meats seared on the binchotan barbecue in front of us. The kitchen is bustling with activity, just like Japanese izakayas. With subdued lighting and a relaxed atmosphere, we're seduced by this friendly, ebullient concept.

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To finish lunch, let yourself be tempted by the Baobar's inspired desserts: rice dough balls (5€) with sesame and wakame seaweed sugar, or the excellent saké-mirin panna cotta (6€) with muscovado sugar crumble and genmaicha tea jelly and powder. Very original!

So, let's go and discover these little marvels?