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We tried the brilliant bao buns at Tiger Bites Pig, Brighton

TIGER Bites Pig not only deserves our attention for being possibly the funkiest new venue in Brighton, but also having the best name.It’s a Taiwanese phrase which originates from the apparent similarity of a pork-filled bao bun and a tiger’s mouth. Which is fairly rootsy and cutesy, unless of course you’re a pig, in which case you might find the idea quite upsetting.But a visit to the very cool and groovy new restaurant on Gloucester Road is far from upsetting to the city’s non-porcine population.It’s based in the enviable location in the sweet spot between teemingly busy Lanes madness and @@@@ Road @@@@.They’ve also struck lucky by taking on the former premises of Isaac@, which a great many city foodies will look back on fondly for @ years of innovative and special dining.It was also always a triumph of design and space management by Isaac@ team to get the most from the less-than cavernous surroundings, and the new incumbents are carrying on that remarkable tradition.Tiger Bites Pig has taken the road slightly-less travelled from Birmingham to Brighton, setting up shop initially in Birmingham City Centre in 2018 before relocating a short distance closer to the Birmingham Central Station.In that time they’ve garnered a great rep and loyal following for their Taiwanese-inspired bao buns and rice bowls which would happily tickle the fancy of fans of Chinese Sichuan cuisine.Throw a chopstick down a street in the Lanes @@@ and you’re likely to hit a burger or pizza joint but Brighton is surprisingly light on bao buns, so the expansion from Brum to BN1 seems like a smart move.The Southern strategy has been co-plotted by Brighton boy Harry Roper who very much liked what he saw during a few years in the West Midlands.We were invited over just a few weeks after it opened up in mid August, and were fortunate enough to be looked after by co-owner and all-ground lovely chap, Neil McGougan, who was swapping cities for a few days.It’s always a joy to be served by an someone who not only knows menu backwards (well he would wouldn’t he?)  but is justifiably brimming with pride with the carefully created dishes.You also get the feeling that every dish has been painstakingly put together over the past seven years (including those “character-building” Covid years) and that every ingredient has been individually chosen ( and you can see quite a lot of them in the open kitchen).The kimchi is created in house and all the better for it, big old chunks of crunchy cabbage with chilli flakes and gently spiced supporting veg.Even the crispy prawn crackers are fatter than most and dusted with a magic spice mix that was only fractionally less moreish than @@@@.Their beer game is strong (if not mahoosive at this stage) and they’ve had the good sense to keep things local and a couple of cans of UnBarred’s Joosy were perfect with the bold spicy flavours.The soft fluffy bao buns are made daily and a wise person might predict they’ll soon be selling plenty of them.We chose not to trifled with trio of beef shin, fried chicken, and white cut (aka poached) chicken . White cut chicken, ginger, spring onion, sichuan chilli oil, sesame & chicken crackle. The chicken is served      Fried Chicken Bao: Buttermilk & SOY marinated chicken with green Sichuan peppercorn and a hot sauce.    Braised Beef Shin Rice Bowl: With roasted carrots, house pickles, and a cured egg yolk.                     The beauty of being Pan-Asian Easy quick,  option, quick lunch, pre    Puddings on the way (miso toffee pudding anyone?)   In Taiwan, some bao are described as "Tiger Bites Pig" due to the mouth like shape of the bun and the pork filling. Our rice bowls lend themselves more to food from the Sichuan province. For all our dishes, we stick to traditional methods wherever possible.Although service is quick, every element of our menu is made in-house. Most of our processes are lengthy and a lot of time and care will have gone in to their preparation, such as our kimchi fermentation, house pickling & meat braising.This is far from your traditional Chinese takeaway food!        In Taiwan, some bao are described as "Tiger Bites Pig" due to the mouth like shape of the bun and the pork filling. Our rice bowls lend themselves more to food from the Sichuan province. For all our dishes, we stick to traditional methods wherever possible.Although service is quick, every element of our menu is made in-house. Most of our processes are lengthy and a lot of time and care will have gone in to their preparation, such as our kimchi fermentation, house pickling & meat braising.This is far from your traditional Chinese takeaway food!

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