At Mekong Plaza in Mesa, there's no shortage of umami-packed Asian fare. A grocery market offers everything from rice cakes to fresh fish and seaweed, cafes serve brightly-hued taro teas brimming with boba and hot pots beckoning to be shared, and a large central restaurant specializes in dim sum. Festive red lanterns hang from the ceiling, fronting gift shops with waving cats and golden Buddhas.
Happy Bao's, a casual eatery that earned best dumpling designation in our Best of Phoenix awards two years running, lies among the array. A sign featuring a grinning dumpling greets you on the way in, a sign of good things to come. An exposed red brick wall frames the register, where one can order a meal to-go.
The walls and menu boast photos of the food, making one salivate before a plate even reaches the table. And while the restaurant's name suggests a pillowy bun or purse-shaped delicacy filled with marinated meat, we went in a different direction on a recent visit. Boy, are we glad we did.
Upon a recommendation from our server, we opted for the Number 22: spicy beef noodle soup. She had us at spicy, and the description was spot on. The dish arrived as a steamy bowl of broth filled with narrow egg noodles, shredded beef, bok choy, cilantro and scallions. We made an impromptu napkin bib and dug right in, chopsticks at the ready.
This is the kind of soup that will make your mouth numb thanks to Sichuan pepper. For those who like to live on the milder side, the regular beef noodle soup, identical but made sans the spice, should do the trick.
Meat, veggies and broth meld together to make a well-balanced dish with an abundance of flavor and differing textures. While other tables indulged in dumplings filled with pork and chives, shrimp or thinly sliced beef tripe, our decision to order soup proved to be the right one.
If you came for the dumplings, the spicy beef soup is a good dish to share as an appetizer, depending on your appetite, or take home for later. And despite the ravenous state in which we arrived, there was plenty left for midnight snacking by the end of the meal. In a container it went, while we dreamt of the next pilgrimage, when dumplings would surely be top of mind.
If you find yourself waiting for a table for dim sum on your next visit to Mekong Plaza, forego the carts and stop in at this unassuming restaurant next door. The bao may be happy, but once you indulge in this soup, you will be, too.
