How bao that? Dumpling, cocktail-making classes on tap at Pembroke Pines’ only food hall

Phillip Valys, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
·2 min read

This is “Small Bites,” a South Florida Sun Sentinel feature with tiny tidbits on the food and beverage scene — because we know that sometimes you just don’t have room for a long article. You want a little news brief instead, an amuse bouche of information, if you will. Enjoy!

WHAT:

Four months after converting his parents’ Cantonese restaurant into Baoshi, Pembroke Pines’ only food hall, owner Filbert Ip’s pan-Asian palace is throwing dim sum and cocktail classes.

First up, the 6,000-square-foot food hall — home to five vendors and a full-liquor bar — will host a mixology class on Saturday, April 20, from bartender Jesse Gil, who will teach visitors to craft three Asian-inspired cocktails: Forbidden Pitaya, Coco Yen, and Gemstonetini.

The intimate class will feature tastings of all three cocktails; a bartending kit of shakers, strainers and jiggers; and dumpling light bites from Baoshi vendor Gold Marquess. Participants will receive recipe cards for each cocktail.

Then, on Saturday, April 27, the food hall will offer a dumpling-making class on its patio from dim sum chef Daniel Penalver, who will teach how to fill, form, steam and pan-fry three styles of dumplings — chicken, pork and shrimp — along with preparing chili oil and soy-based dipping sauces.

For Ip, the classes are a way to connect with Pembroke Pines families living in the suburbs around them, and to evangelize the diversity of delicious Asian cuisine to which many South Floridians aren’t accustomed.

“My vision was always to educate in the way I can that Chinese food is not just takeout Mongolian beef or fried rice,” Ip says. “I love introducing different ideas to Asian cuisine, even with drinks.”

For Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, Baoshi plans to host an Asian Night Festival with seven guest vendors spanning cuisines from Indonesia and Japan to Hawaii and the Philippines, Ip says. That event is set for Saturday, May 18.

WHEN:

The mixology class will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 20, while the dumpling-making class will take place 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 27.

WHERE:

Both classes will take place at Baoshi Asian Food Hall + Bar at 8525 Pines Blvd. in Pembroke Pines.

COST:

The two-hour mixology class will cost $30 (via Eventbrite.com) and include tastings and tips to make three specialty craft cocktails, as well as recipes and light dumpling bites from Gold Marquess. Meanwhile, the hands-on, two-hour dumpling class will cost $40 (also via Eventbrite.com).

INFORMATION:

Call 786-898-8868, visit BaoshiFoodHall.com or check out Instagram @BaoshiFoodHall.

Staff writer Phillip Valys can be reached at pvalys@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @p.v.guide and X/Twitter @PhilValys.