It’s 50 degrees in the Bao Brothers food truck.
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Parked outside The Welders Dog for the duration of Tamworth Country Music Festival, Bao Brothers manager Allan Waring said it’s the risk that paid off.
“We’ve always tried to look for something niche because the food truck scene is over-saturated,” he said.
“We’re selling 1000 buns a day here and we do that at large markets in Sydney, it’s astonishing we’ve got that feedback up here.”
The Bao Brothers started with real life brothers-in-law Nathan Martin and Dave Griffin at a farmer’s market in Newcastle on a Sunday.
It took off.
Within a few years the Taiwanese street eats venture had grown to a restaurant with two food trucks and plans to travel interstate and overseas to New Zealand next year.
Food trucks are a dime a dozen in Newcastle, but for Tamworth locals the tasty bites have been an exciting switch up for the palate.
The brothers teamed up with The Welders Dog in Tamworth after their unique flavours delighted at festival in Denman.
Bao literally translates to steamed bun in Taiwanese, it’s a bread dough that’s steamed instead of baked, topped in Tamworth with a braised pork, for which the master stock has been going for 18 months.
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“You top it up with aromats each time you use it and boil it to remove impurities,” Mr Waring said.
“It gives it a bit more depth - I’ve known restaurants to have pork stocks or braising liquids going for five or ten years.”
For those that aren’t won over by pork, there’s a southern fried chicken bao topped with chilli mayo, cos lettuce and toasted sesame, or a tofu and vegan option.
Mr Waring and his teammate have been staying at the riverside campground for the duration of the festival.
“I’m not a very big camper myself, but everyone’s been lovely,” he said.
“We’ve left the chairs out and people put them away for us, half the time we can’t walk down the street without someone saying hello.
“Country music does attract the full gamut of people, we’ve had a large array of eclectics - it’s so different from Sydney and Newcastle, you walk down the street and everyone says hello, everyone is just so helpful.”
Catch the Bao Brothers outside The Welders Dog from lunchtime to late every day of Tamworth Country Music Festival.