Adobo Dragon

Update: I was able to order on the phone and bring in my second certificate. My food was ready on time (I arrived late). Once again, delicious food but I would suggest being careful when transporting the food back. I biked to work and some of the contents shifted around and spilled. Still highly recommend this place!

This place is freaking weird. Came here after seeing the rave reviews. Idk how anyone can call this place a restaurant, it’s more like a mall food court. The menu is tiny. Two entrees, water, and one pork bao was $ 30+. The salmon bento box came out cold and the shrimp in the curried noodles was oddly soft and unpleasant. We sent the box back and are currently waiting while they refund us because it was taking forever to reheat the salmon. The only thing «Latin» on my noodles was a sprinkle of what looked like chicharrones. Wound up throwing the noodles out and cancelling the salmon. Giving two starts because the pork bao wasn’t bad. But. even that feels gratuitous.

Do you know how hard it is to find bao in Phoenix? Pretty freaking hard. I was trying to google «places to get bao in Phoenix» the other day and Adobo Dragon didn’t even show UP!
…but then I ended up at DeSoto for dinner and realized AD has bao. And I fell a little bit more in love. (Again. I already love DeSoto.)
If you’ve never had bao, or you have an insatiable desire to consume a soft steamed bun that seems to be made of clouds and carbs, I suggest going and ordering the albondigas bao and the pork bao. You get two bao and a side salad for about $ 10, and its definitely enough food for a meal.
The albondigas is a nice Mexican twist on classic bao, and the pork is (from what I understand) a more traditional form of bao. Both are delicious. Both are something I would eat everyday if I could.
Honorable mention goes to their curry noodles. I was just a little disappointed to find half my curry noodle bowl was actually a salad. What are you doing, Adobo, trying to make me healthy?!

I ordered their salmon bento box. The taste was good not to die for. I actually thought their brown rice they served me was spoiled it had a funny smell and taste to it which I did not enjoy, I ate everything else but skipped on the rice. I spent about $ 20 on my meal including the bento and their happy hour price for the bao, $ 3.50. It was kind of in the pricey end because I didn’t enjoy my bento box. However, their baos is amazing!!! I like how the bun is so thick and soft and the fillings tasted so good!!! When you are around Central Phoenix, you should try it. The location is very hidden so make sure you go inside the Desoto Market. Parking is free!

We stopped in tonight for dinner after having such a great experience at the Delta & the Larder a few weeks ago. We purchased a
certificate and decided to give it a try. We ordered the albondigas tapas and a veggie roll to start and had the curry noodles with shrimp and a beef bento box for our entrees. The food took about 10 minutes and tasted very fresh and flavorful. My favorite item was the curry noodles — just the right amount of spice and I love the thin noodles… so yummy! The staff was very welcoming and even brought our food out to us in the dining room.

A refreshing change in the boring Phoenix cuisine. Highly recommended if want to liven up your palette instead of dining at some cookie cutter chain restaurant. Adobo Dragon is located in DeSoto Market which is was formally a DeSoto auto dealership. It’s a wonderfully restored building with a quaint casual atmosphere.

Chicken bao is my favorite. The bun is so soft and perfect with the chicken. My husband’s favorite is the seafood ceviche, he says, «it’s good to the last bite :)». My 5 year old nephew loves the beef bento box including the veggies with it, although he says he kinda like the chicken bao too :). Thank you, chef Allan! I just wish your restaurant’s near our home.

Finally remembered this place was open, had to check it out. Currently there are only 6 vendors in place. The atmosphere is very casual. I tried Adobo Dragon (Asian Latin fusion): Thai chicken wings, carne fried wontons and 2 Bao special/​abondigas & salmon. Very interesting fusion and really tasty.

My wife and I went for the 1^st time today (10 – 6) and it was delicious. My wife had the salmon dish and I had the Ramen posole chkn. We sat at the bar and watched thm cook it. The place is inside the Desoto Market in an historic brick building and parking is east of the building thru an alley with complimentary valet. The entrance is on the north side of the building 2^nd door to the right. Hard to find the 1^st time but easy after. It’s well worth it. Once in, walk left towards the back or just ask. We talked to the owner who is Filipino. Very nice and humble guy. We will be back.

Wow I came into the new Dodge cabaret of food offerings and came across this gem of a find. This is asian meets Mexico. Wow the Bao (Chinese style bread taco puff) was filled with delicious morsels of Pork and one with Chicken. With a side of mixed unique greens and a light vinegar salad, wow. I am so impressed with what they have done with food in less then 400 sf.
I certainly will be back to try the Bento Box and the Tapas. For $ 9.50 you can’t miss. Bravo to the owner Allan for his creative approach to two fusions. I am sure he will come up with other tidbits over time. Need a sweet desert to cool down the meal.

We found this place on
. First of all, we could not find it because it was located in a marketplace and the name was not listed on the front of the building, so had to call after several times around the block. The «restaurant» consists of 3 chairs at a counter, with no seating in the common area like you find at a mall food court. My taste buds were ready for some good Oriental food [Southwestern flair would have been okay too], but it was a terrible experience. There is a very limited menu, with 3 – 4 Bao [sandwiches] and only 4 entrees. the food was tasteless and overpriced for what you got – chicken entrée consisted of dry slices of about ¹⁄₈ of a grilled chicken breast and a spoonful of limp veggies on the side, with no sauce. I had to ask for dressing for the meager kale salad; also requested salt, pepper, Sriracha and soy sauce [had to get 3 little containers as there was less than a teaspoon each] to be able to eat the rest of the dish and plain rice. We spent over $ 20 on one entrée [one free + $ 1], a water and a soda, all served on disposable tray with plastic silverware – and I was still hungry after we ate.
Sounds like maybe we should have tried Happy Hour and the pork or chicken Bao according to other reviews, but I don’t eat white flour, and there is no pork entrée. Unfortunately, the good sauces previously described were missing from our entrees. Now, thinking about the price, maybe there was an up-​charge for brown rice? The receipt was not detailed.

Located inside Desoto market, nestled in a small food court. I tried a chicken and a pork bao. The chicken had a sauce that tasted like mango curry and the pork was garnished with coleslaw. My favorite was the chicken due to its unique flavor. This asian hybrid cuisine was a nice find.

Stopped by Adobo Dragon for lunch today. Really welcoming, talented chefs. I had the Madras Chicken Tostada special (curried chicken, blue potatoes, olives, kale salad, corn tortilla). It was glorious. The flavors worked perfectly. Awesome spot!

Compliments to the chef (Chef Ino if I may). This is a must try place. Dont be fooled by small menu, this is what makes them excel. Its simple, easy and yet delicious. Im still not done finishing my food as I write this review (well i did finish my 2 Bao).
I had to just take a break from this food-​me attraction. I order a combo of chicken and beef Bao (included the two Bao and side salad, but no fruit as in other reviews :-(maybe they forgot but it did not affect my experience). I must say the Chicken Bao stood out the most. Waaaaaaayyy more than the beef. The chicken was seasoned perfectly and cooked to perfection, the mango salsa and the chimichurri definately elevates this Bao experience. The beef was good but the chicken definately took over as i ate it first.
I also ordered the Fish Ceviche. I was going for the Seafood Ceviche but after consulting with the Chef he said to me that the Fish is more popular as they use mahi-​mahi. And Man!!! was he right. this is definately a flavor explosion. It could definately be an addiction. the flavors are just outstanding and the fish tastes so fresh (we are in the dessert afterall).
I had high expectation of this place, and no doubt they definately met them. I would definately be going back to this place be for work lunch or just a weeknd craving i will definately make the long drive.
Thanks Adobo Dragon. My taste buds have been awaken once again!!!
PS — No line or wait on a Tuesday morning at 11:15 a. m for a to go order.

This is a food stall in the desoto market, so if you are lost trying to find the place, find the desoto market first.
The salmon bento box was well prepared, I really liked the glaze on the salmon, however the term bento box should not apply to a plastic segmented container. I wish the BAO were a bit cheaper as they along with a bento would make for a quality filling meal.

First time here and I love it ! I will be back for sure. The food tastes great with the Asian/​Latino blend. The staff is friendly and their area is very clean. This is located at the Desoto Central Market along with a number of other restaurants. I love the atmosphere of the Market. They have retained a lot of the looks and the features of the building which was built sometime in the 1930’s! They have a parking lot on the south side of the building which is located at Central and Roosevelt in Phoenix. There is overflow parking lot at an adjacent church.

I am not a great judge of this restaurant, as I only had the pork bao; however, I will say it was quite tasty. I had one pork bao at happy hour (3 $), a tasty and juicy pork/​veg filled light and sweet bun. It was varied in flavors, temperature, and texture. It was overall tasty. My issue is when it is not happy hour, 2 of these suckers cost about 10 $… pretty steep for what you get. Anyway, check them out for HH!

First visit. for lunch, had the Beef Bao and Chicken Bao sandwiches. Tasty, fresh ingredients. The hot sauce was good. Had some chips and a tasty dip as an appetizer. Recommended.

The food here was amazing. The chicken bao had great flavor. The chicken was tender and the mango salsa was fantastic. The pork bao was also fantastic with the curry sauce. I will definitely be back in the near future.

Its been about a week into DeSoto Central Market’s opening as I write this. When I came in on opening day the previous Saturday, this place was a madhouse. Long lines, slow service, glitchy registers, pretty typical opening day bugs basically. That said, the burger I had at DCM Burger was excellent. Coming off of that, I decided to take a shot at trying another one of DeSoto’s incarnations on a late Friday afternoon. I was sure I’d find another long line waiting for me when I arrived. But shockingly this time, it was basically dead. Score for me. Adobo Dragon caught my attention when I was here on opening day, but the line was so long I didn’t bother. Today, straight to the register I went.
There were a number of dishes on their menu I found intriguing so deciding between them was a chore. The prices here are very reasonable which made me wonder whether I’d be getting kid sized portions of their different dishes. So to play it safe I ordered three different items to go. I got a small fish ceviche, a chicken bento box, and a bao platter with one chicken and one beef bao. Total cost for all the food plus tax was about $ 28. Food came out in about 5 minutes. That whole thing about being worried about the portions? Yeah, never mind. There was no way I could finish all this food in one sitting. So I dabbled into each as best I could before finishing them for lunch the next day.
For starters, the fish ceviche was pretty decent though WAY to tart in my opinion. There were nice big chunks of fish along with peppers and fruit all coated with lime. No problem with the fish or the accompanying fruit and veggies plus I like a little dousing of lime as much as anyone. But they need to dial back on the lime as it was a little overwhelming. Otherwise, a decent starter dish. Next I tried the chicken bento box. This chicken was grilled and shredded and cooked with caramelized onions, peppers and a chimichurri sauce. Also came with a side of white rice as well as small sides of strawberries and greens. This one was spot on and surprisingly it wasn’t spicy at all. The chicken was super tender and the chimichurri sauce gave the chicken and rice a great flavor contrast. The fruit and greens were also both very fresh complimentary sides. Lastly I dove into the bao platter (which also comes with fresh fruit and greens as well). This my friends was a home run. I’ve had asian steamed buns before once at Nobuo (also in Downtown Phoenix) and loved them, but Nobuo’s skimps a little on the meat. Not here. Both buns were stuffed full of meat. The chicken bao comes with mango salsa and a chimichurri sauce while the beef bao comes with a slaw and a light coat of sesame. Both were ridiculously awesome and the buns were steamed to absolute perfection. I did the right thing this time around by saving the best for last.
Overall, an impressive early impression from this new upstart concept at DeSoto. While the meal I had wasn’t perfect, each dish was full of interesting flavor combinations and the portions are quite generous. Most of their dishes are $ 10 or less and are a great value for the price you pay. Without question the bao platters are what I’ll be coming back for. Chef Allan Inocencio has created a fun innovative menu mixing Asian and Latin American favorites in a way that I haven’t seen anyone else try thus far. Here’s hoping he continues to experiment with more innovative, tasty combinations.