If you want to try to make authentic Asian dishes at home, Asian markets in Baton Rouge will mostly have you covered. There are quite a few one-stop shops for traditional Asian snacks or ingredients that you normally couldn’t find in your local grocery store.
That said, this might not be the case for those living on the outskirts of Baton Rouge. But that’s where Bao Chau Huynh comes in. Co-owner of the restaurant Bao Vietnamese Kitchen on Perkins Road, Huynh and her husband recently opened a second location in Prairieville—this one offering a brimming Asian market full of food and drinks.
Huynh says the idea for a second location and the addition of the market came from her friends and the inconvenience they faced in trying to get Asian ingredients at local stores.
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“Most of my friends live down here [in Prairieville], and whenever they do their cooking they have to drive all the way to Baton Rouge for something like a bag of bean sprouts,” she says. “It’s about $2 worth of bean sprouts, but they have to spend an hour in traffic. There was definitely a need for the Asian community here.”
From the original idea, Huynh got to work on the new location, but not without a little help. Her entire family is involved in the Perkins Road restaurant and quickly supported the expansion to a second location. That help was especially needed because the Prairieville location does not have a full kitchen, which means food from the original location needs to be delivered across town every morning.
“It has it pros and cons, just like every family,” Huynh laughs. “But my family is very generous. They are willing to help without complaining.”
The menu at the Prairieville location is smaller, mainly offering Bao’s classic spring rolls, banh mi and pho. And while there are a few tables lining one side of the interior, it definitely has a grab-and-go vibe, providing customers with durable packaging and to-go silverware with each dish. Most of the space is taken up by groceries that line the aisles and walls, offering items from fresh produce to classic candy and snacks.
While the shop has only been open for about three weeks, Huynh says the response has been positive. She points to a few items explaining that while the market did not originally sell them, some customers who were already becoming regulars had requested them. Huynh and her husband drove to Houston just to find the items and provide their customers with that special something they might not be able to find anywhere else in the area.
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But Huynh also understands that much of her customer base in the Prairieville area likely has never been in an Asian market and might not know what to purchase. They are currently in the process of building a small side area with recipes and ingredient lists of classic Asian dishes so that anyone can come in and easily find everything they need.
Ultimately, Huynh says she hopes to continue expanding both within the new location and beyond. While they are focused on Prairieville now, the family is already thinking about what will come next.
Bao Asian Market and Deli is at 17316 Airline Highway. The shop is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m.