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Frisco resident Johnny Wong said that after seeing the success his cousin Kevin Chen’s restaurant, 88 BaoBao, was having in California, he and his wife, JoJo He, felt it was the perfect time to bring the concept to their hometown.
He and Chen opened 88 BaoBao in Frisco in 2023 followed by a McKinney location in 2025.
On the menu
Wong said Chen’s father, who has decades of restaurant industry experience, created the recipes used at 88 Baobao.
“Some of the dishes are from family recipes, especially the soup dumplings,” Wong said. “Soup dumplings come from south eastern China and that's where our family is originally from.”
Wong said their customer base is highly diverse, representing multiple ethnicities, with approximately 35% of customers being Asian.
Their soup dumplings are particularly popular among their Asian clientele because they represent authentic Chinese cuisine.
“First of all, it needs to have a lot of soup. That's the key to the soup dumpling. When you bite into it, there's a pocket of hot soup that comes out,” Wong said. “Second, it needs to be thick enough where it can hold the soup—it doesn't break. But it can't be so thick that you chew it and it's doughy.”
Wong said they have more caucasian customers than seen at the northern California 88 BaoBao locations. Based on customer requests, the Frisco and McKinney menus feature more Chinese American dishes including orange chicken and broccoli beef, which have become fan favorites.
What’s in a name?
Wong said the business name was chosen because 88 is a lucky number in Chinese and the phonetic sound means prosperous.
“Bao is a bun, we specialize in buns,” Wong said. “We make handmade dumplings and buns. Everything is made from scratch.”
