Today we’d like to introduce you to Hongmei Deng
Hi Hongmei, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Hongmei Deng and I am an immigrant from Fengdu, China, a small rural town 150km North East of Chongqing.
I am the 2nd oldest of four daughters. My family did not have a lot of resources growing up, but we had a lot of love and a lot of grit. I was a young child during the cultural revolution, which made feeding our family very difficult. Starting at age 5 I would find odd jobs around my village to help my mother feed me and my sisters. Times were tough, a lucky week was one where we could afford one meal with a protein (chicken or pork). A lot of days we were hungry, and every day was a battle. This experience shaped my view on the world, and I vowed I would work as hard as I could to make sure that none of my loved ones would ever go hungry again. And thus my passion for hard work and tasty food was born.
After high school I got married and worked for a food manufacturing company. A few years later I gave birth to my daughter, Shu, and quit my job to take care of my daughter. Then in 1987, I opened a grocery store that became very successful and helped me support my family. My daughter went on to college in Shanghai, then came to the USA for her PhD. She eventually married an American man and immigrated to the USA. I never imagined I would visit the USA, but Shu gave me that opportunity through her studies.
In 2017 I immigrated to the USA to live with my daughter and granddaughters. I love to cook, especially for my family, and would make all kinds of tasty dishes from my hometown. I would often make homemade dumplings and bao as snacks, using recipes that I have refined for over 40 years. These delicious snacks were then shared with family and friends, all of whom said, “These are some damn good bao! You should sell these!”
In 2024, myself, my daughter and son-in-law founded Red Dragon Bao with the mission to bring my delicious recipes to the world. We started selling hot and fresh bao and dumplings at farmers markets in Austin, TX. We then grew to selling frozen food to customers and businesses, delivering our baos and dumplings hot and fresh for birthday parties, corporate luncheons, and events, and shipping our baos and dumplings across the country.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I had a difficult childhood (as mentioned in the bio) but it taught me many lessons, including how to be resourceful, disciplined, and the value of a hard work ethic.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
From knead to steam, Red Dragon Bao brings heritage to your plate.
Red Dragon Bao specializes in baos and dumplings. I have spent my entire life refining my bao and dumpling recipes (40+ years), and I believe they are the tastiest baos and dumplings in Austin, TX. We only use authentic recipes for our dough, and all of our authentic Chinese bao and dumpling recipes are from the Chongqing/Sichuan region of China.
Our menu includes:
* Savory Pork Bao — a ground pork, green onion mix that is a little sweet and very savory. Our most popular item on the menu!
* Sichuan Pork Bao — a ground pork, shiitake mushroom mix with Sichuan peppercorns and red chili paste. A mild-to-medium spicy.
* Breakfast Bao — my son-in-law’s contribution to our menu. Scrambled egg, sausage, and American cheese
* Veggie Bao — a savory vegan option, cabbage, tofu and mushroom.
* Red Bean Bao — a red bean paste that is a traditional Chinese desert, sweet and malty.
* Chicken Dumplings — chicken and cabbage. Perfect for steaming or pan frying.
* Pork Dumplings — pork and cabbage. Perfect for steaming or pan frying.
* Red Dragon Sauce — we flash fry crushed red chili peppers in an infused oil using a family recipe. Our sauce is very popular and is complimentary with any order. We also sell our sauce in jars.
We steam our food in bamboo steamer baskets. We aim to provide fast, high-quality service, with the goal to fulfill all orders in under one minute. We are most proud of the feedback we get on the taste of our food. When a new customer orders our food they often come back immediately and order more. We’ve had customers ask us if we sell our food frozen, if we cater, if we deliver, and if we ship. The answer to all of those is Yes!.
However we do not have a brick-and-mortar nor do we have a food truck at this time. Those plans are in the works, however, we are planning a kitchen buildout where we will manufacture our food en masse.
You can find us at Lakeline Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm (next to Jared’s), and at The Domain on Sundays from 12pm to 4pm. We also take online orders, via email order@reddragonbao.com or on our website https://reddragonbao.com. You can also look us up on Instagram and DM us any questions you may have! We cater all events, deliver our food frozen or hot and fresh, and we can even cook our food at your home or office.
When you visit Red Dragon Bao you can expect high quality, authentic Chinese street food, served fast and fresh.
What matters most to you? Why?
From Texas to the world, one bao at a time.
What matters most to me is to share my tasty food with the world. The hunger I experienced as a child has driven me to deliver high-quality, healthy food at an accessible price, for all to try.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://reddragonbao.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reddragonbao/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reddragonbao
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/red-dragon-bao-georgetown
