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Practically, BFF’s open-source approach means that the brand has a completely transparent setup, with processes and recipes that people can use, adapt and evolve. “We see this by what we call hard and soft,” Shing explains, “hard is the centre, our central source of truth,” meaning the main website (accessible by clicking the fly on Bao). “Here we publish our papers, our source code, but also have other fun things mixed in,” including an inconsequential radio show, for example, balancing Bao’s lighthearted wit that sits alongside its sincerity. Shing clarifies: “We’re very careful not to misrepresent open source,” (ie. it’s not necessarily something you can download and edit) “we start with open source as an intent of transparency and two-way dialogue with the community.” Design-wise, this transparency means that as the brand is built and developed, it will be open to others. “How we design our hospitality, what the interior spaces mean to us, how the chicken is designed to be convenient,” Shing suggests, “we’ve been working on this premise and developing what we have to this date” – something, he says, will continue to evolve.
The overall approach to BFF maintains the core values of Bao but, importantly, reflects the founder’s interests in fastness. “We like the term Fast Culture,” Shin says, “what that meant was being more energetic about it,” which can be seen across the eclectic, nostalgic visuals illuminating the brand. Designed in collaboration with Hato, strands of the original Bao can be seen digitally and in BFF’s in-person pop-up, but the rest of the identity explores the fast culture it references. “The proposition leans towards the cultural wrapper of a convenience store, and with that comes the energy,” he explains, “but at Bao, that’s what we always have fun with.”
The menu itself is devoted to quality ingredients and leans on the practicality and visual aesthetics of Asian convenience stores, with passersby equally able to buy some tissues and a pack of instant noodles as well as a split wing. All of this is subject to evolution as BFF is technically still a work-in-progress and is open to ideas as it continues to develop the concept over 2026 before a permanent site in 2027. For BFF, the restaurant concept represents a rather progressive approach to branding in a world obsessed with IP, and its focus inevitably comes back to the community it serves. “In this day and age you see people opening up processes and transparency,” Shing says, “we’re only going to see more of it. Naturally you want to protect your IP,” he says, with competitors taking advantage or new brands copying it, for example, “but the IP in question here isn’t necessarily what we think it is, it’s the community we grow from it,” Shing ends, “that’s our new IP.”
