The Bao Blog
Nutrition guides for the food other trackers ignore.
Honest calorie breakdowns for Asian and global dishes, plus what other calorie apps actually get wrong when you eat food they weren't built for.
Feature
Why Bao Shows Every Dish in Three Languages
Scan a dish and Bao names it three ways: English, Chinese, and the native script of where it's from — not a translation, the point.
Feature
Can You Scan a Whole Restaurant Menu? Most Calorie Trackers Can't
Cal AI, MyFitnessPal, and Lose It! can all scan a plate that's already in front of you. None of them, by their own App Store listings, scan a menu before you order.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Ramen?
Toppings get the attention, but broth style — tonkotsu, shoyu, miso, or shio — changes the calorie count more than anything else in the bowl.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Hainanese Chicken Rice?
The chicken is lean. The rice — cooked in chicken fat and stock — is doing more of the calorie work than you'd expect.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Gua Bao (割包)?
It's also the dish this app is named after. The fat ratio of the pork slice — not the bun — is what actually swings the number.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea?
It's a drink, but it behaves like a dessert. Sweetness level only controls the syrup — not the tapioca pearls' fixed sugar load.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐)?
The fermentation barely matters. It's the fryer — not the tofu — that decides almost the entire calorie count.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Bibimbap?
Korea's mixed rice bowl looks simple but the calorie count swings hard depending on the sauce, the egg, and how much rice is under the vegetables.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Pho?
Vietnam's beef noodle soup is often assumed to be "light." The broth is deceptively low-calorie — the noodles and cut of beef are what actually move the number.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Pad Thai?
Restaurant pad thai and homemade pad thai are barely the same dish nutritionally. Oil, sugar in the sauce, and portion size do most of the damage.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Butter Chicken?
The butter-and-cream gravy is the whole story. Here's the real range, how naan and rice change your total, and a lower-calorie way to still order it.
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings)?
Per piece, they look harmless. Per basket, they're a full meal. The broth inside each dumpling is doing more nutritional work than people expect.
From launch week
Nutrition Guide
How Many Calories Are in 滷肉飯 (Lu Rou Fan)?
The complete macro breakdown of Taiwan's most beloved comfort food — braised pork rice. Plus how portion size, toppings, and cooking method change the numbers.
Comparison
Best Calorie Tracker for Asian Food in 2026
What Cal AI, MyFitnessPal, and Lose It! actually say about Asian food and Chinese support — checked on their own App Store listings, not marketing claims.
GLP-1
GLP-1 Nutrition Guide: What to Eat on Ozempic and Wegovy
On a GLP-1 medication? Protein and muscle preservation should be your top priority. Here's what to eat, how much protein you need, and how Bao helps you stay on track.