text: This was my first time having dinner at Baoding My husband and I were regulars at their sister restaurant JoJos for almost ten years and we were devastated when they closed We missed the food the atmosphere and the familiar faces So we decided to give Baoding a try on the offchance it might be some sort of substitution To me JoJos was the best Chinese food in Charlotte with impeccable service and a relaxing atmosphere so it has big shoes to fillnnWe walked in and immediately the ambiance grabbed me It was dim but not dark and the lighting and duecor were eclectic and sort of mellow There is a big mural on the wall behind the bar that looked really neat and we recognized the same over the table light fixtures that were at JoJos Look a piece of home Our server was quick to bring our drinks I had a glass of wine and the hubs had some cold sake We took our time with the menu because it was unfamiliar and organized differently than the one at JoJos I was sad that they did not have egg drop soup JoJos used to not have egg drop soup but then eventually added it Maybe Baoding will as well Instead of a soup I got a spring roll which was very good Hubs got a spring roll and the hot and sour soup his usual favorite which he enjoyed It was just as good as JoJos although a different color and slightly different ratio of ingredients nnFor our main courses I got the moo shu chicken my JoJos favorite and he got sesame chicken his overall Chinese favorite The moo shu was presented differently than it was at JoJos there you build your own with the tortillas served separately here they were served already wrapped up but it was every bit as good The flavors and textures were basically the same so I was pretty happy Hubs really loved his sesame chicken saying it was just as good as what he was used to nnWe saw only one familiar face from JoJos but he was happy to see us and presented us with a free dessert for being JoJos regulars which made us so happy We used to get free desserts and such a lot at JoJos so it was so nice to a be recognized and b be treated as regulars in a new place I cannot emphasize enough how grateful I was for this gesture Also the chocolate cake he brought us was to die for It tasted like a gooey brownie YumnnThe food service and ambiance were all something that I look forward to experiencing again We had such a lovely dinner and enjoyed it immensely We will likely become regulars here and get our Chinese fix at Baoding for the foreseeable future Here is hoping they add egg drop soup to the menu