Spring Street restaurant Xiao Bao Biscuit will host Peruvian pop-up Umay on Monday, Jan. 18 for a night featuring four specialty dishes from chef Carlos Paredes. One night later, Xiao Bao’s sister restaurant, Tu, will bring back its Indian menu one last time, XBB and Tu owner Josh Walker told the City Paper Tuesday.
Paredes, a sous chef at the Obstinate Daughter, has popped up at local establishments six times since launching passion project Umay in 2018. The chef’s most recent pop-up was at Spanglish in September — he also served Peruvian cuisine at Xiao Bao Biscuit four times in 2019.
“We usually go about it like I just do four dishes and he puts it on his menu,” Paredes said. “We were thinking about heartier dishes — there’s a lot of good soups in the south of Peru that usually have potatoes and rice and an intense broth.”
Paredes will serve his traditional Peruvian stew — called chupe — with head-on shrimp, squash and short grain rice. The chef will also offer ceviche, papa rellena (Peruvian stuffed potatoes) and seco de carne, a beef stew made with short rib, bean escabeche and cilantro paste.
On Tuesday, Jan. 19 at Tu, Walker will serve the restaurant’s Indian menu that it offered for a year and a half before transitioning to Asian-inspired street food in July. Look for naan, butter chicken, vindaloo curry and more Tuesday at Tu.
“We did it right before Christmas break, and we got crushed. It was fun,” Walker said. “I think this is realistically the last time we’ll do it.”
To place a takeout order, visit tu-charleston.com.
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