Construction on the Westminster Street space began last winter while Rhode Island's appetite for the international food grew impatient.

It’s been long wait for Chinese steamed buns but Tom’s BaoBao will open its doors at 326 Westminster St. in Providence, Saturday, Oct. 15 at 10 a.m.

Owner Tom Tong’s bao concept, GanQiShi, serves nearly 250,000 bao a day in 200 locations in China. Providence is the second U.S. location. The first opened in Harvard Square in Massachusetts this summer. They will be serving seven days a week, opening daily at 10 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m. except for Sunday which has an 8 p.m. closing.

They serve only bao, steamed buns which combine authentic recipes with contemporary ingredients. On the menu will be pork, curry beef, vegetarian and lobster bao. Additional flavors and options will be introduced regularly. They will be priced in the range from $3 to $4 per dumpling with seasonal specials at market price.

The Providence restaurant, in the Kinsley Building, features 55 stools and communal table seats. There's a large glass window that looks into the kitchen so that guests can watch the baoists, chef artisans, at work. All of the restaurant’s baoists have apprenticed for at least three months to perfect their technique. Many traveled to China for training.

Each bao must be exactly 100 grams, with 16-22 hand-pinched pleats. The handmade bao are steamed in special bamboo steamers from a village in the mountains of Fu Jian province in China.

Tong says a perfect bao will shimmer like a pearl, give in when pressure is applied and exhibit subtle aromas from the bamboo steamers. The juices of the filling will soak into the borders of the bao allowing it to melt in one’s mouth with every single bite.

Rhode Island's Hope & Main, has been key in the development of the bao. It was at Hope & Main, the Warren food incubator, where the research, development and employee training for the restaurant took place, Many of the ingredients are prepared there as well.

Drinks include Oolong tea, which comes from Wuyi Mountain in China; New Harvest Coffee from Pawtucket; soy milk made in Cambridge, Massachusetts by Chang Shing Tofu Inc.; and seasonal fruit and vegetable juices.