They took photos of their parents' houses and took the research to Chinatown in San Francisco and Oakland, as well as many dim sum and Chinese restaurants. Even the crew were forced to go to Chinatown and were specifically told of locations to shop and eat at so that they could authentically create the world of "Bao". Shi made Toronto the setting for "Bao" to pay homage to her hometown in Canada. Grounding it in a real place gave Shi the feeling that it was more real; it also made it easier for the art department to create setting because they had something to reference. To further capture this authenticity, production designer Liu helped keep track of little cultural details, such as tin foil covering the burners on the stove, as well as tchotchkes on the television, the rice cooker in the background, soy sauce bottles and more. Some details, such as the toilet paper on the kitchen table, faced some confusion from non-Asian crew members. This is a common practice amongst immigrants because it is more practical than buying two kinds of paper, and Shi ensured that this was included. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 21, 2018, and subsequently accompanied "Incredibles 2" in theaters. Prior to the Christmas holiday in 2018, Pixar made "Bao" freely available to stream on YouTube for a week, the first time that the studio has offered a short in this manner. In The Verge's review of "Incredibles 2", Tasha Robinson described "Bao" as an "extremely emotional little film" and a "perfect complement" to the main feature. Inkoo Kang of "Slate" called the film a "moving encapsulation of the Asian-immigrant experience". Jess Lee for Digital Spy said that the film "hit extremely close to home", but added that the story has "universal themes which should resonate with most cultures". Petrana Radulovic of "Polygon" says the film was well received by "many" Asian Americans, although some non-Asian viewers found the short confusing.