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| - The Bamboo Club has got me all mixed up. Can ambiance and service compensate for sub par food at ridiculous prices? Oh, the dilemma! I like the beautiful decor and attentive service, but I also like reasonably priced entrees with discernable flavor. Let's see...nope. Well that didn't take very long to decide.
I've eaten at this location several times. The last time was with a very large group of people, and I got to try many different things off the menu. It basically boiled down to two flavor categories: spicy or non-spicy. The spicy dishes tasted like they had been prepared in one stock sauce. The non-spicy dishes tasted like they had been prepared in a similar sauce that omitted the chili oil. Here and there they added other things, like black bean paste or some sweetness, but most of the dishes tasted pretty much the same. I suppose this is why the menu doesn't go into detail when describing the difference between entrees, just listing "Mongolian Chicken" or "BC Hot and Spicy Chicken," since just the veggies and protein are interchangeable and no really strong flavor characterizes any one dish.
We started off with the appetizer sampler: Sesame Honey Chicken, BC Egg Rolls, Coconut Shrimp, and Pot Stickers. Everything was perfectly adequate and worth the price since it served 4 people. The chicken was crispy, sweet and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The egg rolls tasted like they had been fried in old oil, but I fixed that by dousing it in hot mustard. The coconut shrimp were thin, crunchy, and not too sweet. The pot stickers were steamed with a delicious pork filling, probably the best thing on the tray. It was all pretty good filler before the meal. But it's kind of a sad affair when the appetizers trump the actual main course...
Everything came out really fast for a group of nine people and was piping hot. We shared it family style and here's the details, from best entree to worst:
*Cantonese Noodles- Wicked fricken good! If I end up going again, I'm definitely ordering this dish. Shrimp, scallops, BBQ pork, chicken and Asian vegetables with wheat noodles tossed in a light but flavorful sauce.
*Grilled Halibut- Well cooked and flaky. Mango and pineapple salsa was decent and the presentation was very well done.
*Chicken with Asparagus- I was barely able to distinguish the black bean sauce it was supposedly cooked in, but the chicken was tender and the asparagus al dente.
*BC Spicy Chicken- This falls under the 'spicy' category of food flavoring. It was a little spicy, a little sweet, and very generic. Supposedly their equivalent of 'Kung Pao,' but it tasted...weirder than any other Kung Pao I've had.
*Mandarin Orange Scallops- Tough and overcooked, same flavors as the BC Spicy Chicken but with more sugar and no kick. The crispy spinach was interesting though.
*Bamboo Bejing Duck- It was overcooked and dry rather than being crispy. The Asian pancakes were also dry, but the accompanying plum sauce lubricated things well enough.
*Pad Thai Rice Noodles- Turned into a sticky noodle block after the first couple minutes. I've made the equivalent from a box in the 'Asian foods' aisle at Fry's.
*Thai Curry Chicken and Shrimp- The Bamboo Club needs to focus on their Chinese offerings instead of their piss poor Thai dishes. Not good by any stretch of the imagination.
The side dishes were, like the appetizers, respectable but not amazing. The Dynasty Fried Rice tasted a lot like any other fried rice you'd order. No surprise or disappointment there. The Woked Mushrooms were very well cooked in a light sauce. Much better than most of the entrees even though it was a side dish. The Woked Asparagus had the same flavor as the mushrooms, both of which tasted suspiciously similar to the Chicken with Asparagus. Perhaps it just lacked the dollop of black bean paste?
So if you go, go for the ambiance. The patio is nice for Mill Avenue people watching and secluded enough to enjoy your meal with a little privacy. The service is attentive and quick to refill any glass or comply with your requests, even for a large group of people. At the very least these guys deserve the high tips generated by pricy entrees. It's too bad the food is so damn generic. Definitely not worth the 13-25 dollar price tag per entree.
Maybe happy hour is the best option for attending this place? Cheap three dollar appetizers and drink specials without the unnecessary disappointment of crappy food? Maybe I'll give it a whirl in the future.
If you're wrangled into dinner there, go with the Cantonese noodles, crispy spinach and woked veggies. Best stuff on the menu. Or risk it and order something else. Maybe I went on an off night...but I doubt it since this is a corporate chain the same the country over.
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