New Bamboo: masochistic dining at its finest!
Jul 16 '01
The Bottom Line It's fast, it's cheap, and if you order the right thing, it's sometimes tasty! Are ya feelin' lucky?
My Beau has always been a willing partner in my dining adventures. Until now.
You see, our first visit to New Bamboo wasnt exactly impressive. And as we left the restaurant, my Beau says, well, I guess we wont be going back there again. Are you kidding? I replied. Ive got to keep coming back here until I find something good to eat!
Spoken like a selfless restaurant reviewer, eh? Either that, or a masochist. ;)
The quick story
Reasonably priced, and sometimes quite tasty, Pan Asian cuisine.
Whip em out fast service at lunch.
Dont count on the staff for much else.
Cuisine
New Bamboo offers a variety of Asian-inspired dishes, including Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indian flavors. Most entrees are served with a heaping mound of white rice. Vegetarian options include red cabbage, grapefruit, and jicama salad, vegetarian curry, potato and broccoli soup, and veggie chow mein and fried rice.
Appetizers
Do not, under any circumstance, order the eggroll samosas ($4.75). This is basically a fusion experiment gone terribly wrong a fried Chinese eggroll wrapper filled with Indian-style vegetables and served with an Indonesian type peanut sauce. To my knowledge, these ingredients do not harmonize in any known cuisine or civilization. J
The char gio ($4.75) fared somewhat better. Well, at least three of the four spring rolls were correctly filled plump with shredded chicken breast, carrots, and cloud ear mushrooms, served with a wonderful garlicky-sweet sauce. The fourth spring roll was inexplicably filled with the potatoey filling from the eggroll samosas! Did the cook take a spoonful out of the wrong container in the kitchen?!
Entrees
In my quest for good eats at New Bamboo, Ive sampled more entrees here than at most restaurants Ive reviewed. The results were definitely mixed.
Ive tried the Mongolian beef paper-thin beef with julienne of leeks, served atop crispy rice noodles. While not always paper-thin, the beef was well-marinated and tender, and combined wonderfully with the wok-charred leeks and crunchy rice noodle bits. A little more vinegary than Im used to, but it was still quite delicious.
Weve also had the shaken beef cubed New York beef seared over high heat, marinated with Asian seasoning on a bed of arugula and onion salad, with lime-ginger dipping sauce on the side. While a far cry from the superlative version at San Franciscos Slanted Door, it was nonetheless tasty.
One of my favorites is the pad thai with chicken moist chunks of chicken served on stir-fried rice noodles and garnished with bean sprouts, finely minced peanuts, chopped egg, scallions, and lemon, with a few slices of jalapeo pepper thrown in for an optional kick.
Despite perfectly cooked noodles and an addictive topping of crispy caramelized onions, the mi quang noodles was bland and a little greasy. Garnished with a single shrimp and several slices of five-spice pork tenderloin, this dish benefited tremendously from a few splashes of soy sauce.
I would skip the broccoli beef and cashews, which was unusually vinegary, and the salmon curry, consisting of tender salmon, slivers of shiitake mushroom, tomatoes, and sugar snap peas; while the sauce was spicy, it didnt offer much flavor.
I have mixed feelings about the long beans with shrimp and tofu. The spicy ginger-garlic sauce was so thick and salty, I ended up pushing most of it to one corner of the plate and just used it for dabbing. The half dozen shrimp were fine and the long beans were cooked crisp, but the tofu cubes were a bit tough. The best part of the dish was the topping of crispy caramelized onions.
Dessert (but Im not really sure)
Since I usually come here for lunch, I havent tried the mango mousse ($3.50). Im not sure if New Bamboo serves other desserts, as when I asked the question, our server looked perplexed before smiling and walking away.
Beverages
New Bamboo doesnt have a bar, but does offer eight wines by the bottle ($18-$36), six of which are also offered by the glass ($4.75-$7.50). A 1998 Pelligrini Olivet Lane Pinot Noir goes for $36. Beer, soda, juice, and iced tea are also available.
Dcor and atmosphere
New Bamboo occupies the spot formerly known as Mojo, a stylish New Orleans-style caf that never quite found its clientele (to the despair of my Beau, who became quite enamored of their gumbo). The space has now turned into a relaxed island dining room, complete with rattan chairs, paper lantern lamps, ceiling fans, and hardwood floors. The atmosphere is perfect for a casual meal, whether youre with friends or dining alone.
Service
During the many occasions when Ive dined here alone for lunch, service was quiet and prompt, and Ive often received my meal in less than five minutes. (No kidding!) Dont expect the staff to answer detailed questions about the menu, though. Neither the hosts nor the servers seem very knowledgeable about the cuisine.
Cost
Lunchtime entrees are priced in the $5.50-$8.95 range; the same dishes are offered at dinner for $8.50-$11.95.
All in all
Am I a masochistic diner? Let me plead my case: the New Bamboo is a block from my house, its quick, its cheap, and it serves palatable combinations of rice, protein, and vegetables when I get lucky and choose the right thing. I figure the more often I go there, the better my odds get. After all, you cant win if you dont play, right? And if that makes me a masochist, then hurt me and hurt me good.
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The New Bamboo
543 Emerson St.
Palo Alto, CA
650-473-0212
Parking: difficult street parking
Reservations: none. Get there early (before 6pm) or be prepared for a long wait! By 6pm on a Saturday night, the restaurant was completely full.
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Epinions.com ID:
tanster
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Location: Palo Alto, CA
Reviews written: 111
Trusted by: 331 members
About Me:
Happily reviewing cool gadgets and SF Bay Area restaurants since 1999. Pass the gravy, please.
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