🍽️ Flame Bistro & Bar – New Chinese Restaurant Tryout in Charlotte

After being disappointed by Chinese food in Charlotte for so long, I almost gave up… but this new spot gave me a glimmer of hope – especially because they had smoked fish! 🐟 Here’s what we tried: Appetizers: 🦑 Seaweed Salt & Pepper Squid The oil tasted overused – had that stale oil bitterness 😬. Seasoning was just basic BBQ powder. 🐟 Shanghai Smoked Fish Actually really good! Sweet-salty, flavorful even in the bones. Would order again 👍. Main Dishes: 🍜 Malaysian Char Kway Teow Wok hei was on point – smoky and well-seasoned. Feels like they’d do a great beef hor fun or fried rice too. 🍗 Crispy Roast Duck & Cantonese Scallion Oil Chicken The duck was delicious – well-cooked and tasty. The chicken… was basically white cut chicken 🐔. Sadly, chicken in the US just isn’t the same – no matter how skilled the chef is. The ginger-scallion sauce was mediocre – honestly, I make better at home 😅. Ended up salting the leftover chicken to make congee later. The menu gave me Malaya Kitchen / Open Rice vibes – maybe some chef crossover? The location is in a residential area (Pineville), so maybe they’ll adjust to be more neighborhood-friendly. But for now… probably won’t be back anytime soon. 📍 Address: 10223 Mcintyre Ridge Rd, Pineville, NC #CharlotteEats #ChineseFood #FlameBistro #CLTfood #FoodReview #NorthCarolina #NotImpressed