Asian Noodle Bowl — Restaurant in Augusta

Good food, good interior, good atmosphere, flexible thoughtful staff, sturdy utensils, at decent prices; this is definitely a place worth taking a look at if your in the area.

Nice interior with a comfortable atmosphere. Everything looked clean, and the kitchen seemed organized and well taken care of. The staff were polite, and were more than happy to work with us if a dish wasn't exactly how we wanted it. There is a variety of utensils to choose from, for those who would prefer packaged disposable chopsticks, or solid reusable ones; as well as soup spoons, and decent quality silverware for those looking for forks, knives, etc. You order and pay for your food at the counter as you walk in, and you are assigned a table, seating yourself. I'm sure if you ask, you could choose your table. You pick and choose your own utensils at a designated utensils table. After seating yourself you simply wait until a robot delivers your food to your table; you won't have a waiter looking after you. Which for some could be a downside; but I must admit I much preferred it. (Although it does lead one to question whether or not they should tip as well. You are prompted to tip upon paying, but if you have to seat yourself, get your own utensils, and don't have a waiter; I think it would be reasonable for one to not tip the normal customary amount, if at all. Although I happen to be generous so I tipped 20% regardless.) After eating your meal, there is a cart for you to put your dishes onto, upside down; with utensils and dishes asked to be separated. There are containers for taking home food, that are surprisingly decent quality, I expected cheap paper containers, with lids that barely hold on; but they are good. I like to see a business that is willing to spend a little extra money on the little things, to give customers a better experience. We had a porkbelly starter which had a nice crunch on the outside, but juicy and tender underneath. The dish also had a light tossing of what I believe to be scallions, which was a great choice and paired perfectly with the flavors. The entrees were a Miso Ramen and Pho Beef. The miso was very flavorful, and looked as delicious as it tasted. Great ingredients and presentation. There was a complaint about the Pho Beef being slightly bland, however, the one who ordered it had complained about not liking spices, and wanted something very mild. So that was probably a hole she dug for herself. I also ordered a brown sugar bubble tea, that I can't say I cared for. Only because I've never tried bubble tea, and I'm not really a tea fan. I'm sure their bubble tea is fine, and worth a taste test.

I would definitely recommend a visit! Even if the food ends up not being for you, I doubt it would be a bad experience overall. Plus, you get to say hello to the robot! (Just don't expect it to say...

If you go in hungry don't order a bunch of food, they have very generous portion sizes, you'll end up bringing food home. We picked a very slow day for them (sunday), which was good for us as it wasn't crowded or busy. The staff wasn't the friendliest however service was very fast and efficient, everything we ordered was correct and nothing was forgotten. This is a cafeteria style restaurant where you put your dishes in buckets at the end and you seat yourself and they don't come and check on you. That's perfect for me anyways since I don't like people bugging me while I eat. The one feature you see no other restaurant have is the robots. Instead of wait staff bringing you the food, it's a very polite robot who finds your table and you take the food off their trays. The robots are super polite, they say "thank you, enjoy your meal" and when they get to the table they say "excuse me", very cute. The place was exceptionally clean, there was a girl actively cleaning the dining room and the bathroom was clean as well. They have plenty of seating, booths, tables and even a couple couches with small circular tables, it's a very homey feeling place. They have fountain soda that is unlimited. I've heard negative reviews about prices but for as much food as they give you, the prices are definitely fair. There is plenty of parking. And is wheelchair accessible. Kids probably wouldn't really like this place but for other events it would be a perfect setting and food choices. Only asian and chinese choices. They are open everyday except for mondays.

We had spicy (level five spice) pad thai. Not as spicy as you would think but spicy enough and very filling. I also ordered a soup bowl that had meatballs and steak in it, I only could eat a little, had to bring it home. Like I said, pretty big portion sizes they give you. The fountain soda wasn't flat tasting and it was crispy, unlike most fountain soda so I was pleasantly pleased tasting actual good soda. I have no complaints about any of the food, food was very good and I left completely full. The staff didn't seem the happiest but I'm there to eat not socialize so to me that didn't really faze me. I've seen bad reviews about this place, but for me it was a good experience. My only complaint was there was no ac. I was sweating to death, but that's not a make or break deal but on really hot days maybe a couple fans would be...

We had high hopes for this place coming in on a rainy day for lunch for hot soup but were sorely disappointed. We waited in the restaurant for our takeout order of two ramens, two appetizers, and a bubble tea. With two young children, I ordered specifically so it would be quick. I worked in a ramen restaurant before, I had an idea that ramen noodles boil quick and the dish gets assembled usually within 5 minutes. Gyoza takes 3 mins to fry so we’d be out of there in no time. Easy right? Wrong.

After 10 mins, I was mistakenly given someone else’s bubble tea order with their name on it. I tried to return it just in case my drinking it creates a mistake, but the owner (manager?) guy tried to RUB OFF the marker with his thumb and says “No I think it’s yours.” 😬 Weird, but okay.

20 mins in, my ACTUAL bubble tea arrives. Great! But kids are already ticking off, everybody’s tired and hungry and we need to leave. Food arrives after 30 mins. We were not notified either, as we selected “deliver to a table”. I had to walk up and grab our bag finally so we could finally head home to eat.

Naturally, food was cold when we got there. Gyoza were a crab rangoon shell? Tried my friend’s completely bland veg egg rolls. Ranen noodles were too thin and clumped together. :( Chashu pork was fried and sliced, kind of sweet. Marinated egg was not soft boiled, shoyu broth was very sweet and not at all the flavorful broth I know and have come to love.

Overall experience, yes they are new. Yes, I know they are trying to pull together the new shop but I can’t let this discount our first experience here. Cleanliness was also a factor. The table we waited at was sticky and we had to clean it ourselves. The bowls were stacking up in the back, and there were straw wrappers on the floor. The manager guy was actually washing bowls right at the front of the store, kind of not the place? Health hazard? What do I know. Lol

So final takeaway, would not recommend. For the price especially there should be a MUCH better quality of both food and service. Robot or not, this place was not worth all the 5 star hype it lived up to...