First Chinese BBQ — Restaurant in Austin

Before the pandemic, I lived in oak hill and would drive up to first Chinese bbq for the chow fun. (I learned here Texas they call it “flat noodle”). It was worth the drive. It was not nearly as good as ny Chinatown cooking but beggars can’t be .,,,,,., it was a trip I’d make monthly to have my favorite dish. So fast forward now I moved northward, closer to this restaurant and I expected to go there more regularly, being closer than oak hill.

But as it turned out, I was sooooo disappointed. When I first entered, I noticed the people behind the counter, except maybe the chopper, were new faces. Well I thought, chow fun is chow fun, flat noodles is flat noodles . Of course I ordered it. And an egg roll as a treat! As I started driving back home with my Chinese food, I reached into the bag for the egg roll. It didn’t feel like an egg roll. Oh well, it Was their version of an egg roll. It resembled a flauta, about the same shape and size, but not a delicious fat stuffed Chinese egg rolll. It was gross. I don’t have any other word for it. Take my advice and skip it. Don’t waste your money.

Once back home, I opened my chow fun order. It looked different and it didn’t give off that delicious stir fry smell. And it did not look very inviting but okay, it’s the chow fun cooked by a different restaurant crew. I understand that not every Chinese restaurant will cook it like ny Chinatown style. I so looked forward to eating chow fun but it was a letdown. It was nothing less than awful and it didn’t even have that distinct stir fry taste. It was not worth the drive and I feel it was a total waste of my money. Not anything was enjoyable, not the egg roll nor the chow fun flat noodle.

To tell you the truth, some Thai restaurants make Pad See Ew that very much resembles chow fun, like the Thai place on Parmer by Silver Creek. I’ll take my business there...

It was very busy in the restaurant, but we were seated fairly quickly for lunch. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. Our waitress was unsmiling, and she didn't greet us or thank us for our order. In fact, she never said a word to us other than what was absolutely necessary. My husband and I ordered hot and sour soup, BBQ pork and marinated chicken, and garlic chicken. Understanding that it was busy, we waited almost 30 minutes until we finally asked about our soup. Our waitress said it 'wasn't ready," without any apology about the wait or offer to serve another type of soup, so we continued to wait. After about another 10 minutes, my order of pork and chicken arrived at the table with a large container of rice. All of the meat was cold, and not just room temperature cold. It was cold enough to have recently been removed from the refrigerator. I expect the meal was initally intended to be a take out order. The meat was also disappointingly bland and dry. We were very hungry by then and started eating, hoping that the rest of our order would be arriving soon and would be much better. I was finished eating by the time the garlic chicken finally came out, along with a large bowl of soup. The garlic chicken was hot, as was the hot and sour soup. I wasn't much in the mood for soup after my meal. I also have liked some green onions and won ton noodles on top of the soup, but it was fairly good overall. We asked for water twice and our waitress said okay, but she didn't bring any. Some other male staff member eventally brought two glasses and straws. My husband wasn't impressed with the garlic chicken, but he said it was fair and I tasted it and agreed. We had to ask for our bill. Sadly, we will not...

Review on First Chinese Barbecue, Austin TX. Alright I do not usually post negative reviews on restaurants because I know it is some ones lively hood, so I figure everyone can gather their own opinion. First the BBQ duck here is very tasty and always is, at least every time I have been here; which, is about once a month or so because I live in San Antonio. However when I went there today I noticed the guy cutting the whole duck up for me seemed to be sliding pieces off in another container he keeps on the cutting table instead of my box. Of course I was thinking no surely not, so I asked my wife to also look. She said it looked like it to her as well but neither of us could get a clear look because it was so crowded and the guy (I think the Owner there) was intentionally blocking our view. I could not say 100 percent, at the time, he was, but his wife said something to him in Chinese when she noticed us watching and he stopped and moved so we could clearly see him. So I did not want to accuse him of anything and cause a scene with such a large crowd (wish now I did for sure). I now can say 100 percent he did unless ducks now come with half a wing, a quarter of a leg (the drum portion missing), as well as meaty portions of the ribs. When I got home in San Antonio these portions were missing. WHAT KIND OF OWNER OR EMPLOYEE WILL DO THIS. So I will not be going back and recommend you do not either (I really hate this kind of back handed stealing, low of low). Very dishonest couple do not let yourself get ripped off!!! I sincerely hate to have to give them one star when they steal from their...