Facing East Time - Downtown Bellevue — Restaurant in Bellevue

I went to Facing East Time today, a Tuesday evening. I have such fond memories of their old restaurant over ten years ago—the food was really good, and the staff were always friendly. I was excited to try their new fast-casual spot, but honestly, it didn’t live up to my memories. Maybe because it was a weekday, the place wasn’t very busy, but I remember back in the day, we always had to wait in line just to get a table.

I ordered the Crispy Chicken Bento, because I thought it will be similar to the Chicken cutlet with rice I had in Taiwan. But some pieces of chicken were dry, and the flavor just wasn’t there. I also miss the soy eggs, but today… there wasn’t one, which was a real letdown.

My friend got the Beef Noodle Soup, and sadly, it wasn’t great either. The beef was bland, and the broth lacked depth. I swear, their beef noodles used to be the best in the Seattle area—now it’s just… disappointing.

The environment was okay—clean, but a little noisy with the background music. On a brighter note, the two young boys at the front desk were wonderful. I wasn’t sure how to use the self-service machine, and they went out of their way to help me place my order. That kind of kindness really made the visit better.

Overall, the service was still excellent, but I can’t say the same about the food. It really makes me miss...

After having heard about the famed pork belly bao, made a quick stop at this new Facing East time on my run. They graciously allowed me to use the bathroom, which was clean and well decorated, like the rest of the cute little place. They were serving free lemon water, which I gratefully downed, and were nice with helping me figure out how to use the equipment. The kitchen was open, and I saw a lot of staff milling around. I ordered the pork belly bao, which was 8.50 without tax. The wait time was about 10 minutes. There was no one else in the restaurant besides me- a few people entered, but didn't purchase anything- so it was a little awkward. The staff packaged up the bao sandwich nicely in a bag, and I hurried on my way! As I unwrapped the sandwich, I was met with an absolute explosion of slightly-sweet peanut crumbles. I bit into the bao, and savored every flavor and bite of the tender, fatty pork. Every topling component of the bao was great- If I had one complaint, the bread part itself wasn't that soft and pillowy, but I would still definitely buy the sandwich again. I'm excited to try the other items here, and hope to see this new location become a more busy,...

If you are needing a quick bite, Facing East is the place! Got the chance to try the dine in location which is an order-and-sit style and did enjoy the food. Got to share a lot of plates with a friend which was worth the price considering all the food we got!

The star of the meal was the popcorn chicken and the pork belly bento, both delicious and well seasoned and flavored. I will say the wontons and shrimp balls did not have as much flavor in comparison but still generally enjoyable.

The staff were really friendly, helped answer questions, and made sure that we had what we needed although we were there during...