Chiwa Bistro — Restaurant in Brookside

We went around 3PM for a party of 2. It was busy, but we were seated after they cleaned a table. Staff were friendly and service time was appropriate for the amount of customers there. The restaurant is decorated with a plethora of lanterns and banners, which, although pretty, did make the space seem a little small.

I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen for my main dish. We also ordered the Mini Soup Dumplings and the Japanese BBQ Pork Buns for our appetizers. For my drink, I ordered a Classic Milk Tea; and for dessert, we tried their Shaved Ice.

The first item that was delivered to the table was actually our entrees. I got the Tonkotsu Ramen, which you can choose to have with chicken breast, pork, or shrimp (with an extra cost). I opted for the pork. The noodles also come with half a corncob, mushrooms, scallions, thick naruto slices, and half of a braised egg. Overall, I really liked the ramen from Chiwa Bistro. The broth was very flavorful but light. The pork, although a little tougher than I thought it would be, complemented the broth. The noodles were well cooked, and the rest of the ingredients worked well with the dish. Definitely one of the better ramen dishes I've tried in general.

The appetizers were served when we were already half-way through with our entrees. The Japanese BBQ Pork Buns come in a set of 2. I was a little disappointed by these. I thought the meat was a little charred, there wasn't enough sauce so it was quite dry to eat, and the cilantros didn't really complement the buns. On the other hand, the Mini Soup Dumplings, which comes with 6 small, bite-sized dumplings, were quite good. Although not as juicy and filling as a soup dumpling from a dim sum restaurant, these were a good substitute and I would recommend these over the Japanese BBQ Pork Buns.

After the appetizers came, we got our bubble teas. I ordered the Classic Milk Tea. It comes in a large glass and looks quite delicious at a glance. Unfortunately, the taste was far from it. There is a very strong perfume taste to the drink. I couldn't taste anything aside from this perfume. It sticks on your tongue and fills your nose. I really tried to drink this, but it was miserable. I would recommend to stay far away from the milk tea if you want to save your senses.

After everything, we wanted to try their shaved ice dessert. We thought, surely it couldn't be bad. The shaved ice comes in 2 flavors: strawberry or mango. You can also get it as a 2-in-1 flavor. Since there was 2 of us, we each decided to get a flavor. I ended up with the Strawberry Shaved Ice. It comes served in a big cup, similar to a margarita cup. On top of the shaved ice are flavored popping jellies, strawberry syrup, and a few slices of strawberries. Just like the milk tea, although this looked good, the taste is anything but. If you've ever had shaved ice dessert, I'll warn you that this tastes nothing like it. The strawberry additions did not complement the shaved ice at all. The shaved ice itself tasted odd, kind of like ice that's been in the freezer for too long.

Overall, our experience at Chiwa Bistro started out great but quickly went downhill as we discovered more of their menu. The noodle dishes were great and I would definitely recommend trying their noodles. If you must get an appetizer, the Mini Soup Dumplings are a good dupe for actual soup dumplings. Aside from those two dishes, I would recommend saving your money and skipping the drinks...

Update Yesterday was May 1st. We recieved a text message from Coach talking about a sale. We had no plans to go out, but did so on a whim. Got there 20 minutes to close and ended up closing the mall. Wife found a cute denim mini backpack and asked me with a straight face where i wanted to eat tonight. Like she had to ask?

Arrived at the Chiwa with about 30 minutes to spare. I got my usual: teriyaki bento and takoyaki and she gets crab sticks and curry katsu. I never have a bad thing to say about this place because from the food to the service everything is always perfect. Even though they were closing soon, the restaurant was packed and they didn't rush anyone. The only feedback i can give other than get excellent Japanese food from here? Making a request for Omlet Rice. :3

We were here to do some light shopping. But because of that, we had the chance to visit our favorite restaurant in the christiana mall, Chiwa Bistro.. She is forrever a fan of the pork cutlet curry as the chef punched the curry heat a few levels. My new item was the crab onigiri which they provided for the onigiri that was absolutely nothing to the crab. Too much.

I just read a medical diagnosis of diabetes so i thought it would mean to skip chocolate, which i thought would mean the end of me. Nope. Next love is Bobo and they've figured how to add less sugar without compromising on the taste. One again. No problems here!

Update* The last time that we were there, we noticed a few new menu options with the "coming soon* label. These were for katsu items. (Breaded pork or chicken cutlets served with sauce) The final one made it's appearance yesterday when we asked out waiter about it and the wife happily dined on her Curry Katsu. Only issue was that there were a few small bones in the cutlets, but the rest was great. I always wondered why the first thing she always wanted while eating Japanese food was the curry. It's very sweet! Once again we had excellent waitstaff. Bubble tea is some of the best at the mall. Taro for me!

The wife and I came here to do some recon for our upcoming 25th anniversary. We were floored. When we had business that way we always used to stop in Rockville, MD for what we thought was the best sushi and bento. Tonight, we discovered we were wrong. Chiwa Bistro is the best sushi and bento we've ever had. From the ambiance to the food, everything was perfect. I have not had a BBQ pork bun in ages and these were mini masterpieces. The wife and I were trading bites back and forth and we had a wonderful time. The help was very attentive and very polite. Will we keep coming back here? Absolutely, and yes, we will be spending our 25th anniversary dinner here. Might even try the bubble...

Parking: There is a big parking lot however may be difficult to find parking depending on the day and time since this is located by Christiana Mall.

Atmosphere: Place is pretty lively being that its near the mall. Not a huge fan of their ceiling decorations. I feel like it is too cluttered. Recommend living by the saying “less is more.”

Service: We were seated immediately but it does get pretty packed so dont be surprised if there is a wait time. Typical method of ordering via waiter/waitress. Our waitress was nice and occasionally came around to check on us.

Food: The food comes out based on what gets done first and not based on chronological order. For example, we received our main entree first before our starters.

Inferno (Ramen): 5/5. This is one of the better ramens I have had in a restaurant. You get to choose the protein that comes with the ramen. There was some form of spice present in the broth however it was not overwhelming so you could still taste the other flavors. The half egg also tasted very good. I highly recommend giving their ramen a try!

BBQ Pork Bun: 2.5/5. The buns were served with a minimum amount of sauce and felt a little bare (2 pieces of pork + a leaf). The pork used is the same pork as the one in your ramen. The buns had a good texture (soft). I definitely think this would have been better had there been more sauce.

Mini Soup Dumplings: 5/5. These soup dumplings are bite size. They were juicy and met expectations.

Taro Milk Tea w/ Bubbles: 0/5. I recommend avoiding their milk tea drinks. They are not good and nowhere near the quality of other places that sell milk tea drinks. Even though the bubbles were warm which implies they were made fresh, the bubbles were tasteless and felt more like a chewing exercise. Additionally, the drink was not thoroughly mixed as I could still taste the powder used to make the drink.

Mango Shaved Ice: 0/5. I recommend avoiding their shaved ice. This dessert was extremely underwhelming. Do not be decieved by its presentstion. The mangos used did not come across fresh and were more closely related to frozen fruit as they were dry and lacked juice. The only thing “mango” about this were the mango poppers they used. I was hoping that the ice would have some mango flavoring to it but to my disappointment the ice had no flavoring applied to it. To sum it up, this is literally water with mango poppers.

Verdict: Definitely come here to try out their ramen. Stay away from their milk tea drinks...