BIMI BISTRO — Restaurant in Fort Wayne

Okay so first of all this place is Chinese.

Now with that out of the way, let's get into the real review.

Our waitress looked like she had a gun pointed on her head. Knowing my previous experience with Hana in Phoenix, AZ, that was already a giant red flag.

But in terms of the food, the only thing I find worth mentioning is that they make correct ramen. ...Yet it's correct in the same way that a groomed, mindless Asian student who spent all night memorizing a book to regurgitate its content on the test will give you a correct answer. The food at Bimi Bistro looks and tastes like what one would consider ramen. Bone broth, ramen noodles, fatty chashu, droopy marinated eggs, etc.

And yet, it's so bland and bloody BORING! It's like a "How to make ramen for dummies" book illustration coming to life. Completely devoid of any excitement or character. The very definition of mediocre. This extends to the appetizers like the takoyaki and char siu bun as well, unfortunately. Everything's as technically correct as it gets. It's actually uncanny how they could make food with all the right steps and ingredients, and yet so lacking in flavor.

I didn't get to try the hibachi plate my friend got, but from the looks and his description, it seemed like it would've tasted like every takeout "hibachi" dinner ever as well.

Personally, I would've preferred actually bad food at this point. At least I could write something funny about them.

TL;DR Someone just learned how to make ramen, and opened...

The service was exceptional, but this review is about the food.

Not a fan.

When we got there, we were the only patrons in the shop.

The food we were served seemed a bit old (like it wasn't fresh but they didnt want it to go to waste so we ended up with it on our plates), the noodles I got from the ramen were very chewy, not tender like expected from ramen. I wanted to give this shop a try cuz I thought it was authentic, but walking inside I realized that wasn't the case and it was merely, "inspired".

Based on the photos in the menu, it seemed like the slices of meat were large, but when I got my food, there was almost no meat at all.

For the price of $17, you got basically no meat.

This place is really expensive but the quality isn't there. The portions were okay overall, and I was full, but I wasn't satisfied.

Dumplings both steamed and fried were 5/5, but I'm never going back 😂 ($7)

Just not worth it when I could have gotten a wonderful bowl of Pho (I realize pho and ramen are completely different dishes and cultures, but the bottom line was noodle soup) loaded with chicken or beef from Bahn Mi Barista on Coldwater for nearly half the price. ($10-12)

Seriously disappointed. If you want good ramen at a reasonable price, this is...

The real headline here for anyone of a basic moral backbone is that they were playing AI-generated music. For that alone, I will never be darkening their door again. There are few faster ways to eliminate my trust in your establishment than to platform the systematic eradication of the human creative spirit. Do better and at least pretend to have a conscience. I'm sure those with less strict morals than I about this issue will feel emboldened to come by anyway, but I'd still advise against it:

The service was minimal, which I typically like. Quick to refill my drink, but not frequent enough with checking in multiple times to annoy me.

The food was uninteresting. I ordered pork shoyu ramen and a side of takoyaki, my favorite. Neither was exciting; the ramen lacked much flavor, the takoyaki was pretty disappointing, and the price on top of it all was even more of a letdown. I haven't had a good bowl of ramen in months after moving here, and it seems I'm still on the hunt for a great bowl. I'm sure there's better in this town so I don't have much of an excuse to...