Bento Asian Bistro — Restaurant in Indianapolis

I just got back to the US after living in Southeast Asia for the last four years. I was told that this place was really good and served "authentic" bubble tea. I went in and started ordering, while speaking Chinese. The guy behind the counter looked annoyed that I was speaking Chinese and responded in English, asking what flavor bubble tea I want. This seemed odd, since traditional bubble tea doesn't have various "flavors". I continued to order but switched to English. I noticed that it took a very long time to get the drink, which also seemed odd, because it takes less than 2 minutes from ordering a drink to receiving it, in Asia. While I waited, I saw a woman bringing the guy a tray of bubbles (tapioca pearls) from the fridge, which is a bad sign. The guy came back without my drink, for some reason. I asked him what kind of cuisine was offered, since the theme seemed inconsistent. He looked at me like I was stupid and didn't even respond. I said "well, I see one dish is Mongolian, another is Thai, another is Taiwanese, etc" to which is snapped angrily "CHINESE, this is a CHINESE restaurant". I decided not to point out that none of the dishes I had pointed out were Chinese, and instead I just let it go. He quickly walked away and a few moments later he brought my drink. It was tiny. The bubble tea drinks in Asia are 2x to 3x as large as the one he brought me, and they cost between $1 and $1.50. This tiny bubble tea he brought me had costs around $4 or $5. I gave it a taste and... It was awful. They used cream powder instead of fresh milk, and the bubbles were old, cold, and hard rather than fresh, soft, and warm. I asked the woman who was now at the register (I spoke Chinese so that none of the other customers would understand me, in an effort to save the workers from any feeling of embarrassment) "why is this drink so small and yet so expensive?" to which she replied "oh, no, this is the normal size and price that it always is in Asia". I said (still in Chinese) "no, this is very small and very expensive, in Asia, they are much cheaper and much larger". She replied "oh, really?" To which I said "yes, they are...". She didn't respond after that, she just gave me a dirty look and then walked away. I had never mentioned that the drink was also awful, but in an effort to leave on a positive note, I lied and said (in Chinese) "this is a very good drink, thank you" to which both the man and the woman scoffed at me and didn't respond. As I was leaving, my friends from Taiwan called me (video call) and I showed them the bubble tea. The first thing they said was "wow, why is it so small?!". When I told them what had happened, they looked embarrassed and said "wow, those people are giving Asians a bad name, that's terrible. You shouldn't go there, anymore".

This place is overpriced. The bubble tea I had was awful. The workers are incredibly rude. I will never go back and I will actively make sure to steer people away...

Back when I was in college at IUPUI, this strip mall area was chock full of chain stores and other nonsense. It seems to have taken a turn and a fair number of independent eateries have opened up.

I ordered a take-out order during my recent hospitalization because I was in desperate need of FLAVOR and Hospital Food does not provide that.

For those not familiar, these Bento boxes are basically full meals and even if you're really, really hungry, DO NOT over order because you will get a lot of food between one box and maybe adding an appetizer.

So for the food I actually ate, I had the General Tso's Chicken bento box (yeah, I know, go ahead and crack the jokes) and the gyozas.

The gyozas were actually the highlight of the meal. The meat was juicy and flavorful, a bit of soy sauce helps but not entirely necessary. These were good, and I imagine they would've been even better if they were served dining in at the restaurant fresh and hot.

The box came with the chicken and sauce, a couple pieces of broccoli, sushi (New York roll was my choice) and some brown rice. Again, this is a good amount of food for a good value. Nothing blew me away, but I was just happy to have non-hospital food.

I was stuffed after this and barely touched my udon noodles or the salad. Yeah, I know, who orders salad at a bento box place? Well I do, because the hospital's definition of a "salad" all have meat or cheese on them. This had neither, but still, way too full to really properly enjoy it and give it a good review.

Overall, if I was hospitalized again or if I was regularly living and working in the area, I'd probably come here on a regular basis. I don't know if this quite makes a destination dining experience, but if you're an IUPUI student or a nearby resident/worker, this is probably one of your better choices for your...

This is an update. The original review(below the line in the bottom) were was written when this place was new. Well, the quality of the food has dropped ALOT! Staff are the same but the food is no good .During my recent visits there, one day they had put used wasabi in my bento box that was disgusting but they changed it. The utensils and the cups are freakishly dirty!! And they don't have disposable option except for chop sticks. Which is another problem. Then one day, I asked for a food(sour picked cabbage and fish) and there was this very very gross piece of hair in it. 😫😫that has stuck in my mind and I am having hard time eating out now! The other time, the bowls that food was served in was so dirty. Other time, I ordered honey roll which is a fried type of sushi and it was so obvious that it was fried in old smelly oil and the food had the bad taste of used and burned oil. So since this has happened pretty frequently, I cannot call it a simple mistake. So given the fact that this is a sushi place, and they serve sea food and raw food, it is not safe anymore to dine in here. So not recommend!!!

I have never had such delicious food and sooshi...i have been there for more than 5 times in the pas 2months. the quality has never changed! it is always the best,. the environment is very clean helping you feel comfortable. sushis are very delicious. must try! especially dancing dragon! it is not expensive. also the personnel are very very kind and positive and respectful. i miss it many times...also it is very healthy food and not junk! not that sweet and very...