Bamboo — Restaurant in San Antonio

So I opted on my usual favorite, the egg foo young and I was quite excited that I was also able to select lo mein as an accompanying starch. The egg rolls and crab rangoons we're actually pretty good even though when I arrived they were cold. But I was not expecting that appetizer so I can give them some slack there as far as the temperature of the food goes.

I also ordered a hot and sour soup which came back pretty quickly and unfortunately the food came before I could finish the soup so I picked up the bowl and quickly finished it. Now the soup even though it was flavorful I thought that the consistency was a little thin for soups of this nature at Chinese restaurants. Generally these soups are thickened by cornstarch which is a common thickener in Chinese cuisine as you all may very well know. And there did not seem to be very much vegetabls in the soup. It was more like a hot and sour egg drop soup. And I did have to ask for some typical condiments which go with the soup--like chili oil. And the fried crispy wontons in were pretty good. And like I mentioned before there was a lack of vegetables that typically come with the soup. Such as bamboo and the little black wood mushrooms that come with the soup. To my recollection it also lacked the small cubes of tofu. Maybe since it was later in the afternoon, the soup was at the bottom of the pot. I probably would have remembered more about the soup, although like I mentioned my entree was brought out pretty quickly.

The combination egg foo young was a little overcooked to me. The outside of the egg was a little more brown than I like it generally and it made it a little more difficult to tell the actual ingredients of it. But from pretty much what I could tell it seemed like broccoli chicken some kind of brown meat and possibly onions. The dim lighting made it a little difficult to tell what was inside of the egg foo young. The sauce that went with it was pretty good and I believe that it was the garlic sauce that is usually offered as a condiment because my cousin requested it and it tasted very similar to what he had. Unfortunately the lo mein was subpar. Even though the quantity was great the noodles were extremely limp. Possibly my current preference to an Al dente noodle might have made this seemed a little more limp than usual but it was so much so that I only took a couple of bites out of it and gave it to my cousin. This was very disappointing to me because I was very looking very forward to having some lo mein. I would have asked for rice. But my cousin's fried rice did not look any more appetizing either.

I really hate to leave reviews like this, but possibly it can help out the establishment or other patrons make their decision on frequenting this place. I really wanted to like it based on some previous recommendations, But I personally would probably not return, Unless someone else invited me. Luckily for me I did not have to pay this time around and my cousin footed the bill but he seemed to enjoy the food.

Best of...

Ok, I am editing this review.

The part that shouldn't have happend:

I got up from the bar happy and my mind changed and wanted to leave a 5 star. However, this was short lived as I got back to my car. A middle aged man short with curly hair and a plain white T approached my vehicle before backing out (he parked behind me to keep me from leaving). He did not announce who he was (and frankly after being approached by homeless people everywhere I went) it took me off guard. He told me I can't park here (parking spot directly to the right from front door of restaurant if looking at it from the outside with a noticeable parking curb) i didn't know, I said don't worry I'm leaving im not from here. It could have ended there. He proceeds to tell me he has cameras...no clue why that matters and points to a tow sign that every building in a major city has for non customers. I can not see the sign when parked it is high and blocked by my rear view mirror, he also kept pointing at something on the ground which i obviously cannot see from inside my car. Again could have eneded there. This guy proceeds to block me from getting out of the parking lot once he pulled out, while staring me in the face with his hands up. When I went around to the other exit he literally parked in the same spot i was in. Yall have like 5 parking spots so if it's some reserved spot or w/e then mark it better. Genuinely a mistake turns into some unnecessary confrontation. If this person is tied to the restaurant in some way he is bad for business.

Now to the good (my apologies):

The bartender gentleman sadly forgot to get his name was super friendly i got a beer from him while waiting (great price) and had a good chat. All the staff were friendly and I can give a good rating on atmosphere because I came in this time. It looks small but it has a cool walk around where they have tables and a patio. Pretty cool decor everywhere Pretty cool layout.

The sweet n sour chicken was very good and fresh. The fried rice was great texture and taste. They completely changed my mind from the night before. I was too harsh and I apologize for that. Management fixed the issue and if I was a local I would now be someone who would recommend yall. Mistakes happen and shouldn't have been so critical. Austin was very polite and the 2 gentleman at the register were also.

The only reason I cant give 5 stars is because of the guy who approached my vehicle and created a confrontation out of an honest mistake. I have to assume he is the owner/manager of the restaurant if he is talking security and cops over a parking spot.

My 2 cents: just be honest if there is a delay in delivery don't tell people it's on the way if it's not. Maybe also poke some holes so things don't get soggy 👍 When i come back I'll try yall...

Guessing having lunch here isn't the idea time of day to eat at this restaurant. The portions for the lunch special was beyond small. On top of a child's plates bring served the food itself had little to no flavor whatsoever. As if you dining in a restaurant meant for diabetics using no seasoning on food. The fried rice if you can even call it, that was merely rice and chopped onions. Thankfully they only served less than an Ice-cream scoop of it. The milk teas werent teas at all. They were super watered down and did not have even the slightest consistency to an actual milk tea. I ordered the strawberry version which had zero...absolute zero flavor of strawberry. Just watered down milky tones. The banana tea tasted of banana extract and not of actual banana making it as if you took a banana and made a watered down banana aqua fresca(watered down banana water). The cashier even warned us to add flavor to the milk tea which is unheard of if the teas are made correctly. At $42 during lunch time hours it is our recommendation that your lunch is better off spent any place else than here. This is definitely not the type of service that warrants repeat business amd definitely not at that price. Any establishment who charges customers over $30 during lunch need to be 100% on their service and flavors at ALL times, otherwise whats the point? Customers would have a better experience at ghetto China Rose and leave more satisfied. It all now sits uneaten in the refrigerator wasted.

Apologies if my photos make the food look better than it is and you still chose to try it for yourself.

Update: In their response they stated they have attempted to reach out via facebook which is false. To this day I have not received any correspondence from Bamboo's owner or staff. In response to their comment I would like to stress the importance of understanding what youre reading before responding as they clearly did not have any comprehension of the one sentence they chose to focus on. Their poor attempt to deflect from the fact they're serving subpar food for downtown quality pricing. As for "repeat" reviews. I'm simply goving the same review on multiple mediums as to spread awareness to fellow consumers. Facebook and Google were just the initial two platforms on which I left my critics on this poor service but soon yelp and others will soon have the same. They have also removed my review from their page on Facebook something im sure they wish they could do here as well....