Flaming Mountain Chinese Grill & Skewer Bar 火焰山烧烤&烤鱼 — Restaurant in Temple Terrace

I am really grateful that Flaming Mountain has finally opened. Coming from a northern Chinese person such as myself, I'd have such a hard time finding my hometown cuisine and this is such a life saver! Now I don't have to spend $150 buying the supplies myself and cooking it at home -- I can just go here whenever I have a craving.

The skewers are great -- it seems like they toned down the the second time around (slightly disappointed but I understand especially with a different clientele). Seafood is also good (if they have them in stock). Most often they'd run out all the razor clams, oysters, etc but definitely be sure to ask if they have them in stock. They are worth the wait! The pork intestines could be a bit more authentic but I can always get them from Beijing House so I'm not too hung up on it.

What disappointed me the most is the clear noodle salad (凉皮). The dish cost $13 and they only give 6 pieces of clear noodles. The bottom is all filled with tofu noodle slices (豆腐皮)instead. I ordered the dish thinking that it would have more clear noodles since that's the star of the show. That's how they have it in China but I was so let down by it. 6 pieces is not enough at all because you might as well call this a vegetable dish instead.

Overall, the place is really good for skewers and seafood, but I don't recommend their dongbei (northern style) dishes such as the clear noodle salad and the crispy sweet and sour pork. Those two dishes are not as authentic as the other ones on the menu. We are going to try their fish griddle next and see how that is. Since this is the only place in Tampa that is purely based on northern Chinese cuisine, it is a good place overall to curb your northern Chinese food cravings...

Full disclaimer: this is the first negative review I’ve ever written. Sorry in advance to the owner, truly. As someone who is Asian it pains me to not be able to support a local Asian business. My partner and I were looking for Chinese BBQ skewers and have tried to dine in here twice over the last 48 hours. The first time they told us last call was 30 minutes prior to closing and could not seat us. In their defense, understandable. However we then tried to dine in again with reservations at 1 pm on a Saturday. They told us that they don’t serve skewers until “whenever the owner comes in and starts to prepare them. This can be highly variable and can range anywhere from 2 pm till close.” It blows my mind that a business can be run this way. If something is on the menu, it should be for the most part, be served unless specified somewhere else. Nowhere on the website or internet is it ever specified that the BBQ skewers are only served at the owner’s whim, essentially whenever he decides to show up. In the long run, this really isn’t a big deal. My partner and I are just two potential customers, and the overall business won’t suffer. It sounds like this place is doing wonderfully and has glowing reviews. My main purpose writing this was just to shed some light when you can order skewers lol. I also want to note that the wait staff was very professional and courteous the whole time, and seem like...

Really, really wanted to love Flaming Mountain Chinese Grill and Skewer Bar. Look at the name: grilled skewers… yay!!! I was so excited to finally have a skewer grill (like the street meat stands in Asia) here in Tampa.

Made the trip across the county ready to have lots and lots of skewers. Went for lunch and immediately found out the grilled skewers are not available until 4:00. Tried to make the best of it so ordered off the traditional menu (which I did not know they even had until we got there). It’s the same menu that can be found at every other Chinese restaurant in the area. While waiting and then eating I kept looking at a wall covered with pictures of a grill, skewers, and grilled meats… none of which we could have. Food was good (hence 4 stars) but that was not why we went. We went for grilled skewers.

It would be like going to Hot Pot City and being told no hot pot until 4:00. Why even open? The one thing that makes this restaurant unique and is all over their branding (and I mean all over their branding: the front window, the wall… everywhere) is not even available.

I hope this will change and the grilled skewers will be offered any time they are open. Will probably go back, but only for skewers and will call ahead and make sure they are actually offering the thing painted on their front window...