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cityweekend

Authenticity in Flavor

With its dimly light modern ambiance, Bam-Bou is perfect for a private tête-a-tête or a group dinner seated leisurely in one of the cushioned booths. Refined Vietnamese cuisine adapted to the high-end Western palate dominates a menu that includes Laos and Cambodian dishes as well. To forget Shanghai's rainy days, we enjoyed a summery Lemongrass and Champagne Mojito and Saigon Collins (both YY60) followed by wines from the limited, but all drinkable, choices of New and Old World wines by the glass (YY40-YY80). To start, we were delighted with the Bam-Bou sampler which included seafood on lemongrass with some sizable prawns, lamb balls, summer rolls with an abundance of mint in each bite, and Hanoi-style Fried nem (YY150). Our favorite was the fried nem: crispy wraps with moist and juicy filling. They taste even better when combined with mixed greens. The avocado crab salad with mango and tomato (YY80) was fresh and highlighted the distinct elements of Vietnamese flavors. The traditional Pho beef (YY50) may seem plain to some but the lack of salt allows the gentle flavors of ginger and cinnamon to come through. Our Cambodian style minced chicken with herbs (YY60) and Laotian grilled eggplant (YY30) were enjoyable despite the profusion of fresh hot peppers. Seared scallop with Vietnamese-style seafood sauce (YY120) was savory and grilled to perfection. For dessert, the glutinous rice with mango (YY40) was nothing exceptional but the Vietnamese crème brulée with a roasted banana (YY40) was smooth and creamy. The chef, whose northern influences we recognized by the interpretation of Vietnamese dishes, particularly the predominance of fish sauce over Hoisin sauce, has succeeded in providing fine Vietnamese cuisine with clear, authentic flavors. -Kim-Tien Huynh

 

quarterpast

Neat atmosphere, although it could be enhanced for evening dining by turning up the lights a few notches. It was very dark in the entire restaurant...so much so that my dining companions and I frequently found ourselves sputtering for some heat-abating liquid after we had unknowingly put hot red peppers in our unexpecting mouths. The food was nice but I felt the menu was heavy on meat overall.

 

5 months ago

karinkg

What a disappointment. It is not that we expected too much especially after being not really excited about Eduardo Vargas’ acclaimed “239” (which has closed anyway), “Azul & Viva” and “Casa 13”. In fact our expectations were quite low but what we experienced at BAMBOU hit a new all-time low and proves again that all the hype that is currently going on about certain Shanghai Restaurants in nothing more than hot air. The Interior: Furniture and all the knick-knacks standing around are well chosen but a bit too cliché-ridden. The wooden chairs are totally uncomfortable and I don’t think the designer or Mr. Vargas himself did ever sit on them for the length of a dinner. The music it much too loud and the acoustics in the room just terrible. On our visit the place was not fully booked but there was so much noise that my husband and I literally has to shout at each other to understand what we were saying. The space in Bambou is so restricted that you can hardly move your chair without bumping into your neighbor or the poor staff that’s trying to do their work. The whole atmosphere felt more like a fast food joint than the “wanna-be fine dining concept”. Bathrooms were far from clean at our visit with long black hair in the sinks and on the towels! Food and Drinks: The draft beer (San Miguel) was served flat. It was stale and hat completely lost its fizz. Food was average at its best. The salmon on the grilled salmon salad was raw (!) the codfish as well as the morning glory drowning in oil. The steamed rice crepe with minced meat was totally overcooked and tasted like cardboard. All portions were quite small, presentation fanciless and if you’ve been to Vietnam, Laos and /or Cambodia you are wondering why this place is praised for authentic flavors. Staff: Staff is trying their best. Most were friendly but when it comes to dealing with complaints they go into skid. The stale beer was exchanged though and the sushi-like raw salmon salad taken of the bill.

 

4 months ago

monyetputih

sleek interior design is (again) an indication of subpar food.

the only dish worth eating was the vietnamese beef salad. quite good although too heavy on the black/white pepper.

the cambodian chicken soup was tasteless. the spring rolls were so salty it made my tongue bleed. the grilled duck breast tasted like a french version of that dish. something i have eaten a million times already and wasn't expecting / hoping for at an indochinese restaurant.

staff tried their best so i give a star for service.

 

3 months, 2 weeks ago