I suppose I should start off with a review of my most favorite place in Medford.. Bambu.
I can't tell you the countless times I've sat under the dim lights or out on the peaceful patio of Bambu, sipping on a glass of Conde de Valdemar Tempranillo. I get as giddy as a school girl when I know we're going to Bambu..however, after our last visit.. I'm left heartbroken, and wishing for a "do-over".
The appetizer came out quick, hot, and tasty as always.. How can you go wrong with roasted duck spring rolls people??! For my entree, I ordered up a fabulous Indonesian Lamb dish... "six lamb chops, pan seared medium rare, with steamed vegetables, and an Indonesian soy reduction" ummmmm YES PLEASE! My husband chose the Alaskan King Salmon "with shiitake mushrooms, and asparagus".
I know, dream come true right? Not so much. While our server, (who will remain unnamed) was gracious and kind as she always is, she didn't show much muscle with her counterparts in the kitchen. ( I remember when my orders would go wrong, man.. I was a beast to the kitchen)
45 minutes after ordering, our entire bottle of vino gone, waters refilled at least three times, and still NO DINNER :( No sign of dinner on the horizon, and no comment from the kitchen, the hostess, or our server as to where our dinner had gone or when it was going to return. Ugh, long story huh? It gets better I promise!
Almost an hour after we gobbled up our roasted duck yum yums, gulped and entire bottle of wine, and completely sobered up on gallons of water, our dinner was finally served. The excitement was overwhelming! Until the plates were actually set on the table. First thing that came to mind was... "Seriously?? Didn't I order a plate with 6 lamb chops pan seared to medium rare, because I'm pretty sure I'm looking at one lamb chop, "chopped" six ways, shrunk to the size of a quarter, and cooked to a perfect piece of charcoal". One would think that a dish cooked so very LONG would be hot. Ya, again, not so much! Room temp at best.
At least it was food, and I was hungry, and I didn't want to wait another hour...so, tears streaming down my cheeks, I dug in to my less than fabulous lamb dish. I was feeling horrible that this poor little lamb was actually slaughtered, and used for this purpose.
On to the Salmon folks! I will say, this was a tasty piece of fish! Piping hot, and cooked to perfection, this thing melted in your mouth. We certainly appreciate the fact that they had actually gone to Alaska, caught the fish, cleaned it, and cooked it just to fulfil our order. I would say the only thing lacking were the shiitake mushrooms, as there we're three or four spare parts of one mushroom. Apparently, they didn't have time for a quick trip over to Japan to pick those, but we'll forgive them for that ;)
We finished off our night at Bambu with the banana spring rolls with macadamia nut ice cream.. not a darn thing bad to say about those!
In summary, I have always loved Bambu, and will for sure return for that "do-over".
The moral of the story for the customer is: We all have an off day, so be understanding.
The moral of the story for the owner/manager/staff of Bambu is: Keep tabs on your tables, explain when and why things are taking to long, at best give the customer a cool line of B.S! You never know when that customer will blog about their experience!
I can't tell you the countless times I've sat under the dim lights or out on the peaceful patio of Bambu, sipping on a glass of Conde de Valdemar Tempranillo. I get as giddy as a school girl when I know we're going to Bambu..however, after our last visit.. I'm left heartbroken, and wishing for a "do-over".
The appetizer came out quick, hot, and tasty as always.. How can you go wrong with roasted duck spring rolls people??! For my entree, I ordered up a fabulous Indonesian Lamb dish... "six lamb chops, pan seared medium rare, with steamed vegetables, and an Indonesian soy reduction" ummmmm YES PLEASE! My husband chose the Alaskan King Salmon "with shiitake mushrooms, and asparagus".
I know, dream come true right? Not so much. While our server, (who will remain unnamed) was gracious and kind as she always is, she didn't show much muscle with her counterparts in the kitchen. ( I remember when my orders would go wrong, man.. I was a beast to the kitchen)
45 minutes after ordering, our entire bottle of vino gone, waters refilled at least three times, and still NO DINNER :( No sign of dinner on the horizon, and no comment from the kitchen, the hostess, or our server as to where our dinner had gone or when it was going to return. Ugh, long story huh? It gets better I promise!
Almost an hour after we gobbled up our roasted duck yum yums, gulped and entire bottle of wine, and completely sobered up on gallons of water, our dinner was finally served. The excitement was overwhelming! Until the plates were actually set on the table. First thing that came to mind was... "Seriously?? Didn't I order a plate with 6 lamb chops pan seared to medium rare, because I'm pretty sure I'm looking at one lamb chop, "chopped" six ways, shrunk to the size of a quarter, and cooked to a perfect piece of charcoal". One would think that a dish cooked so very LONG would be hot. Ya, again, not so much! Room temp at best.
At least it was food, and I was hungry, and I didn't want to wait another hour...so, tears streaming down my cheeks, I dug in to my less than fabulous lamb dish. I was feeling horrible that this poor little lamb was actually slaughtered, and used for this purpose.
On to the Salmon folks! I will say, this was a tasty piece of fish! Piping hot, and cooked to perfection, this thing melted in your mouth. We certainly appreciate the fact that they had actually gone to Alaska, caught the fish, cleaned it, and cooked it just to fulfil our order. I would say the only thing lacking were the shiitake mushrooms, as there we're three or four spare parts of one mushroom. Apparently, they didn't have time for a quick trip over to Japan to pick those, but we'll forgive them for that ;)
We finished off our night at Bambu with the banana spring rolls with macadamia nut ice cream.. not a darn thing bad to say about those!
In summary, I have always loved Bambu, and will for sure return for that "do-over".
The moral of the story for the customer is: We all have an off day, so be understanding.
The moral of the story for the owner/manager/staff of Bambu is: Keep tabs on your tables, explain when and why things are taking to long, at best give the customer a cool line of B.S! You never know when that customer will blog about their experience!
I've always liked bambu especially their appetizers. The staff is always friendly and helpful. Big fan of their chicken pad thai.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Like I said, we all have an off day :)
DeleteI just wish Bambu was more "budget friendly."
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree.. it's pretty steep. That is exactly why they always need to be on their A Game!
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