Came here on a whim with my mom my sister and my niece who were in town on a visit. We were walking around downtown looking for a place to have dinner and we saw on the window that they have ramen. My family is from South Korea so they know good Asian food. We were planning on getting Korean food at a place down the street, but they were closed that day. We had gone to the Grand Canyon earlier that day and were pretty hungry. While it was hot at the canyon, it was a little chilly and wet that evening and my mom thought a nice bowl of noodles would be good to fill and warm her up.
The restaurant itself looked hip and cool from the outside, with an Asian bistro vibe. It was early, so we were seated right away. The interior was classy and well designed. We had a nice table by the window. The service was good. We took awhile to figure out what we wanted and the waitress came over several times to check and see if we were ready to order. They had a pretty good variety on their menu, appetizers, specialty rolls, sushi, classic rolls, Chinese dishes and noodle bowls. I got the Kung pao chicken, my sister got the Hawaiian fried rice, which she likes to try at new restaurants, my mom the chicken udon bowl and my niece the beef ramen.
For appetizers, we got the edamame and mixed vegetable tempura. Appetizers came out quickly.
The side of edamame was small and good for just one person. The tempura was large enough to share. The flavor was good, but was very oily rather than light and crunchy.
Unfortunately, the main dishes were all disappointing. First, the portions there were very small. This is coming from someone with a very small appetite and eats very slow. I was hoping to have some leftovers to take my husband, so I ate only a tiny bit of my dish. Second, the flavor was extremely bland. Typically, with Kung pao chicken, you have the chicken main dish with a side of rice. This was all mixed together. The meat was dark, which I expect for Chinese fast food, but would expect higher quality for the upscale atmosphere and the upscale price. I don't like spicy dishes and even for me, this dish had no flavor that was familiar to Kung pao, which usually has a bit of a kick. The chicken was diced into very tiny pieces, as were the minimal veggies that were in the dish and there was no peanut flavor in the even though there were some crushed peanuts. Honestly, I like the Chinese food better at Panda Express. This tasted like something I would make at home for a quick lunch.
My family didn't have any better luck. My sister's fried rice literally looked like a side bowl of rice. Nothing like an entree size. Basically the same rice as my dish with pineapples. My sister can make much better on her own. My mother's chicken udon was very very bland, no flavor or spice and also had dark meat which she doesn't eat. I didn't try the beef ramen, but my niece wasn't thrilled with it. I'm used to seeing large, satisfying bowls of noodles, with plenty of broth, but these bowls were either small or very shallow. And even though they were small, neither of them were excited about finishing the dish. To be truthful, they liked the instant ramen bowls I got for them fry's for $3 bucks better.
It was disappointing since my mom my sister and my niece came out from Dayton, OH for a special girls visit, and since I had paid for them to come out, my mom wanted to treat us all to a nice dinner. I hate to leave an unsatisfactory review, but I was disappointed enough in the food where I wouldn't go back and it was expensive for what we ordered and the small portions. One glass of house wine, an appetizer, two noodle bowls, an order of fried rice and a Kung pao chicken came almost to $100. But it was a very nicely designed place and we did have good service, but that's the only nice thing I can say.
I would say go for the ambience, and order off the drinks and sushi menu and maybe you'll have better luck. read more