My boyfriend has been wanting me to try this place for awhile. i finally agreed and omg. We really should listen to them more often This place is amazing. we first came yesterday during the rain, we ordered sweet and sour chicken and the duck. which were both amazing. We also got the Hot green tea which to my surprise was regular green tea instead of matcha which i LOVE. and it was a perfect meal for the weather at the time. our server was great and paying attention to us. We also decided to stop by today since i loved it so much and we got the Eggdrop soup, Lo mein with Beef and the duck again. This time the duck was 100 times better than yesterday and omg so good. The eggdrop soup was one of the best i've had before and was amazing. And the lo mein was so tasty. This time the service was lacking just a little bit. But that's okay. They don't have any music unfortunately both times we came. Overall 10/10 would come back a million times again. read more

Bamboo House Austin - Duck - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

I really wanted to love the food here, but I think it's because I'm from Houston! Houston has some of the best Asian food and it's hard to compare when going to other cities. The fried rice was okay, didn't have much flavor, but I appreciate the portion! I did really like that the duck came with the broth (this was the selling point-definitely get this). The duck of was good, I believe this is what people usually come for. I would come again, but I do think there are better places for flavor. read more

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3.5 stars if I could give it bc the Peking duck is good Everything else I've had has been meh both times I went. Eggplant was super mushy, fried rice was flavorless, I don't even remember what else we got, but the sauce was pretty much the same as that in the eggplant. The service isn't great, but it's not that kind of place, you know what I mean? You don't go for the service. You go for the Peking duck. It can get kinda loud and echoey in there because the space is so wide open. read more

Bamboo House Austin - Peking duck - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

As someone Chinese who grew up in California, I'm picky about authentic Chinese food, so when we went to Bamboo House Austin for Lunar New Year, I was genuinely impressed. Every single dish was authentic and perfectly balanced in flavors. The roast duck was perfectly crisp and rich, and every dish tasted like home: balanced, bold, and deeply authentic. It's rare to find true Chinese flavors in Texas, but Bamboo House nails it. The atmosphere was lively, the service warm, and even during the holiday rush, everything felt beautifully done. Easily one of the best Chinese meals I've had in Austin - and the perfect way to celebrate the new year. read more

Bamboo House Austin - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Delicious Peking duck and chicken. Excellent size and taste. The milk tea was a bit too sweet for me. read more

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By far the absolute best Peking Duck you will find in Austin, and likely all of Texas. While a chain, the quality is superb. As an Asian, we don't expect the best service, but we do expect the food to be on point. Fortunately the service is still decent, and the food excellent. After ordering, our first dish arrived in less than 2 minutes (the duck soup, what you get when you order duck), then in less than 10 minutes the second dish, and the third a few minutes later. The duck takes a while to prepare, so it's always the last dish to come out, but rest assured it's hot, as well as the pancakes. Pro tip: Go early, as the duck tends to sell out. Everything is family style with large portions, so go with a group! If you run out of rice, ask for more! (it's bottomless) The Duck - absolutely amazing. My wife always comments how fantastically crisp the skin is. Make sure to put a little of all the condiments on your pancake. Bok choi - just cooked with garlic, it's a fabulous dish, and one of the few vegetables that my friends who hate veggies love. Braised Pork Belly - absolutely phenomenally tender. It will melt in your mouth. A super savory dish with a dark rich sauce, perfect if you're a gravy lover like me who will pour it over the rice! Mmmm read more

Bamboo House Austin - Duck, braised pork belly, bok choi - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

I cannot believe how many times I've been to Bamboo House and have never written a review! What? Why? It is definitely my favorite Chinese food here in Austin. The top item as many reviews have mentioned is the Peking Duck. You can get a half duck (recommended for up to 3 people) or whole duck (recommended for up to 6 people) and it comes with a duck soup. My other favorite is actually their vegetable dish. They have a potato, green bean and eggplant that you should not sleep on! My 3 year old daughter loves the Strawberry chicken and my husband loves the Orange chicken. Foodwise, you can't really go wrong but be mindful because they serve large portions. The service has always been fairly fast. The wait staff puts the order into an ipad and usually the food will start coming out pretty fast. It's meant to be eaten family style so you eat the food as it comes out, otherwise if you wait for everyone to get their entrees, then perhaps the service would not be considered as quick. The ambiance is your standard Chinese restaurant but I like that they have video games you can play if you're waiting. (Well, my kids love that they have video games to entertain them if there's a wait. They also like to play after they are done eating). Bamboo House is a must whenever family comes to town for a visit and honestly for a family meal whenever cooking is not in the cards for me. read more

I would recommend this place if you want some authentic Chinese food. It has a nice location and mood also. The only reason I didn't give five stars is that service can take a while, but I'd say it's worth the wait. read more

Great place to take a group of people (4+) I've been to Bamboo House before. Their most popular item is the Peking Duck but we got two entrees this time-egg plant and red braised pork belly. Pork belly is yummy and sweet. The fatty parts are the best. However some of the pork is dry so it's not too consistent. Eggplant didn't soak up a lot of flavor (but the next day when we ate the leftovers, it was delicious!) I only went with my husband and didn't realize the dishes are so big. We had a lot of leftovers especially the eggplant, which we took to go. The eggplant was talking a while to arrive and now we know why. It's great how the entrees automatically come with white rice. Some other restaurants would charge extra and only give a small bowl. There's usually a long wait (hence, why there is a waiting area with games), but we were lucky and got seated almost immediately after a group left. There is outdoor seating as well. You can park in the garage and the first two hours are free. Next to Hui Lau Shan, the Hong Kong mango dessert shop. read more

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They always have good service and delicious food. The iced tea was huge and big. The egg roll was decent . I am not a Huge egg roll fan. The chicken and rice was delicious read more

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10.30.2025 - BAMBOO HOUSE - AUSTIN, TEXAS - we don't have roasted Peking duck in Killeen - so here we are treating ourselves - I miss ONG CHOY and real Chinese food. There's Chinese food in Killeen but for some reason it's not the same. I'd give this place an 4.5 out of a Full 5. It was delicious but I haven't compared it with other Chinese food in the area just yet. Maybe that star will change to a 5. I just need to try more Chinese restaurants in the area first because I got nothing to compare it to. The food was delicious - we ordered the Peking Roast Duck, Duck Broth Soup, Ong Choy (Pea Sprouts), Mapo Tofu, Boiled Filet Fish with Chili sauce, Honey Walnut ShrimpI really enjoyed our meal today. Wow I really enjoyed our meal today. It was definitely a great experience. The waitress also was very nice and checked up on us every 15 mins. The entire restaurant was clean too. Service was great! read more

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Bamboo House is one of my favorite Chinese spots in Austin. They are known for their Peking Duck which is absolutely one of the best duck I ever had but this visit they were out which was a blessing in disguise as I got to try new foods I otherwise wouldn't have. For one, the service is amazing here. They're very attentive and quick and the wait to get a table goes by so quick. Great to come here with a big group. On to the food, we got the cream cheese rangoons, spicy fish, and honey walnut shrimp. All perfect. All tasted amazing. The rangoons are a classic and you can never go wrong. The spicy fish came with a very generous portion and a lot of fish which is usually not the case. Although the honey walnut shrimp had a smaller portion, it was definitely my favorite of the night. I highly recommend coming here and make sure you bring a hungry group. read more

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It is about time I reviewed this place. I've been here so many times yet I haven't had time to review it. I have a love-hate relationship with this restaurant for many personal reasons. The first couple times I came. It was so packed. There's limited parking around the apartments too unless you want a parking in the parking garage now which we can validate so that's good. Plus we had to wait for a long time that time but there's fun video games you can play while you wait in a very small waiting area or you can be outside. Winter is fine but when it's hot, it's not that pleasant. There's a yummy mango expensive Hong Kong dessert place next-door. But this place is beloved by my son and a lot of his friends who love Sichuan food and Austin is just in love with Sichuan food. And I being Cantonese have a hard time liking mala and all things spicy and all my Canto friends find it hard to love all these new sichuan places popping up. With that said, I have to give an unbiased review of bamboo house and I've tried to like it more over the years but I went recently because of a bday request and just have to say that it is constantly not bad delivering high food quality. We ordered half Canto half Sichuan food that's not that spicy so pea leaves were done excellently. I love the size of the plates. The beef lo mein was good. Salt and pepper or anything here fried is good. The two main staple Sichuan dishes we had to order that I can't seem to enjoy, but they are done spectacularly is the sour cabbage pork soup, which is pretty famous and the mala chicken so spicy. Just be careful of those little numbing spice balls. They pop so many into the soup. They are lethal, but that is why people keep coming and that's why this place keeps thriving besides the duck and all the other things. Suffice to say, it's not bad if you want good food for good quality and large plates come here and maybe an off night like a weekday night might be better but weekends it will be very crowded but enjoy. They're doing well. Very hot woks which are great for Chinese food, big tables so that there will be room for big families and smaller tables for more intimate settings. It's happening. It comes out fast. It's pretty clean in there. I'll give it a thumbs up for another Chinese place, probably the better one out in Austin right now and not too greasy or dirty versus others like Asia Café could be :) read more

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Omg omg omg - out of all the overrated Chinese spots you'll find in Austin, this is IT! Great portions, good service (!!!), quality is consistently good. If anything the least impressive item we had was the duck and it was good! Can't wait to return wish it wasn't so far away! read more

Went here with a group of 11 on a Saturday night around 6:30 pm and was pleasantly surprised that we were seated immediately! We ordered a lot: Green Tea, Full Peking Duck, Breaded Lobster, Green Beans, Snow Peas, Twice-Cooked Pork, Pork Belly, Chicken with Chili, and Mongolian Beef, plus the white rice that came with the meal. Favorites: * Peking Duck - perfectly cooked, tender, and the skin was nice and crispy. I usually don't even like duck, but this was so good, especially with the hoisin sauce. * Chicken with Chili - full of flavor and cooked just right. * Snow Peas with Garlic - tender with great flavor. * Pork Belly - slow-cooked, tender, and bursting with flavor! Least favorite: * Mongolian Beef - just okay; the meat was a bit overcooked and chewy. * Breaded lobster - it was good and cooked well but I felt like the breaded on the larger pieces wasn't it - I wanted a little more flavor on the meat than the shell Service was attentive, fast, and super receptive throughout our meal. The ambiance is chill and clean, nothing fancy, but you're here to eat well, and it delivers. Overall: solid spot for flavorful dishes and great service. I'd definitely come back! read more

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Visiting Austin with family and my brother and his wife took us here for dinner on a Sunday night. Heard this place was bussin but we managed to grab a table relatively quickly. According to my brother, there is usually a wait to dine in so we got lucky. Food was indeed gas. We ordered a bunch of food like peking duck, lobster, snow peas with garlic, slow cooked pork (hong shao rou), twice cook pork, chicken and chili, etc. and everything was good. The portions were huge as well. Everyone came hungry and left full. I will say, my favorite was the slow cooked pork. The lobster and peking duck were both really good as well. If you are deciding between the two, i would say get the peking duck. Service was great. Even though it was super busy, the waiter always stopped by our table to check if we were good. Inside, vibe is like your typical chinese restaurant. They also have a seating area outside if you want to eat in the texas humidity. Parking situation wasn't too bad. There is a garage with free 2-hour parking if the lot outside is full. Would definitely come back again next time i'm in austin. read more

Bamboo House Austin - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

Been here several times. Large portions. Parking: Parking lot, or parking garage. If you need to wait, there's a small arcade area at the front of the restaurant. Play Pac-Man or something while you wait. Or just chill inside or outside. Maybe grab some mango themed dessert next door. But more importantly, if you do need to wait, make sure to put your name down at the front desk area; they have a numbering system, like at supermarket delis. Floor Stickiness: if you walk towards the bathroom, near the kitchen the floor might be sticky / greasy. Food: If it's your first time, and you can eat duck, and you don't have a gluten aversion, then get the Peking Duck before they run out for the day. It comes with some broth, wraps, scallions, cucumber, sauces, and sugar. The duck is rationed based on party size, and it is available only for dine-in. Otherwise peruse the menu to construct your desired meal. They have a pleasantly nice Laziji 辣子鸡. I've had their Flounder Fillets in Sour and Spicy Soup. It's huge. You can get 3-4 meals out of that tub. If you have to take it back, they seal the top of the tub for you, but the tub itself will still be hot if you want to transport it home. Their cold dishes (chicken, beef) are also quite savory and satisfying to eat. One item I've been itching to try is their Strawberry Chicken. I had seen it pop up on their menu a couple years ago. Anyways, Bamboo House is definitely a go-to staple for your Peking Duck cravings in Austin, which is the primary reason I go. read more

Bamboo House Austin - Flounder Fillets with Sauerkraut Stew (fish fillets with pickled veggies, tofu, and other ingredients). Huge hot tub of food! - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Peking duck and fried lobster are the way to go here! Worth the wait! Upon arrival, you are put on an active waitlist which moves faster than you think. Been here a number of times and the food and quality are consistently good and sizeable. There is more parking in the parking structure read more

Bamboo House has decent Chinese food but at a pretty high price. We got their popular Peking half duck to share amongst the two of us, which was such a small portion. Parties of three or under can only order the half duck. I get that they have a stock issue, but it wasn't even enough for two girls, let alone three people, so I was kind of baffled by that. At least they didn't skimp on the rice. The duck was pretty similar to other Peking duck I have had. It was good. We also got a vegetable to share, and this dish was very large. We got the sautéed pea sprout with minced garlic. I liked it, although my friend asked the waiter in Chinese if it was going to be "lao," which means like overcooked/hard to chew. He said he had never gotten a complaint like that before, but it was lowkey "lao." Nothing significant though. It was still really good. We ended up paying $30 each, which was a lot more than we expected for a restaurant like this. There were a lot of customers though, so they can totally charge high prices given the relative paucity of good Chinese food in Austin. read more

Bamboo House Austin - Peking duck (half) - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Bamboo House in Austin is simply amazing. The food is amazing. They specialize in Peking Duck but because some of us are allergic we avoided that, but if you like a good duck please give it a try. We decided to give them a try on Thanksgiving dinner. The place was packed with wait time. The line moved quickly and we were seated in 10 15mins We went for the lobster special where you get 2 lobster in 4 different cooking styles, we got the salt and pepper version. We also got mapo tofu and fried rice along with it. The food was delicious, freshly made well seasoned. The lobster was fresh and perfectly prepared. The Mapu tofu was milder than what I am used to where it's heavy on Mala spice. Their portions are larger than normal so please keep that in mind when ordering Ambiance is similar to any dimsum restaurant with Chinese decorations and fast service. The prices are reasonable for the portion you get. read more

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I DID IT. I FINALLY CAME AT A TIME WHEN THE INFAMOUS PEKING DUCK WAS AVAILABLE--and I couldn't be happier. If you know, the Peking duck at Bamboo House is a MUST. The duck is served in a beautiful duck platter, with a variety of sauces, toppings, Chinese pancakes and bonus: a delicious duck cabbage soup. We've tried one other time for dinner, only to find out they were sold out! Bamboo House only sells peking ducks in limited batches, and are pretty strict with their policy of allowing half ducks for a party of 3 and under or a whole duck for a party of 4-6. Unfortunately, they do not offer peking ducks for take out. If you don't make it in time for the peking duck, Bamboo House offers plenty of other options (my other favorite: Fish Filets in Chili Oil), that's decent, but not incredibly noteworthy. Outside of the duck, portions are your classic Chinese family styled servings for unbeatable prices. But be warned: there are some dishes that can be pricey, including the duck and fish fillets in chili oil. read more

Bamboo House Austin - Fish Filets in Chili Oil - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

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This spot has some delicious and crispy duck! Super flavorful- can seem expensive but does feed at least two people. Comes with soup and rice. The mapo tofu was also a hit! Portion sizes are BIG! We took about half the tofu home as well as most the rice and soup so it's basically two meals at least. We were seated pretty fast but we got there early however it seemed like a bit of a wait if I you come later. read more

You better know if you want duck or not. Food prices are pretty average for Austin. All other non peking duck dishes are also great. I usually get also get the mapo tofu and eggplants. Staff is also great. This restaurant can get very busy at times read more

Bamboo House Austin - Duck - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

Our party of 4 was sat immediately in the near empty restaurant on a Monday night at 6pm. The dining room soon filled up 30 minutes later. We ordered basil eggplant, basil chicken, soup, green bean, a leafy vegetable, and peking duck. They gave us so many wraps for the peking duck. The quantity in each dish is very generous, and the food was delicious, although too oily for my preference. The triangle plates were quite unnecessarily large, and so it was hard to fit everything on the table. This would be a great place if you want to bring home some food and have a ton of leftovers. read more

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Yummmmm, came here to get my peking duck fix while in Austin. It's popular so the wait can be long, but fortunately, they do have mini arcades to play on while waiting and they do turn around tables quickly. Food was good, portions are massive, and I also recommend their spicy crispy chicken too! I'll definitely be coming back and recommend those who have big appetites or a hungry family check this place out! read more

1.18.26. Worth the wait for the best Peking Duck in Austin. Great quality in food. Service is pretty decent. Highly recommend going early in the day as the duck will sell out fast. Bamboo House is very consistent with the preparation of the duck. Meat is tender and skin is beautifully crispy. Everything is served in large family style portions which is an ideal place for groups of 4 or more for dining. My husband and I always order the duck first because the duck soup usually arrives a few minutes upon ordering. The duck soup has a clean taste and a good way to get the taste buds ready to enjoy the rest of the feast. From our recent trip to Bamboo House, we ordered the bok choi and the braised pork belly along with the duck. I really appreciate it when restaurants know how to cook vegetables well. They executed it so well to the point that made me think the bok choi was a main, not a side dish. As for the braised pork belly, I was amazed how much was on the plate as well as the portion sizes. The savory sweet sauce on the pork belly complemented the thick, tender, and meaty texture. read more

Bamboo House Austin - After a few bites, we remembered to take a photo of the food. Almost ended up taking pictures of empty plates. - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

Came here with family friends, eager to try their Peking duck. Unfortunately they were already all out on a Saturday night but we ended up enjoying their other dishes. We ordered the lobster, spicy crispy chicken, stewed fish with sauerkraut, shrimp and egg, and mapo tofu. All were great and flavorful. My favorites were the lobster and shrimp and egg. I really liked the soft runny texture of the eggs with the shrimp. My friend's favorite was the mapo tofu since it had that addicting numbing spice. Parking free for 2 hrs at the garage right across. Service was decent. Overall good for satisfying a craving for Chinese food. read more

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Such a great restaurant! Lots of traditional Chinese dishes but also some American Chinese dishes as well. Definitely get the peking duck - my favorite fish on the menu. Duck is definitely a 5/5. The other dishes I tried were good, not the best I've tried. Would rate the rest of their dishes 3/5. Service was ok, what you would expect for a Chinese restaurant. read more

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Bamboo House most definitely lives up to the hype when it comes to their peking duck. The skin is super crispy while the meat is tender and juicy. Be sure to account for the wait time during peak times like weekend lunch. I came on a Sunday around 11:30am and was told that the wait time for the duck was about an hour after waiting an hour for the table. Another visit, I came around 2:30pm on a Sunday and did not have any wait times. Also if you are in a party of 3 or less, you can only order the half portion of the peking duck. During peak times, they have a queue system where you grab a number and get called on the overhead speaker when it is your turn. There's plenty of seating on the inside, and service is fast and efficient. While you're waiting, they have a few arcade games like Pacman and Street Fighter to pass the time. Along with their peking duck, they have a good variety of dishes with good portions on their menu between different proteins and vegetables which is great to share around the table. Aside from the long wait times, Bamboo House provides great Chinese food and delicious peking duck which has become my staple to every visit here. read more

Bamboo House Austin - Peking Duck - Half Portion - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

This was my first time at Bamboo house and it did not disappoint! My table of 4 definitely over ordered but we were so hungry! Not pictured, we got beef lo mein and spicy crispy chicken and both were so good! The Peking duck was on every table and was sold out by 7:30pm on a Friday night. Service was pretty good, smooth and quick to bring the food out. Ambiance is also nice for small families and friends but might be loud for date night. The staff are also very good about keeping up with the ticketing system. There was a group that walked in and thought their number got called and followed the waiter to the table. The staff quickly apologized and got things straightened out. read more

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Every dish I've tried here has been exceptional, but two standouts for me are the Mapo Tofu and the roasted duck. The Mapo Tofu is one of the best I've had -- silky tofu in a rich, spicy sauce with just the right amount of heat and depth. It's perfectly balanced and incredibly satisfying over a bowl of steamed rice. The duck dish is equally impressive -- tender, juicy meat with crispy skin and a beautifully seasoned glaze. Service is consistently friendly and efficient. Prices are very reasonable for the quality and portion sizes, making it an excellent value. read more

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Ambiance: Casual, family friendly restaurant. This place got really busy on Friday evening! Food: If you're not there early you might not get to try their duck since it sounds like it sells out pretty quickly. The portions here are so large! We ordered half duck (standard size), and 2 additional dishes to share amongst the 4 of us. We had plenty of leftovers! We all enjoyed the half duck. We ordered some garlic sautéed vegetables, which were amazing! We also had some tofu with veggies, which were great, too! Service: Our server was very friendly, and quick! We received water, and ordered within 15 minutes of sitting down (we needed some time to peruse the menu) read more

If you're looking for authentic Chinese food this is the place!! Their peeking duck is the best in the area a fairly priced. The amount of food you get for the price is insane in a good way. Will feed a whole table and have leftovers. very attentive staff. Perfect place for a family get together read more

I was pleasantly surprised by my experience here. The peking duck is a must order, it was delicious! Everything else was good as well, and the portions are quite large. Service was straight forward but friendly. A great choice for Chinese food in a city that lacks options. read more

Amazing! We have been here multiple times, and every time we leave with our tummies full and our hearts happy! The food has been so flavorful, the quality consistent and the portions large... The wait staff is always friendly and patient... If you want Peking Duck, make sure you arrive EARLY! Usually they are sold out by early evenings... read more

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Their Peking Duck was so delicious! The skin was perfectly crispy and the meat was tender. Simply sensational. Bonus: order comes with a large bowl of duck soup. Ours was a clear soup with tofu, daikon and some greens. Nicely complements the richness of the duck. This seems to be their most popular item, and it's easy to see why. We'll definitely order it again. read more

Love this place! The portions are very generous (matches the price). Food is really delicious and great for a larger group! The duck has crispy skin which was amazing. Came on a Wednesday night with a party of 7 and there was no wait. Last time I came there was about an hour wait on the weekend and ran out of duck, so glad I got to try it this time! read more

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Drove an hour from South Austin. WORTH IT. Definitely lives up to their sign out front for best peking duck! Legit traditional mom pop Sichuan cuisine! When you see my peoples there you know it's fire! This definitely serves traditional family style so bring either a group or a huge appetite the dishes are family sized! Peking duck - most, juicy not super oily like most others and the fixins and the Bao wrappers are thin and delish! So good! Comes with a hefty side bowl of soup to compliment. Sichuan crispy chicken - Nicely fried and heads up if you've never had Sichuan peppercorn, you'll get a tingling sensation in your mouth while you eat. Mapo tofu with pork - delish Definitely a place to bring a huge group! Patience is key as they do take their time to get the plates freshly made! read more

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Every time I visit, I have the same wonderful experience! You absolutely have to try the Peking duck; it's the best I've ever had. It's $47 for half a Peking duck, duck broth, and hot jasmine tea, plus tip. It's worth it! The customer service is excellent, and the atmosphere is pleasant, especially during the weekdays. read more

Bamboo House Austin - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

Austin in the last few years has seen the arrival of at least 10 exceptional Chinese restaurants. While no one will ever confuse Austin with Vancouver or Flushing Chinatown, We have gone from being Chinese Challenged to being Chinese Serious. Bamboo House is one of the restaurants of distinction that is giving Austin nontrivial street cred as a place to get Chinese food. The clientele is 90 percent plus Chinese. At a recent weekend lunch, there was a one hour waiting list to get in. People do not wait one hour in line to eat at restaurants that are terrible. Okay - the weather was cold, so they did not have their customary patio seating available. But with warm weather - it would have been a forty minute wait to get in. Even if it was a two hour wait, it would absolutely positively be worth it. * * * Bamboo Hut serves Northern Chinese Beijing-Shanghai food, rather than the Southern Cantonese food we usually see. There is an additional fillip. They also serve non-Chili-Oil Szechuan specialties. American Szechuan food is basically all red colored dishes with chili oil, chili oil, chili oil, and for a change of pace, twice as much chili oil. Those chili oil dishes are divine ... But that is like saying all Texas food has jalapenos. Just like there is Italian food that is not red sauce Italian There is Szechuan food that is not red sauce Chinese. They serve those dishes at Bamboo House. * * * About 1/4 of the menu involves unique dishes you can only get at Bamboo House. 3/4 are very good renditions of other Chinese dishes you have had elsewhere. Staples such as Lo Mein and Generic Sauteed Vegetables are outstanding in their Bamboo House Version. They do a lot of dishes which are batter fried in an egg breading. Those dishes are super filling and super addictive. We got the equivalent of Sweet Potato French Fries with the special egg coating. We have been eating off that one order for several days. It was good times on Day One. It is still good times on Day Four. They do what they call Spicy Fried Chicken which is a superior version of a Chong Qing Chicken. Any kitchen can saute whatever in a wok with 600 zillion dried red chilis. The dish vastly improves when you do a superlative job on the chicken chunks and you make those both large and magnificently tasty in their own right. They don't bother with the usual garlic and ginger bits here - and they don't need to. The chicken carries the day. They have a lot of dishes that they serve "Szechuan". This neither means spicy, nor does it involve chili oil. This means sauteed in a savory brown sauce unlike the brown sauce dishes you get in American Chinese restaurants. Their lo mein dishes have a distinctive taste too ... So I wonder if the Szechuan brown goes in both dishes. Either way - Szechuan style is super good here. Get it with what ever meat or vegetables you feel like having. * * * Their drunken chicken is to die for. This is steamed chicken chopped into random small pieces with a meat cleaver, marinated in shochu and served cold. It is obscenely good. * * * I am giving all this praise and I am ignoring two of the most important house specialties. The house specializes in Peking Duck. Avian flu has put dramatic restrictions on the supply of ducks that can be Peking-ed. So they limit how many ducks can be ordered by a given party. The ducks are pricy but they are probably worth exploring. They also maintain a live lobster tank. Every lobster dish they serve has two complete lobsters, and those lobsters are not small. The lobster dishes looked intriguing ... Even if my credit card was saying "You aren't really going to do this, are you?" * * * Practical note to keep in mind about Bamboo House. Portions are about two thirds larger than you are used to. These are not exactly double servings - but they are not far off either. I typically order the same number of dishes I order at other top of the line Chinese restaurants. I take home way more from Bamboo House than I do from more traditional establishments. Prices reflect the fact that you are getting more. Since what you are getting is pretty damm fine, Think of the tab at the end of the meal as an investment. You will be eating your Bamboo House goodies for much of the rest of the following week. * * * Happiness for half a week? Sign me up! read more