Let me start by saying that I'm all about lifting up my Asian brethren, and when a new, beautiful restaurant from the same folks that brought us Che Li and Szechuan Mountain House (both of which I love) opens in a prime location, I'm already pre-disposed to like it.
Unfortunately, the food was just mid, esp. compared to the aforementioned restaurants in the Dashan portfolio. On our initial dining experience alone, I would've rated BB 3 stars. It's what happened to us a week later that leads me to go full scorched earth. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We ordered enough to feed a village when we came here:
- Drunken Chicken: A bit bland
- Cucumber Salad: Decently spicy but not garlicky enough
- Pan Fried Kurobuta Pork & Shrimp Dumplings: Good, but Shanghai Times does this way better
- Mala Beef XLB: Very good and worth trying
- Grandma's Braised Pork: Okay, but too sweet for my liking
- Mala Prawn: Tasty and yes, you should eat the shell
- Sauteed Shredded Potato: My favorite dish, as basic as that sounds, because it was so deliciously spicy
- Mixed Vegetables: So you don't need to take Metamucil later
- Fish Fillet in Sour Cabbage Soup: A major disappointment, as this is my favorite Szechuan dish. It was too oily, too bland and not sour or spicy enough
- Braised Rice: Fine
- Salted Egg Yolk Lava Buns: The only dessert they had left that night, and these were fine, but you can get them anywhere for less.
- Drinks: Fish Punch just okay, Split Pea Punch not bad, Lily Bulb most flavorful. And Apple and Hawthorn Juice most interesting for the non-ethanol imbibers.
On the Tues night we came, the staff were clearly overwhelmed with the large parties on the upper floor among which we were seated. The staff looked harried and stressed, and by the first hour, our food stopped arriving in a timely manner. They also continuously forgot little things like accompanying sauces and side dishes. But the biggest issue was they forgot our drink orders, and it took us two hours to get them. Fortunately, the manager comped us our original drinks and also sent a round of complimentary glasses of wine to make up for the delay.
We were so appreciative of the way they handled the delays that when our friend asked for suggestions for a centrally located Chinese restaurant in which to host a full buy-out private event, we recommended Blue Blossom. We had actually gotten the manager's contact info after our dinner, and texted with him to come in the following week when he was on duty so our friend could meet with him to discuss logistics. The GM confirmed the date and time he'd be available, and we told him we'd meet him then with our friend.
And here's the reason for the one star rating: The manager never showed. When we asked for him, it was clear no one had any idea we were supposed to meet with him. One staff person said he was offsite at another restaurant and wouldn't be back for hours. We tried contacting him several times, but he never responded. And none of the other staff were comfortable meeting with us to discuss a private event. In the end, our friend had to write down her details and a staff person promised to send them to the manager. As far as we know, he has never reached out to her. Nor have we ever heard from him again.
If you're a brand new restaurant operating in a high-cost location, I don't understand how you just no-show a potential client for a full buy-out. Are you making that much money from your mediocre buns and soups that you can just ignore business opps like this? Man, they did not teach me this way of making money in grad school.... read more