By Sarah Sherman
The Bamboo House is a hidden gem of a Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant here in Springfield, only about ten minutes from our Western New England University campus. I would give this restaurant a 9.5 out of 10 because though the food is a bit expensive, you are paying for good quality food and generous portion sizes. My personal favorites are Vegetable Fried Rice, White Rice, and Vegetable Lo Mein. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant and its food to anyone who enjoys Vietnamese and/or Chinese food.
The Bamboo House is a Vietnamese and Chinese Restaurant in Springfield, Massachusetts, located near Forest Park. The restaurant sits on a busy street, and you can park either on the street or in the parking lot. I will warn you that the parking lot is very small, and it is tricky to back out of, so be careful if you choose to park there. I recommend parking on the street because that is easier. The dress attire is casual. Its address is 676 Belmont Avenue, and it is open six days a week; it is closed on Mondays. The hours for Tuesday-Thursday are 11:00 am- 9:00 pm. The hours for Friday-Saturday are 11:00 am-10:00 pm. The food is a bit pricey ($91.70 was spent), but you are getting your money’s worth through the quality and quantity of food.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is very peaceful, cozy, and quiet, and the restaurant gives off a calm vibe. The restaurant achieves this through the soft lights and beautiful wood floors, and the bottom half of the dark gray walls used inside the dine-in section. The decorations are nature-inspired, and there are some decorations related to Buddhism, like the Buddha statue positioned close to the check-in counter. The customers are mostly families and young people, college age and teenagers. They seemed to be enjoying their meals at large, talkative tables or at booths. The first food I tried was White Rice. For a small, it costs $4.00, and for a large, it costs $6.00. I ordered a large. The White Rice looked presentable and delicious. It made me feel nostalgic as it was the first Chinese dish I had when I was a baby, and it was my favorite dish when I was a toddler. It tasted as I would have hoped. The rice was cooked all the way but not overcooked, so it had that perfect taste. As with White Rice, the flavor was milder, which I enjoyed. The texture was perfect. It was still hot when I ate it, and the rice was mostly soft, with a slight crunch on the outside of the rice. I would rate White Rice a 10 out of 10 because of the taste and texture of the rice.
The second food I tried was the Fried Chicken Wings, which are prepared sauteed in butter sauce with pepper and onion and cost $15.99. One order comes with ten pieces of chicken. The Chicken Wings are prepared with peppers and onions on top and bottom of the chicken. It made me feel fancy and gave the air of an upper-class dish. The taste to me was a bit strong with the peppers and onions, but if you like spicy food, this is the dish for you. The texture was good, with the chicken still hot when it arrived, and it was juicy and tender. Overall, I would rate this an 8 out of 10 for though it was a bit spicy for my taste, the quality and texture of the chicken was excellent!
The third food I tried was Chả Giò or Vietnamese Spring Rolls. This dish is prepared with deep-fried pork and vegetables and costs $7.95 for four rolls, and eight rolls cost $11.95. I ordered eight rolls. The spring rolls were laid out neatly next to and on top of each other. It was my first time trying a spring roll, and I was not sure what to expect taste-wise. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the spring rolls were extremely tasty, but they were very greasy, so I could not eat too much of it. The texture was more crunchy as it was a spring roll, but the meat inside was more tender, which made for a tasty spring roll. I would rate this a 9 out of 10 because despite the extra grease, the rolls were extremely tasty.
The fourth dish I tried was the Vegetable Lo Mein, which costs $12.95. The dish looked really beautiful when it arrived, and the vegetables added a nice color to it with the lighter greens from the broccoli and the orange from the carrots made the otherwise brown noodles look vibrant and colorful. The taste was really yummy, a bit spicy with the addition of peppercorn, but still yummy. The texture of the noodles was soft but thick, and the vegetables were soft with some crunchiness to them, as to be expected of vegetables. I would rate this dish a 10 out of 10 because of the presentation, taste, and texture of the noodles and vegetables.
The fifth dish I tried was the Vegetable Fried Rice, which costs $11.95. Perhaps my favorite dish from this restaurant, this dish was super colorful with a nice blend of vegetables, brown rice, and fried eggs. I was very excited to try it just from how colorful the dish was, and I was not disappointed with the taste. Everything was cooked perfectly, and it was quite addictive. I had to stop myself from overeating! I even enjoyed eating the Brussels sprouts, which I do not normally like to eat. The texture of the dish was excellent, with the rice having the perfect mix of both soft and a little crunchy, which is my favorite way to have rice. The vegetables and eggs also had the perfect combination of soft texture with a little crunch to make them tasty. I would also rate this dish a 10 out of 10 because of the presentation, taste, and texture of the dish were perfect to the point where I would say this was my favorite dish.
The last dish I tried was the Hot and Sour Soup. One order comes with two soups and costs $11.95. The presentation of the soup was beautiful, with the combinations of vegetables and spices giving it a more purple broth. I was excited to try it because of how beautiful the soup looked. The taste was not how I expected it to be. The broth had a sweeter flavor to it instead of sour or spicy. It reminded me of the Rufus Teague barbecue sauce my family used to get, which had very little spice to it and was mostly sweet. Hot and Sour Soup? More like Hot and Sweet Soup. If you prefer a more sweet-flavored soup, this is the one for you. The texture was as expected, liquid for the broth, thicker and juicier texture for the chicken, softer texture for the tofu, and the vegetables had a softer texture as well. I would rate this a 7 out of 10 because though it was not my favorite and the broth was too sweet for a Hot and Sour Soup, the presentation and texture of the soup was excellent.
Overall, I would recommend giving this restaurant and its food a try. It is a great eating place that I would order from again. If you are looking for an excellent Chinese and/or Vietnamese restaurant, this is the one for you.
