Inchin’s Bamboo Garden: A tasty trek with a high price

Asian cuisine has always been a great delicacy of mine and is a treat to behold. It has almost never failed to impress me, although there have been exceptions to this. Thankfully, for the most part, Inchin’s Bamboo Garden, a new food locale located next to Chipotle up on Euclid Avenue, was a delectable venture into pan-Asian cuisine.

One of the most immediately striking aspects of Bamboo is the overall presentation of the restaurant, with lavish decorations and a building structure meant to bring you in with a sense of warmth and familiarity to Asian decoration. This beauty translates itself to the simplistic menu, with blunt descriptions, pricing and minimal photos of the food. It was here, however, where I saw that some of the pricing was pretty standard fare for this type of restaurant, with a majority of the entrees standing around the $7-9 range, and appetizers and smaller meals hitting the bill around $3-5.

For my foodie side, I tried the Mongolian beef, which was especially recommended to me by the person at the counter. She also personally gave me her favorites, from the momo appetizers, which are steamed buns, to the lo mein noodle bowls. I found out meals can come with a side of either steamed or brown rice (I chose steamed—yum). I quickly went toward a small station next to the rest of the lavish dining areas. It contained the usual fountain drinks along with fortune cookies galore and a series of spices for the meal.

I did not wait long for my meal, which came within four to five minutes following my order. The Mongolian beef meal was moderately sized, with onions and caramelized sugar to compliment the beef. It did seem small for the price of $8, along with a $2 drink of choice. Despite the slightly overpriced food, the meal was excellent overall, although the beef’s caramelized sugar was overwhelming at times. The onions were a nice bonus to the meal, and the steamed rice complemented the sweeter side of the meal with its soft and mushy texture.

Overall, the flavor—as well as the presentation—was great, although part of me had hoped for a little more in terms of the serving size. Nonetheless, Inchin’s Bamboo Garden is a wonderful stop if you need to quench your craving for pan-Asian food.

Restaurant: Inchin’s Bamboo Garden
Location: 11440 Euclid Ave.
Price Range: $2-10
Rating: ★★★★½