Bambu a safe spot for those looking to explore Asian food

• Name + address: Bambu, 3993 Riverside Dr.

• Diet: meat, seafood, vegetarian, gluten-free

• Appetizers: $6-$16.50

• Mains: $17-$49

• Wheelchair accessibility: Yes

• Licensed: Yes

• Website:www.restobambu.com

I learned in the early days of Capital Eats that it was important to take photos of the menu. In part because restaurants are woefully negligent in updating the pricing on their websites and also because some refuse to post their prices at all. That was the case at Bambu.

Bambu is located pretty much at the intersection of Riverside and Hunt Club just a minute's walk from the Asian grocery T&T. More on that later.

I had previously reviewed their sister restaurant Kimono Ramen in the same mall and felt it was time to look at Bambu.

The space is fairly large with high ceilings and the greeter led me to a table at the furthest corner of the restaurant devoid of diners. It was a little unusual because, as you know, you are commonly seated amongst other patrons so servers can save on legwork.

Naturally, where I was seated would have consequences for the level of service I received.

I had asked the server about the selection of dim sum items from this fusion menu and was told that it was largely brought in by their food service supplier. This was a shock as the prices here were considerably higher than at decent dim sum houses such as Yang Sheng where everything is made in-house.

Their open-end egg rolls however were one item that was made on site but at $7.50 for two made each a dollar more expensive than those at the originator of such egg rolls; Golden Palace.

With that out of the way, they did make one of the nicest egg rolls I’ve had in all of Ottawa and if you find yourself in the area for a spot of lunch, I can highly recommend them.

The hot and sour soup was a mixed affair. It was certainly fresh with egg, soft tofu, velvetized chicken breast strips and baby shrimp but the base stock was safe and generic in its profile. It didn’t taste as if it had been made from scratch.

The chicken was supremely tender and a welcome surprise but the shrimp, if I had tasted it blind, would have been difficult to identify. It was bland and watery.

I was waffling between the beef and black bean sauce noodles and the Singapore noodles and I was told that I needed to go with the latter.

I have a particular love of these noodles as, when done well, they have a fruity, spicy profile from the use of dry curry and a range of textures courtesy of char siu bbq pork, shrimp and vegetables.

Bell peppers are a common ingredient but I asked for mine to be done without and was told that they don’t use them. That was fine but an interesting side note. 

These noodles had a salt-forward characteristic and less of that wanted curry. Rather than shredded carrots which are commonly used, these carrots had been cut into mini planks that had then needed to be parboiled in order to make them tender. 

With T&T just steps away I wondered why a restaurant would rely on what tasted like dried-out food service grade BBQ pork when said grocery makes a more traditional and tasty version.

The same shrimp found in the soup were scattered among the noodles and once more underwhelmed. For all its freshness the entire dish was only passable and lacked soul.

All in all, I was expecting more. I’ve had good experiences at their other restaurant Kimono Ramen but this didn’t measure up. 

Bambu also offers a broad range of sushi and maki rolls but what to make of their pricing? This is not a dedicated Japanese restaurant and yet their prices for these items are jaw dropping. I think most of us understand the price for sushi at places such as Nagi, Shinka or J:Fuse. Bambu however is not in that league and I felt that I now understood why they don’t have pricing on their website.

Bambu is the right spot for those exploring Asian cuisine for the first time. The food is fresh but unchallenging and the ambience is nothing more than utilitarian. It’s the kind of place that you can safely enjoy for a family lunch if kids and the elderly are involved.

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CANADIAN WHISKEY

Celebrating the Canadian Spirit

Back in 2022 I wrote a piece that explained a little of the Dunrobin origin story and you can read that here. Then last year I reviewed their Beavers Dram aged in Sherry barrels and it was a winner.

Whisky lovers will be dismayed by the ongoing difficulties posed by the current administration in Washington but while bourbon is a uniquely American drink, so is Canadian Rye. At least it was until American distillers discovered the peppery charms of whiskey made with rye and started producing more of it. 

Historically most Canadian whiskey was originally made in the western provinces and was not made exclusively with rye but wheat. Rye, at some point, was an addition that added a more pronounced character and the name stuck. To this day the term “rye” is associated with Canada.

Eventually the majority of whiskey distilling moved east to Ontario and corn became the main ingredient as that is what was most widely grown.

This award-winning Dunrobin whiskey LCBO # 34754 has a mash bill of 100% Canadian grains: wheat, corn and rye. It sports a gorgeous amber hue and the nose gives off sweet notes of vanilla dust.

With its toasty cereal and butterscotch flavours it's also supremely smooth and makes for a wonderful nightcap on its own or in your favourite whiskey-based cocktails such as an Old Fashioned.

They’ve recently won other international awards for another of their whiskies and speaking with one of the partners, Adam Malmberg, I learned that they’ve been listed in Costco stores in both China and Japan. Their products are now also available on backbars in Singapore. Once again a local business makes a global splash.

The better news still is that Dunrobin has reduced the price to $44.95. For an even broader selection of their excellent whiskies visit their website and be inspired to fire up the cocktail kitchen.

QUICK BITES

• Former Ottawa city councillor Clive Doucet has this take on local food self-sufficiency and I couldn’t agree more. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Lorenzos Bar and Grill on Richmond Rd., due to LRT construction, has shuttered for good. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Lawson Whiting, CEO of Jack Daniels parent company Brown-Forman is on record here, complaining that Canada pulling American booze off shelves is “disproportionate”. Really? [CNN]

• Plant-based “meat” giant Beyond Meat appears to be struggling and this video report examines why. [YouTube]

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