Bambou

Bambou is supposed to be one of those ‘best places to eat… Chinese’, maybe I’m fussy (I wouldn’t say I am) but I was let down. Yes, they have a huge range of choices, you certainly couldn’t say they didn’t have a variety of options but if the food isn’t that good, then what’s the point? I made a point of not basing this review on just one measly experience but, after last nights palava this restaurant just isn’t making a good impression. We ordered; prawn balls (between two for our starter), for mains we got the special combination with satay sauce, and the shredded chicken with spicy sauce. I don’t have any complaints about the chicken. However it’s a different kettle of fish with the other two dishes. Firstly, the prawns nearly cost us a tenner, for two measly prawn balls, battered in what I’m presuming was plastic then served in a sauce incredibly reminiscent of sweet and sour (this is supposed to be a great restaurant, I thought they could be a little more experimental) … then the special satay dish was watery, literally, more watery liquid than any sort of normal consistency and with no taste of peanut in any way, shape or form. I ordered noodles with my chicken, they came undercooked, a bit like the horror of a pot noodle gone wrong and that’s not the first time I’ve had that problem here.
Just not a huge fan. Would love to write a better review but I can’t bring myself to do it. Sorry.

I was happily sitting at the computer, Unilocaling away to my hearts content, when the other half asked if I fancied heading out for a Chinese because he couldn’t be bothered cooking. I deliberated — I could stay in and Unilocal for a bit, or I could head out somewhere new and get another review opportunity. You guessed it, minutes later we were out in the car and on the road. We had heard good reports about this place, so we weren’t put off by the fact that it is above some shops next to a petrol station on the outskirts of Belfast. Once inside, I knew why people had liked it, they have done A LOT with the interior, and as their menu states, the restaurant is arranged according the the principles of Feng Shui — and it does feel rather calm and zen-​like. The service was excellent, they were extremely attentive and polite from the start and never missed a beat if you needed something — you didn’t even have to ask, they were right at the table in seconds waiting for your question — they were almost TOO attentive, but I suppose you can’t fault them for that. I had the honey chilli chicken (what else?) and the hubby had the sizzling steak in black pepper sauce, he loved his — mine was okay, I felt the chicken was a little too chewy, but the flavour was really lovely and I chinned the lot. The bill was reasonable too, just over £30 for two mains, three sides and two drinks, and there was a lovely touch at the end of hot towels and a complimentary fruit plate. I will definitely go back.

I ate here recently and found that the food and service were both excellent.
I had a satay beef starter which had very tough meat but the quality was top class otherwise.
One very small criticism — you might find that it feels like a big, busy chinese restaurant as opposed to feeling like a small, family-​run operation but this is probably a matter of taste.
Well worth a visit in any case.

Such a great restaurant — best Chinese ive ever eaten in — the staff are lovely and I’ve never been disappointed

Despite the slightly odd location (above a petrol station) this is probably one of the best Chinese restaurants around in Northern Ireland, with seafood a speciality, and a fairly extensive wine list. It is really popular with local people and booking recommended at weekends — I’ve not been able to get a table twice when we fancied a bite out. Thankfully they also provide a takeaway service so not all was lost. Friendly service make it a decent place for a relaxed evening.