Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Bowie Restaurant Project: (49) Asian Chao

For an explanation of the Bowie Restaurant Project, look here.





For a list of all the Bowie Restaurant Project reviews, look here.

Asian Chao, 3860 Town Center Blvd
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 04/03/2012
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 2
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

Panda Express has gone away and has now been replaced by Asian Chao. I called Panda Express a strong contender for for "Most Unnecessary Restaurant in Bowie." Not only does Asian Chao bring its own strong argument for that title, but it is definitely the most unnecessary replacement. Let's face it, what's the difference between Asian Chao and Panda Express?

Well, Asian Chao offers bourbon chicken, which puts it in direct competition with the "bonbon chicken" offered by Hibachi next door. And I described the Panda Express food as "meh", which is probably a higher compliment than I'd care to pay to Asian Chao.

When I went there the first time, I noticed a sign saying they couldn't accept credit cards. Also, despite white rice being on the menu, none was available. I ordered a 3-meat combo (in order to have more variety for my review), which was dished up in a manner to prevent my styrofoam container from closing. Well, growing pains, I figured. If the food was good, none of this would matter.

But it wasn't. The meat didn't taste like very good quality, and it wasn't prepared particularly attractively. Some dishes were not as bad as the others -- I even sort of enjoyed the egg roll. But I think this is one of the only restaurants I'd refuse a free meal from if I were hungry.

So food I didn't like, an awkward experience walking by the people at Hibachi who were trying to get me to sample a meal I'd rather have, and a whole lot of effort expended to replace a restaurant I didn't like with one that was almost identical. I think this has earned my first 0-star rating.


Bowie Restaurant News

Bowie Living reports that the Bang Bang Mongolian Grill is now open. I stopped by to ask about takeout. The guy said you can't really call in an order, since you assemble your own meal, but you assemble it "to go". Also, within 30 days, you'll be able to create a meal on-line and have them assemble it for you. That sounds cool. I look forward to reviewing this place soon.

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