Bambi Cafe

Bambi Cafe
6-4300 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

So one night – late night I must add, I was driving down Kingsway. As I had a late snack, I was not starving; however, if I did not eat something in the next hour or so, I would hit that stage. At that time of the night, you only have that many options and was already contemplating going to Wendy’s. But, as I drove past Central Park in Burnaby, I see some people in a bubble tea shop, followed by an Indian restaurant. Wait, what is that? I don’t remember that place being there before… That place was Bambi Cafe.

I checked the menu before walking in. Again, sure, I was slightly hungry but, had they had only heavy dishes, Wendy’s it would have been. Sorry everybody but, despite almost all of us are biased towards fast food restaurants, at the end of the day, they have its place in society. however, they had some dishes that could have fallen into that “light” category so I walked in.

Don’t ask about the bookshelf…

A common “complain” about restaurants ran by Chinese (?) is the service (or lack of). Be it rushing you, not giving you the appropriate attention, dropping the plates, etc., it is not something I care much about (as long as nothing “funny” happens to my food) but might be a deal breaker to other diners. So, when I walked in, it felt strange. It did not feel as if you walked into a HK cafe, rather like a regular sit down restaurant. If it wasn’t because (1) all the staff was Asian or (2) the menu make emphasis on drinks, namely, bubble tea-like drinks, well, you could have easily overlooked this is a Chinese operation.

And talking about menu, I started with this drink: grass jelly drink. I used to eat grass jelly a lot when I was younger. To non-Asians, think of it as our version of jell-o, except it is an acquired taste: unless you add a sweetener (usually in the form of sugar or sugar syrup), it would be almost completely tasteless. Also, it is not necessarily a flavour thing, rather it is a “texture” thing. Anyway, as for this drink, it had a hint of lychee (not sure if it was on purpose or “accidental”) but, more importantly, it was not killer sweet. Similar to bubble tea, every other gulp you would chew small cubes of grass jelly, again, an acquired taste.

For my main, I had pork medallions. Yes, I know I said I wasn’t that hungry; however, in my experience, pork medallion is no steak, meaning the meat portion would be small anyway. As for the dish itself, I had the option of rice or potato and, in un-Chinese way, I went for potato (which happened to had a slightly curry taste). Other sides include mushroom (the two bits to the right), asparagus, a mini baked tomato and, most surprising of all, really thin plantain chips. If you want something different from a chip, my suggestion would be this. As for the pork itself, well, I had low expectations on the amount of food and the two small pieces did not really disappoint (come to think about it, for under $15…). While not totally butter tender, at least it was tender enough. The sauce, however, could have been better. Just that pepper-like sauce works better with steaks; I would have preferred something with apple or just plain butter. But, oh, well, that’s me.

Overall, I must admit it was better than expected. For a light meal, this is a place I would keep in mind. While I would certainly like places like this prosper, I wonder about a couple of things, the main one being its focus. Either I am missing the point or it is a really odd combination of regular restaurant and that of bubble tea shop (namely, Bubble World a couple of doors away). But, sometimes you ought to be creative in this competitive business, right?

Tagged under: Burnaby • Chinese • Pork