Review: Bamboo Asia

My friend, Anjou, owns a small cafe in San Francisco. It is little more than a small cafe, actually, as it grew into Bamboo Asia into a five-restaurant chain of fast-food restaurants featuring Asian street food-inspired lunches.

Hanoi Chicken Meal Kit: (clockwise) Coconut corn, brown fried rice, broccolini, Hanoi chicken, peanut curry sauce, not pictured (marinade)

The chefs prepare all the food — a mix of Indian, Japanese and Vietnamese dishes — in one central commissary kitchen. Then the meals are portioned into vacuum-sealed bags, shipped off to the restaurants and prepared in sous vide machines, or temperature-controlled hot water baths. Unlike traditional gas ranges, the devices do not require that the restaurant install expensive ventilation systems because they cook food at low temperatures without emitting smoke.

Sous vide (French for ‘under vaccuum’) cooking is a fine dining technique used by top chefs because it allows for a variety of dishes to be prepared in advance in sealed packages and refrigerated until ready for use. Bamboo Asia’s ingredients are assembled and vacuumed-sealed with their special blends of spices and herbs. The packages are cooked low and slow in temperature controlled water baths, resulting in tender juicy meats and flavor filled side dishes. Anjou tells me that sous vide cooking kills the coronavirus. That’s a definite pitch point for me.

I’m an epicure. I take particular pleasure in fine food and drink. And I don’t know much about the restaurant business anymore (I used to own a very small one long ago), from an epicurean point of view, it’s pure pleasure. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that swept the world (unimaginable, isn’t it?!), restaurants have had to close, or pivot, to help prevent the spread of the virus. Maintaining social distance, a space of about 6 feet (2 meters) away from one another is seen as a fundamental weapon in the fight against the COVID-19 virus.

So why are we talking about all this in the same breath as Bamboo Asia? On March 30, Anjou broadcast an appeal on Facebook for support and launched a contactless delivery service of Bamboo Asia’s new product: sous vide prepared meals to keep her business afloat, support her BambooAsia family (staff), as well as philanthropy: for every 4 meals sold, 1 meal will be donated to a healthcare worker during this period.

Contactless delivery in sealed packages

So, on the same day, I ordered 4 meals: 2 Shaking Beef meals, and 2 Hanoi Chicken meals. They arrived exactly as promised, this morning, on April 2.

I received a total of 4 meal kits. Two for each flavor, each kit serves two meals (actually, it’s very generous and the equivalent of much more!).

The delivery was 100% contactless, as promised. Minutes before the food was delivered, I received a text message saying, “Hi, Bamboo Asia will be delivering your sous vide kit in a few minutes. We will leave it outside your door and send you a picture when it is ready for you to bring inside. For your safety, you can leave the bottom pan outside and discard it later. Thank you for your order!” By the time I got to the door, the delivery van was driving away, and after thanking them by text, I received a photo of the delivery with thanks for my support. So far, this was good.

The delivered packages looked beautiful and clean. Anjou tells me the deliveries are made by in-house staff who also deliver and are on top of your order with text msg updates⁣⁣. Inner and outer packaging is sterilized, and transport containers and vehicles are UVC light treated to kill viruses and bacteria! ⁣⁣Another plus!

I received two very large aluminum foil trays that were sealed in clear thick plastic. My order was clearly marked with an instruction to refrigerate upon receipt. Using sharp scissors to cut through the plastic, I slid the thick aluminum foil tray out and released the lid. Inside, I found the two sets of food I ordered, each set and its components vacuum sealed in thick plastic.

The Hanoi Chicken meal kit had brown fried rice, grilled chicken, corn with coconut, steamed broccolini, peanut curry sauce and marinade.

For the Shaking Beef, my package contained brown fried rice, grilled slices of tri tip steak, pickled vegetables, garlic chili green beans, peanut curry sauce and a shaking beef marinade.

I selected the chicken meal first because we haven’t had chicken in a few weeks. Following the accompanying instructions, I sauteed the rice in a large non-stick pan with a tablespoon of peanut oil (my favorite). Because it was refrigerated, it looked like a gooey beige patty, but once heated, it separated into delicious flavorful grains of rice with a yummy smell. I put the rice in a dish, and using the same pan, and another tablespoon of oil, took the chicken breasts out of their plastic packaging and began to cook them, following the instructions, I applied the marinade to one side, and then the other. I finished by heating the remaining ingredients, corn, broccolini, peanut sauce, and marinade, and putting them in serving dishes.

From start to finish, I spent 10 minutes preparing and plating my order for John and me.

How did it taste? Delicious. I know you’ll think I’m biased, but the truth is, if I didn’t like it, I would bother you with a negative review of my experience. Life is short, I won’t waste your valuable time, and I’ll only write about the things I like here.

Do I recommend Bamboo Asia’s sous vide contactless deliveries? Oh, yes, and this weekend, I understand they’re exploring Indian tandoori recipes, Japanese teriyaki plates, and an Easter dinner. Do yourself a favor and order something from them. If you order enough, a meal will be donated to a health care worker.

Yumm…delicious to the last bite!

Click here to place your order (https://www.bambooasia.com/order-online-sous-vide-kits)