Yummy Bowl

Here in Austin, we have a strong Food Truck/Trailer thing going on and one of the newest locations is the Longhorn Food Court near the UT campus. And that is where you will find...

Yummy Bowl
610 West MLK
(512) 436-4319

I had the Shanghai Pan Fried Chicken Dumplings and Sesame Chicken. Now, that is a lot of food for one person, and technically the Dumplings are an Appetizer and should probably be shared.

First, something about the service. It isn't real fast, and when you are standing outside in 100 degree weather that can be a small problem. The food is worth the wait, so it really isn't a problem, but don't expect it to be as fast as McDonalds.

Chinese Dumplings are generally steamed, and then in the case of Pan Fried Dumplings, they are thrown into the pan for a bit of frying. Steaming dough can give it a somewhat soggy texture, and that was the one problem with these Dumplings from the Yummy Bowl. Now, it probably didn't help that I carried them back to work before eating them, but there you have it. It was not a fatal flaw and was really the only negative thing about the dumplings. They were very tasty. They include a dipping sauce with the dumplings, and watch out, it is hot. I cut the sauce with a bit of Soy Sauce, and it was excellent. I have also seen this type of dumpling called a Pot Sticker.

Now, on to the Sesame Chicken. I am a big fan of Sesame Chicken, as readers of these pages will already know, and Yummy Bowl is not going to make my favorites list. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. The chicken was served on top of a layer of broccoli, which was unfortunate, as all the sauce drained off of the chicken. I don't really like broccoli and definitely not with Sesame Chicken, and this broccoli did not look at all appetizing. Even considering what drained down into the broccoli, there was not enough sauce, but the sauce was tasty enough, not spectacular, but good.

The chicken itself was chewy, and towards the bottom of the pile of chicken there was a block of chicken pieces stuck together. They were tough to separate and the areas between the pieces were not cooked very well. It was served with white rice, which was good, but nothing to write a blog about.

Looking back at this review, I see that I have said a lot of negative things, and that is unfortunate, because the meal wasn't bad. Maybe I am being too hard on them because I see a lot of potential in what they make. It was good. It could have been better with a few changes that have nothing to do with flavor.

I am definitely going to give them another chance, but maybe after things cool down...in October or so.