11501 Busy Street
Richmond, VA 23236
804-897-9288
Sunday-Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Delivery available
A year or so ago, this very nice, slightly upscale Asian restaurant opened nearby and we decided to check it out. Everything about this place was right - the decor, the service, the food. And they had a great menu, offering a wide variety of Chinese, Japanese and Thai dishes. That was then, this is now.
I had spent the day at work with a splitting headache, and just generally not feeling great, and I wanted something good for dinner. We hadn't been to Amber in a while, so we decided to treat ourselves. There were not many diners there ahead of us, but it was a Monday, so light crowds were to be expected. We were seated immediately, but our waitress seemed more interested in the loudly ringing phone than in us. Not that she answered it, she just kept looking in that direction. I'm not sure that anyone ever answered any of the calls that came in that night. It seemed to me that the phone rang a fair amount, and always more than 3 times per call.
We started by ordering the lettuce wraps and vegetable tempura. "Oh, we don't have Japanese. We have teriyaki." Well then, why is it on your menu?!! So then we told her we would need more time and to go ahead and put in the order for our appetizer. She said okay, and asked us what we wanted to order. It took a moment, but we finally convinced her to go away. When she came back, I ordered Pad Thai, but not too spicy. I was told that all Thai food was spicy; that the sauce was already made. Okay, scratch that. We need more time.
When she came back again (without our lettuce wraps), Lace and I each ordered soup and fried dumplings. The kids ordered chicken with broccoli and pork lo mein. Acutally the lo mein had been ordered way back when we ordered the wraps. Now, I do understand that the soup comes first, etc., but when you order soup for your dinner, it should come as your entree. Not here. We got our soups, then our lettuce wraps. And she only brought two plates for the wraps. I asked for more, but never got them. Unless you consider the plates she brought so everyone could share the dumplings that Lace and I had ordered as our entrees. You know, to go with our soup . . .
The chicken lettuce wraps came already assembled, and there were only 3 of them. The filling was mushy, except for the raw slivered almonds on top, and tasted slightly of curry. Not something I would order again.
The dumpling filling was good, but the dough was quite thick, and the sauce was not right. They were just like the ones you can get from any of those quick service walk-in Chinese places; I really expected better from this type of restaurant. The soups were good - standard stuff, nothing unusual. Macaela's entree (chicken with broccoli) arrived and it looked and smelled wonderful. Very garlicky. The sauce was rich and flavorful. I can definitely recommend this one. And sometime later, Jake's lo mein arrived - last - way after he ordered it. I didn't have a chance to taste this dish, but Jake said it was very good (and it did look great) and he ate every bit.
Overall, I can't say I recommend this restaurant. The service wasn't really bad, but it wasn't great either. At one point I observed another employee standing behind the bar picking her nose. That's not something you do where your diners can see you. The menu still lists a wide variety of dishes, but which of those are still available? The sushi bar was not open when we were there (granted, it was a Monday). Oh, and they charged us for the pot of hot Chinese tea, which typically is included with your dinner. It was not until I grabbed a take-out menu on the way out (for reference only) that I saw the words "new ownership". I guess that explains everything.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
I'm Baaaack
Originally this was supposed to be a travel blog, but I haven't travelled in a while. I've found over the years that my family visits places that quite often make people say "You went where?," which, of course, is how I came up with the name for this blog. Yesterday I went back and re-read everything I'd posted since I first started this adventure, and I wish that I hadn't let things get in the way of finishing my posts for the last couple of trips. There are details here that I had completely forgotten about! So, I've decided to make this not just about where I've travelled to, but about any place I go that I think might interest someone. This would include cities, restaurants, stores, theme parks, whatever! To those who followed me through Bali, thanks for reading! And for all of you out there, I hope you enjoy my commentary . . .
Friday, December 12, 2008
Bali 2008 - December 11
Well, last night was Lace's turn with whatever made me so sick. I had originally thought that the chicken sandwich I had for lunch on Tuesday disagreed with me, but obviously that wasn't it. We got Made to drive us to Murni's for lunch, but Lace didn't feel like eating so she and Jake went back home while Macaela and I visited the ATM and went grocery shopping.
The tokay that lives in my ceiling has apparently gotten comfortable with me. He's hanging out just above the light bulb on the balcony and he didn't run when I went to get the camera. I appreciate the tokays; they eat their weight in bugs! I just wish I could get a picture of him licking his eyeballs!
When we got back, the kids did some reading and writing for a couple of hours. Macaela wanted to go swimming and I needed to go online so we went to Melati . . . again. They have a very limited menu, and I think we've had it all.
The tokay that lives in my ceiling has apparently gotten comfortable with me. He's hanging out just above the light bulb on the balcony and he didn't run when I went to get the camera. I appreciate the tokays; they eat their weight in bugs! I just wish I could get a picture of him licking his eyeballs!Funny Things
Just about everywhere you go, you'll find a man sitting near his car calling out "taxi" to everyone who walks by. One morning, just as I stepped off the sidewalk at my destination, a man sitting there said "Taxi?" "I'm already here," I said. His reply - "You want to go somewhere else?"
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In the states, when you have purchased something, the hopeful vendor will realize that someone else has already made the sale. Here, if you've bought one (or ten) you must want another. People will even look in your bags to see what you've bought so they can try to sell you more.
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The currency has been so devalued here that the individual rupiah is worth next to nothing. However, you still find prices that include something other than zeros on the right hand side. Going to a store, let's say your total is 107,325; you give the cashier 120,000 - you'll get back 12,600 and 3 pieces of candy. So it seems that in Indonesia (or at least Bali), the hard candy is the new 25 rupiah coin.
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When we got here, our refrigerator was dead as a doornail. We try to help out when we can, and things are generally cheap here, so we checked into getting a new fridge. We could get a nice one for under $150. We bought a new handheld shower for less than $5. So when it came to buying a new mattress, we were surprised to find out that the mattress would cost more than the fridge. Go figure!
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Thursday, December 11, 2008
Bali 2008 - December 10
I had thought that we might visit Nina and her family today, but I was up sick all night, and still not feeling well this morning, so I slept until 3:30. Lace took this opportunity to get some packing done, the kids did homework, and they all played cards. It rained off and on all day, so it was just as well we weren't going anywhere.
When I did finally wake up, everyone was hungry so we walked to Melati. I took the computer to catch up on things. Lace and the kids ate dinner (I had a boiled egg with butter), then they went home. I stayed behind to stay on the internet. At some point it started raining again. I kept messing around, waiting for it to stop, but it didn't and it was getting late. Finally I packed up and asked to borrow an umbrella. The only one they had was really broken, so the waitress wrapped my backpack in plastic to keep the computer dry. I tromped home in the rain to find everyone on the balcony playing rummy.
When I did finally wake up, everyone was hungry so we walked to Melati. I took the computer to catch up on things. Lace and the kids ate dinner (I had a boiled egg with butter), then they went home. I stayed behind to stay on the internet. At some point it started raining again. I kept messing around, waiting for it to stop, but it didn't and it was getting late. Finally I packed up and asked to borrow an umbrella. The only one they had was really broken, so the waitress wrapped my backpack in plastic to keep the computer dry. I tromped home in the rain to find everyone on the balcony playing rummy.
Balinese Names
You may have noticed that my story is peppered with Mades and Ketuts. No there are not only two people here. The Balinese name their children in order of their birth - Wayan, Made, Nyoman, and Ketut (#5 starts over at Wayan again) - with I in front for a male and Ni in front for a female. So the Made we stay with, who drives for us and generally makes life easier is I Made Latra, and the Made who makes clothes for us is Ni Made Wenten. Kadek tells me that modern mothers are using Putu, Kadek and Komang to replace Wayan, Made and Nyoman. We had been told previously that these names indicated a different caste.
Another difference is the lack of family names. Made's name is Latra, but his father's name is Londo, and his wife's name is Dewi. You never know who is related to who, and sometimes they won't tell you!
Another difference is the lack of family names. Made's name is Latra, but his father's name is Londo, and his wife's name is Dewi. You never know who is related to who, and sometimes they won't tell you!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Bali 2008 - December 9
We're scheduled for dinner with another Aussie group this evening at Cat & Fiddle in Sanur, so we start out early to get in some shopping on the way. In Seminyak we found a shop with lots of cute shell jewelry, and their business price was good, so we bought lots!
The dinner had been organized by BuBenny of the Forum, and we knew where (sort of), but not when. We got there shortly after 5:00 and were joined by David and Moira (of Pacung Indah). There was a great discussion amongst the restaurant staff because we asked for a table for 10. They already had a reservation for 10 at 7:00, but none of us knew the person who made it. After a while, with Gemma's help, we determined that we were the 7:00 party, so we moved to that table, causing more discussion about whether we were supposed to be there or not.
Eventually the rest of the group showed up. We were more than 10, so more tables were moved to accomodate us all. The food here was good, but I don't think they were prepared for us. I feel like it took about an hour from ordering for us to get our food. I finally went and told the staff my children were hungry and that seemed to kick things into high gear.
During dinner, we were entertained by a Balinese band playing Irish music. They were pretty good! After the first set, they were joined on stage by some white men, and we were told one of them was the English consul. The kids fell asleep after eating, so I called Made to take us home.
The dinner had been organized by BuBenny of the Forum, and we knew where (sort of), but not when. We got there shortly after 5:00 and were joined by David and Moira (of Pacung Indah). There was a great discussion amongst the restaurant staff because we asked for a table for 10. They already had a reservation for 10 at 7:00, but none of us knew the person who made it. After a while, with Gemma's help, we determined that we were the 7:00 party, so we moved to that table, causing more discussion about whether we were supposed to be there or not.
Eventually the rest of the group showed up. We were more than 10, so more tables were moved to accomodate us all. The food here was good, but I don't think they were prepared for us. I feel like it took about an hour from ordering for us to get our food. I finally went and told the staff my children were hungry and that seemed to kick things into high gear.
During dinner, we were entertained by a Balinese band playing Irish music. They were pretty good! After the first set, they were joined on stage by some white men, and we were told one of them was the English consul. The kids fell asleep after eating, so I called Made to take us home.
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