I hate to admit this, but I am one of those suckers that happy hour promotions are geared toward. Somehow the term “Happy Hour” registers as “Cheap Night Out!” to me, but invariably it ends up being really expensive—or at least more expensive than I anticipate.
Case in point, Bambuza. They offer $3 happy hour appetizers. There is a good selection, but when you start looking at the real menu, words like “Fragrant Ginger Duck Breast” and “Claypot Caramelized Catfish” jump out and tempt you in ways you can’t resist.
We started out with two happy hour appetizers: deep fried tofu and peppered calamari. I loved the deep fried tofu. It’s really light and served with a great soy-based dipping sauce. The calamari was also good, but the batter tasted slightly undercooked.
Zach had the claypot caramelized catfish, which was quite delicious—tangy, salty and sweet all at once. I tried the drunken chicken, which was good, but the sauce was so sweet that it bordered on cloying towards the end. The (dark meat) chicken was extremely crunchy and moist.
We also had a few happy hour ‘lime drops’ and the bill came to almost $80 with tip! The food is good, but not worth the price—especially when there are so many other, less expensive, asian restaurants just a few blocks away in the International District.
