Mein Bowl — the trustworthy food chain for on-the-go students.
Only have 15 minutes to grab a bite? Sesame chicken sounds as good as anything.
Has it been a long day of classes and you don’t want to walk all the way to the Trojan Dining Hall? Mein Bowl also has rice and noodles.
But what does its food actually amount to in terms of quality and comfort?
At 6 on a Tuesday night, the Trojan Center was practically empty, so I walked up to the counter through the nonexistent line and was paying for my plate of food in less than a minute.
Mein Bowl is notorious for being a quick and easy food choice, and dinner time was an excellent example.
Open sesame chicken:
I chose my normal meal: sesame chicken, brown rice, broccoli and beef, and a fried doughnut.
Visually, everything looked fantastic. Each ingredient looked fresh and warm, and I was excited that I could see steam rising from the sesame chicken.
However, the chicken was not as new as I expected. The meat was lukewarm and bland.
Rice to meet you broccoli:
The brown rice was bland as well; I could hardly taste the tough carrots and dry peas intermingled in the dish.
The broccoli surpassed my expectations. I did not anticipate this vegetable being the thing I favored most on my plate.
The broccoli was rich in flavor, but it was quick to turn cold as soon as I turned my attention toward something else.
Aesthetically, the vegetable was not pleasing, as it was oozing with the thick and clear sauce from the pan.
Donut worry, eat happy:
Writing about fried doughnuts from Chinese restaurants is something I always look forward to doing, and the ones from Mein Bowl were no different. The pile inside the pan was full, and each doughnut was plump and evenly coated with fat grains of sugar.
They looked fantastic. The taste of the doughnut was just as I expected, sweet and light. However, the outside breading lacked warmth and only slightly less so inside the doughnut shell.
Overall experience:
Despite the average food, the service at Mein Bowl is exemplary. If you are a busy student who needs food fast, this Chinese restaurant is the place to stop by.
The familiar lady up front was very kind, all while quickly scooping in my desired choices.
The other employees were hard at work, clearly trying to maintain their fast-paced workload.
The appearance of each food item was quite nice; each choice was placed on the plate in large portions, filling up the plate.
The aesthetics alone receive an 8 out of 10.
The food itself was a tad disappointing for a sit-down meal, but any hard-working college student will most likely not pause long enough to contemplate the quality.
Therefore, the chicken, rice, broccoli and doughnut receive a 6 out of 10. As for service, Mein Bowl will always be stellar. Based on efficiency and convenience, this restaurant deserves no less than a perfect score of 10 out of 10.
My overall experience at Mein Bowl factors out to be an 8 out of 10. Keep doing what you’re doing, Mein Bowl. The students appreciate you!
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