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Golden Bowl exterior - Mobile, AL

Food Review: Golden Bowl Chinese Mobile, AL 36606

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Golden Bowl Mobile, Alabama Gift Shop

Golden Bowl Mobile, Alabama Gift Shop

We recently visited the hidden gem that is Golden Bowl, located at 309 Bel Air Blvd Mobile, Alabama, 36606. Restaurants that are hidden gems are one of our favorite finds, especially when we’re hungry. Golden Bowl is a hiding in plain sight in Mobile, Alabama just across from Bel Air Mall. Compared to all of the other Chinese buffets in town, and arguably across the entire state, Golden Bowl has them beat. This fine Asian restaurant serves Cantonese, Hunan, Thai, Japanese (yes, there’s sushi on the cold bar), and Szechuan. This is genuine Chinese food when you order from the menu. And we haven’t ever had Chinese food this good outside of Chinatown.

Their hours of operation are 6 days a week, Tuesday-Thursday: 11:00AM to 9:00PM * Friday & Saturday: 11:00AM to 10:00PM * Sunday: 11:00AM to 9:00PM. They are closed on Monday. They can be reached by telephone at (251) 470-8033 and Fax at (251) 470-8030.

General Tso's Chicken with Fried Rice

General Tso’s Chicken with Fried Rice

The outside of Golden Bowl is markedly deceptive: It’s in a building that’s been around forever that was a Chinese restaurant 20 years ago when Bel Air Mall was the biggest deal around — long before Amazon had ever been conceptualized. When you walk past the golden lions and enter the front door, you will find yourself inside a very interesting Chinese gift shop filled with lucky cats, real bamboo, jade Buddha statues, and stress balls. Very shortly after, you should be greeted and brought into the main dining room where you can have a regular table or Hibachi any time of the day.

Once you’re seated (and if you’re new to Golden Bowl) one of the employees may give you a very thorough walkthrough of the menu. You should also be alerted that there’s a hot and cold bar that includes ice cream when you’re done with your meal. If you’re doing take-out, the hot and cold bar isn’t available, so there’s a perk to dining-in. There’s a large variety of different items that you’d expect from a Chinese restaurant such as Pepper Steak, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Sweet & Sour Chicken, and everyone’s favorite General Tso’s Chicken.

Golden Bowl Mobile, Alabama Hot Buffet

Golden Bowl Mobile, Alabama Chinese Buffet

Most of these full entrees, plus the hot and cold bar, are available for $9.95. This also includes white or fried rice. Lunch is just $6.95 during the week and $7.55 on the weekend. That’s honestly a steal considering what a large Whopper Value Meal at Burger King costs. Hibachi starts at a modest $6.95 at lunch and $8.50 for dinner.

You’d think that with prices this cheap that the quality of food is going to be poor, but you’re very wrong if you do. Golden Bowl serves extremely fresh food that’s made to order. If you’ve put off Chinese food in Mobile, AL since you’ve gotten burned by China Chef or Golden Dragon, Golden Bowl is the best place to go in, arguably, the entire state and Gulf Coast.

Don’t forget to like Golden Bowl on Facebook or check in to “Thai Fountain” since they have a Pokemon Go PokeStop at their location! Golden Bowl also has an amazing new website at http://goldenbowlmobile.com. Enjoy!

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Pizzeria Ozio – 697 US Hwy 98 Daphne AL 36526 – Pizza, Cocktails and More

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If you’re just passing through or new to the area, you may miss this jewel called Ozio located in the southern part of Daphne on US Hwy 98, but it’s well worth actually stopping in and grabbing a bite to eat for dinner or lunch. We chose dinner and found a selection of gourmet pizza at its finest.

We arrived at Ozio shortly before 7PM to find an almost packed house lined up to enjoy fine wine, mixed drinks, cocktails, live music by Jeff Glickman on acoustic guitar and, most of all, pizza. It took a moment, but we were greeted with a smile and the absolutely most attentive and polite waitress that we’ve ever had to date.

Both reviewers had un-sweet tea but were offered wine, mixed drinks, and Coke-Cola products as an alternative. We started off our meal with the calamari appetizer, which was served lightly battered with a very delicate but spicy lemon butter dipping sauce unlike any we’ve ever had. One reviewer stated that the calamari was unique enough to be a highlight of its own for the restaurant.

The pizza we ordered was called “Gardinio”, created with fresh red and green peppers, Crimini mushrooms, sliced red onions and arugula. We later found out that the dough of the pizza is not actually tossed. Instead, it is kneaded by hand into the delicacy that it will be once baked. Made as a 14 inch pie, this pizza was both light, healthy and filling all at the same time.

As you can see from the picture, it’s a delicious, hand-made pizza that is served fresh. We didn’t ask if it could be made to order. But judging from what we saw in the kitchen it wouldn’t be hard to get your pizza exactly the way you prefer, given some time.

Ozio provides an atmosphere that’s available for special occasions, a reason to be romantic and families. When you consider the quality at the same price, if not a better price than the corporate chains that really never put that extra care into the experience like Ozio does, you know for sure that you’ve found a keeper.

You can find Ozio online at:

Twitter: @PizzeriaOzio
Facebook: Ozio

Ozio is easily the dining that you’d wished you’d always knew about – a best kept secret of the Eastern Shore and Daphne, if you will – for an absolutely world-class and stellar experience. The service alone was enough to want to go back, not just the food.

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Los Tacos – 28991 U.S. 98 Daphne, AL 36526 – Great Fish Tacos

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Have you ever had a taco that you just couldn’t put down and when you were done with it you just wanted another one? We have, and they come from Los Tacos Fresh Mexican Grill in Daphne, AL. You can call them at (251) 626-6110. They’re right next to Taco Bell (imagine that) and it’s so much better. The prices and wait time is comparable so there’s absolutely no reason not to try them out. Los Tacos has eight different preparations of meat: Ground Beef, Chicken, Shredded Beef, Steak – Asada, Carnitas, Lengua, Pastor and Cabeza. And Los Tacos menu ranges from $0.79 to about $8.49 (Fajitas) and is mostly on the cheaper side.

We decided after talking to a very special relative that it would be a great idea to go try Fish Tacos. And I can’t say that I could have picked a better place to try my very first grilled AND battered Fish Taco. As Los Tacos menu states, Fish Tacos a battered or grilled Fish Taco consists of cabbage, pico and zesty sauce. We also had the Shrimp Tacos as well with some rice and Chips and Salsa.

Some of you may have had Los Tacos from the locations in Fairhope or Foley, maybe even from the Los Tacos van that can perhaps come to your place of work or even have your party catered by Los Tacos where you can “Spice Up Your Next Fiesta!”. We picked up a card at the restaurant that for Los Tacos Catering to call (251) 648-2788 for a personalized menu that fits your budget.

You can visit Los Tacos online at http://www.lostacos.org and see just about everything you’d like to see about their company including a menu. As stated on their site: “Los Tacos Fresh Mexican Grill has been been spicing up Baldwin County for over five years. With the addition of our third location in Daphne, you will have even more opportunities to enjoy the authentic flavors of Mexico.” There was a statement on the site that you could call the location nearest to you and have your meal available for pickup. Sounds like a great plan for lunch or dinner!

Overall Ratings:
Reviewer #1: 7.5/10
Reviewer #2: 8.5/10
Overall Score: 16/20

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Opening Review: Dragon City Buffet – Daphne, AL 36526

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We recently visited the newly opened Dragon City Buffet, located at 28611 Hwy 98 Daphne, Alabama, 36526 on opening night (also St. Patrick’s Day) for a review since we’ve enjoyed so much of their delivery from their Dragon City restaurant further down 98. The restaurant is located in the old Rousso’s and Ruby Tuesday’s building, near the intersection of Van Buren St. and Hwy 98. They serve a wide variety of foods including Cantonese, Szechuan, Hunan, Sushi and even Hibachi. It’s not a traditional sit-down Hibachi Grill, but nonetheless Hibachi made-to-order and unique to any other Chinese Buffet in the area.

Their hours of operation are 7 days a week, Mon-Thurs.: 11:00AM to 10:00PM * Friday & Saturday: 11:00AM to 10:30PM * Sunday: 11:00AM to 9:30PM. They can be reached by telephone at (251) 626-5666 and Fax at (251) 626-2838.

Our initial impressions were that they were very busy…and the restaurant was quite loud with customers.  Lots of kids, so we would say it’s family friendly. The adults were being louder than the kids, but that’s to be expected in Alabama. There was a lot of activity from the staff attending to the buffet, but not really focused entirely on customer service or any type of personal attention. Room for improvement there.

Their Health department rating was at a 94 when we visited. We didn’t stare at the ratings, so not entirely sure what those 6 negative points were for. The food also leaves something to be desired. Almost the typical feeling of being full with Chinese food and then an hour later starving again. We sampled just about everything we could before we got stuffed. The pork-on-a-stick was very tender and fresh, but the NY Strip Steak was almost rare and we couldn’t find a knife in sight. The sushi had a very fishy taste to it and there wasn’t a huge variety and it wasn’t restocked before we left. If you want sushi, go to a sushi restaurant like Furama.

The lighting bad in some of the dining areas. The men’s restroom sink was completely covered in water and towels. It didn’t seem like somewhere we’d want to wash our hands and leave the bathroom with clean hands to eat. We’ll still give it to them that it was opening night, but still a very important place in the business to make sure is tidy.

When our drinks were empty, we did receive prompt attention. After that, however, we were served our bill way too fast. We felt like we were being rushed out so that they could turn as many tables as possible in their first night. Not exactly how we’d want to feel when trying to enjoy a meal. At least ask if there’s anything else they can get us or what we thought before the check arrives.

The cost of two people, both soft drinks and buffet, cost $24.70 – sort of pricy since you’d almost expect the drink to be included for that amount and the quality of food. Lunch is cheaper, but they don’t have the Snow Crab legs like they do at Dinner.

Our Scores: Reviewer 1: 6/10; Reviewer 2: 7/10 – Overall score 13/20.

In closing, the buffet doesn’t match their other restaurant in Daphne that fortunately delivers, and we’re totally grateful for delivery, decent Chinese food in Alabama. If you’d like to order their delivery service, which in our opinion is 100 times better than the buffet, call them at (251) 621-8501 or visit them at Fountain Square, 2101 Hwy 98, Suite J, Daphne, Alabama 36526 (across the street from the AT&T Store).

Don’t forget that TurkReno provides website design to Mobile, Alabama and the surrounding areas!

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