Bamboo Express opens in Gluckstadt
Bamboo Express promising authentic Chinese food has opened in Gluckstadt west of Highway 51 alongside a convenience store.
The restaurant, according to owner Edward Wong, attracts people because the food is prepared the old-fashioned way, and is the place to go to get a true Chinese cooking experience.
“There’s a lot of Asian places around here that are simply hibachi restaurants,” Wong said. “We want to make sure that if someone comes in here and tries our food, they’ll taste the difference and see that we don’t cut corners on anything.”
Wong is aware of the restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but he sees it as something else to deal with as a business owner.
“There’s a lot of rules we have to follow and things you have to do such as sanitizing, but that’s just part of running a restaurant,” he said.
“I would say the biggest thing is having to wear masks since we normally don’t wear masks everywhere, but all of our customers have been great. They come in wearing their mask and keep it on until they’re either seated and eating or after they’ve gotten their food and left the building. The feedback has been great and we appreciate all of the positive reception.”
Although the pandemic has made running the restaurant a little more difficult, Wong feels that their to-go option adds more ways to get food while still saying safe.
“We utilize our drive-thru window a lot with things like call-in orders,” he said. “Someone can come by, get their food and go without ever having to get out of the car.”
Wong’s wife and secondary owner of Bamboo Express, Michelle Wong, sees this new restaurant as a great place to utilize when looking for somewhere close to eat.
“You always hear folks talking about how they wish there was something close in the area to get food from,” she said. “It’s good to know people can choose this place if it’s close to work or home, and don’t want to drive all the way to Madison.”
Wong, while helping run the business, feels that a big challenge of keeping Bamboo Express going is the limited resources due to COVID-19.
“It’s been harder to get product for the restaurant, as prices have gone up on food,” she said. “Certain types of food are not as easy to get. Stuff like chicken and beef aren’t as plentiful or in stock as they used to be before the pandemic hit.”
Wong hopes the way Bamboo Express presents its menu will be what draws in customers.
“We prepare our food with old recipes like mom and grandma used to make it,” she said. “We give it a hundred percent on everything and make sure all of it is top-notch, from our food quality to ingredients. We want to do it the way it’s supposed to be done.”
Bamboo Express is located in Gluckstadt on 137 Yandell Road, and is situated in the same building as the Shell gas station. For driving direction use the Canton zip code 39046.