Columbia, South Carolina Dining, Music, Events and Entertainment

Fusion Bowl - Lexington, SC

Fusion Bowl http://www.fusionbowlsc.com/
(803) 996-1333
5166 Sunset Blvd Suite E, Lexington, SC, 29072
Sun-Thur 11:00 am -10:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

Atmosphere: ☼☼☼☼☼
Price: ☼☼☼☼☼
Presentation: ☼☼☼☼☼
Portion Size: ☼☼☼☼☼
Staff: ☼☼☼☼☼
TASTE: ☼☼☼☼☼

Food Ordered –

From the Starters menu:
Crispy Chicken Egg Roll
Napa and bamboo shoots, served with plum and mustard sauce. $1.50

From the Fusion Bowl Specialties menu:
Dragon and Phoenix (Spicy)
Two separate dishes, jumbo shrimp in the chef's special chili sauce along with light battered chicken cooked in slightly sweet and spicy sauce. $13.95
(I opted for the fried rice instead of the steamed white rice. Fried rice or brown rice is a $1.00 up-charge)

From the Fusion Bowl - Stir Fry Bar:
Order with all veggies options, chicken & steak, teriyaki sauce (spicy) & spicy fried rice. $13.95

Experience:

Jerry & I arrived at around 4:30pm on a typical warm and muggy day in South Carolina. There were plenty of parking spaces available in the little shopping strip during this particular time of day in the middle of the week. There was only one curb-cut for the physically disabled and it was on the opposite end of where we had parked, in front of a neighboring eatery.

Upon entering, I noticed large signs advertising their sushi and alcoholic drink combo special. It was a pleasant sensation of perfectly chilled air enveloping my warm skin… Ahhh, central air conditioning! It is indeed a MUST for the Spring and Summer months here in South Carolina. Any restaurant that wants to cut down their costs and not utilize this wonderful commodity to comfort their guests will definitely not have me as a repeat & satisfied customer!

The first thing I noticed when we approached the central dining area was the far right wall with brightly illuminated Japanese writing on the upper portion. We were seated in a spacious booth where I was able to transfer quite easily from my wheelchair to the comfortable seating. I looked around and saw 5 other tables nearby, happily dining and conversing. The central dining area was very spacious; perfect for a large party of guests. There is also a medium-sized, semi-private dining area located in the rear of the restaurant, near the restrooms. At just a brief glance, it looks as if it could accommodate approximately maybe 25-30 guests.

Our server was very prompt and polite. She was also very knowledgeable and honest about the menu and choices we inquired about. She was very detailed and gave great recommendations based on our interests and questions we proposed. When she was unsure about certain adjustments, due to my inability to digest certain foods, instead of guessing she asked several people to ensure the correct response! The only thing I noticed that could use some improvement was the hostess at the time… She seemed very bothered and annoyed, loudly vocalized from across several tables, by us and our server for having to answer our questions about food preparation.

After about 10 minutes, we received our eggrolls and Jerry his salad. The eggrolls were perfectly crispy and very tasty. We enjoyed the three very different choices of sauces to accompany them. The eggrolls were presented to us in white, square, shallow dishes that were garnished with thinly shredded carrots & a sprig of parsley. The salad left little to be desired for, however. It was a meager bowl of chopped lettuce with a ginger-ranch-type dressing. There were no other vegetables with the salad. Thank goodness we ordered the eggrolls - our shredded carrots were able to be added into his salad! ;)

Shortly after we finished our eggrolls and salad, our main courses arrived. They too were presented to us visually stunning. There was a pretty flower garnishing each plate of food. Nice touch! The food itself was at perfect temperatures and you could tell immediately that it was placed on the plates with careful thought and with its own artistic flare, so to speak. However, as pretty as the shredded carrots and flower were on the plates, they were also a little in the way and had to be removed. I also didn’t care for my chicken to be placed on thinly chopped lettuce. The sweet and spicy sauce was very thick and the moisture combined with the heat from the food itself made a soggy mess that also needed to be scraped away and off the plate. The flavor of my meal was perfect, with the exception of the fried rice. My rice was a little too dry and “crunchy” for my tastes… in fact, the rice was cooked with such little sauce that it was only brown in color but tasted nothing like any fried rice I’ve ever had. It tasted like plain steamed white rice. A few sprinkles of low-sodium soy sauce slightly resolved that for me and I was able to choke it down. Thankfully, the sweet and spicy sauce from the chicken and the special chili sauce from the shrimp were able to balance it out. Jerry thoroughly enjoyed his meal. No complaints what-so-ever. Next time, I’ll follow in his request and ask for my fried rice to be cooked with some hot and spicy sauce!

During the meal, our server seemed to go MIA and we went a good while without drink refills. This happened twice during our entire visit. The place didn’t have very many customers dining still, so I was slightly confused as to the reason for her repeated long-time disappearances. When it came time to pack up leftovers, we received the bill promptly. We paid and received our change and receipt without having to wait very long. I frowned when I didn’t see the typical fortune cookies that I’m accustomed to! I asked our server where they were and she directed us to the hostesses counter. A bowl of undiscovered fortunes awaited us. We each picked one and went on our way.

Similar Restaurant Comparison:

I would have to say that Fusion Bowl is like a cousin restaurant to Red Bowl Asian Bistro, located in The Village At Sandhills. There are several menu options that are the same and both off items that are different from one another. The prices are about the same and the atmosphere is nice for both places. Red Bowl seems to be much darker in their overhead lighting and is also much smaller in their dining area. Both give a wonderful portion size of food but I’d have to give major kudos to Fusion Bowl for having a very large meat portion and a slightly smaller portion of rice. It’s nice to know I’m not paying $13.95 for mainly rice!