What I Ate: May 2, 2010 (Ho Ho Chinese BBQ Restaurant)

Dinner: We went up to Ho Ho Chinese BBQ Restaurant (13000 N. IH 35, Bldg. 6, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 339-9088‎) to see if they were any good. We ordered four dishes to try out and they were okay, but not good enough for us to want to make the drive back up north to Ho Ho.

BBQ Combination Plate - comes with BBQ Pork, Roast Duck, and Marinated Chicken. All three were pretty dry and somewhat bland. I didn't mind the mildness in the BBQ pork that much, but it was chewier than I generally like it. Both Tina and I agreed that the Chinese BBQ meats that we had at First Chinese BBQ were better than this (but it's been two years since we ate there last, so we need to revisit). I would rate this BBQ similarly to what we had last year at Din Ho. (After some web-based investigation, it seems that the original owners of Din Ho may have started Ho Ho, which would explain the similarities.)

Sauteed Water Spinach - I liked the texture of the water spinach - the stalks had some crunch and the leaves were nicely cooked (not overcooked) - but there was a bit too much sauce for my taste. The sauce was extra thick (most corn starch slurry than I am used to in this type of dish) and clung to the water spinach very well, but I kept going back and forth as to whether or not I liked that. In the end, I decided that I liked it with less sauce. It was also the saltiest of the dishes we had.

Combination Lo Mein - the flavor of the noodles was pretty good, but the proteins were all really bland. Texture was good (not chewy), but all lacked salt and flavor.

Eggplant with Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce (Hot Pot) - this arrived at the table sizzling. The eggplant and pork were cooked very nicely (soft and flavorful eggplant, tender strips of well seasoned pork), but the dish was too sweet overall for my taste.

I also want to mention the relatively poor service. We were seated promptly, but no one came for a long time to check on whether or not we had questions or were ready to order. I waiter dropped off waters and left without a word. Finally, he came back and we ordered. I then added an iced tea and that was forgotten until I reminded him after all our dishes arrived. There was also no "thank you" or "come again" from anyone - waiter or hostess - as we made our way out after we finished our meal.