see previous post. This restaurant had the misfortune to be on the block along Broadway that had a huge landslide earlier in the year and they have been closed for renovations for a long time but they are finally open for business. During the past few months, I have been on an Asian food binge going from ruggedly adventurous Vietnamese at Kim Huong, refined and elegant at Jai Yun, fresh fusion at Butterfly, luscious hand-pulled noodles at Shan Dong, and today it’s time for some fine American-Chinese cuisine, of the type that I can picture an ex-coworker CW glumly shaking his head in disbelief… sweet and sour or kung pao anyting is just not authentic. They serve lunch specials, which start with a cup of hot and sour soup, and feature one of forty specials that comes with white rice or fried for an extra $1. The most popular dishes are sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken and they have crab rangoon on the menu as well.
I ordered Sweet and Sour Pork which was gloriously gloppy with sauce and had piles of juicy pieces of pineapple and barely cooked chunks of crisp onion and green bell pepper. The pork was battered and fried in a manner that sears the exterior to a crispy finish which becomes sublimely chewy and crunchy when when tossed in with the sticky sweet and glaze. The batter is not too thick or bready, just the way I like it.
It’s a grand rendition of the American Chinese favorite that has become so assimilated into our lifestyle that it is now available as a Swanson’s Hungry Man frozen entree. It has taken me a long time to admit that this is one of my guilty pleasures… and you know what else? I like to dip the pineapple into Chinese style hot mustard mixed with soy sauce to balance out the sweetness.
Scrambled Egg with Prawn. This over plain steamed rice and the hot chili garlic sauce is another comforting favorite…
Sesame Chicken is another battered and fried specialty, tossed with sauce that is somewhere in between sweet and sour and general tsao’s sauce, then sprinkled with nutty sesame seeds.
Snow Pea Beef
AL keeps getting cravings for the Lemon Shrimp, battered and fried shrimp that are surprisingly fresh and juicy. These must be eaten straight away lest the crispy fried batter absorb too much sauce and get soggy. Since the number of shrimp is rather skimpy compared to the other dishes, his plate is generally cleaned rather quickly.
The sauce is bright and lemony, not too thick or gooey… it’s drizzled over with a light hand.
Spicy Eggplant with beef and chicken. This was on the far side of the table so I didn’t taste it.
Sauteed Green Beand with Tofu had a dark garlicky sauce coating dense fried oblongs of chewy tofu and lightly cooked green beans, sliced onions and bell pepper.
These are just a few from their list of specials and what I like is that the sauces are distinct and not heavy handed, not to mention that they are close to the office and perfect for when you are crunched for time and don’t feel like climbing over the hill to Chinatown proper…
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