Attendees: Beata, Paddy, Penny, Andrew BeI’m apprehensive at first glance. Let's be honest, the place looks a little dodgy. The old neon lights around the sign. A couple of lonely roast ducks hanging in the window.
Inside it is sparsely decorated and as we look around for specials Andrew comments, “this is the only place we’ve been to with nothing on the walls.” Blank, cream walls stare back at us with a small number of paper lanterns as the only decorations. The meagre clientele looks hungry for a cheap feed. The tea comes in a stainless steel pot as opposed to the thermos we have become accustomed to.
We are excited about number 27 - jellyfish with shredded chicken. None of us know of jellyfish as anything other than something you squelch under your feet at the beach. When we order the waitress fires back that they are out of jellyfish. "It's unlucky number 13 then," Penny offers. Suddenly we are ordering braised pig trotters. When in Rome...
The food comes out all at once, with a disregard to the concept of entrees and mains. We scramble to make room for all the dishes.
In his first week of Chopstick Chowdown Challenge, having passed the inititation of finding the restaurant from minimum directions and securing a table, Paddy decides to dive straight in with the trotters. The meat is tender, the skin is slimy and it is all drowned in a ginger-flavoured gravy. Having had limited (by limited I mean zero) trotter experience, I feel
they have done a good job. It is akin to a well-cooked casserole. Andrew avoids tasting the trotters and squirms at the traces of hair on the skin. Paddy quips “I’m sure the pig would have no qualms about eating you with hair”.
The peking duck is dry and so underwhelming that the meal is complete before I realise I still have piece left. It includes julienned raw carrot and sweet, floppy translucent strips. This is not what I expect of peking duck. Andrew questions where the sauce is. It seems to already be inside the pancake wraps. There goes our option of smothering something in sauce.
The food comes out all at once, with a disregard to the concept of entrees and mains. We scramble to make room for all the dishes.
In his first week of Chopstick Chowdown Challenge, having passed the inititation of finding the restaurant from minimum directions and securing a table, Paddy decides to dive straight in with the trotters. The meat is tender, the skin is slimy and it is all drowned in a ginger-flavoured gravy. Having had limited (by limited I mean zero) trotter experience, I feel
they have done a good job. It is akin to a well-cooked casserole. Andrew avoids tasting the trotters and squirms at the traces of hair on the skin. Paddy quips “I’m sure the pig would have no qualms about eating you with hair”.The peking duck is dry and so underwhelming that the meal is complete before I realise I still have piece left. It includes julienned raw carrot and sweet, floppy translucent strips. This is not what I expect of peking duck. Andrew questions where the sauce is. It seems to already be inside the pancake wraps. There goes our option of smothering something in sauce.
From the specials we choose the szechaun beef. It is advertised as hot but we beg to differ. In fact a dollop of chilli sauce is just what this dish needs.
I am not impressed with the pork and prawn dumplings in broth. The dumplings taste of sub-standard meat while the broth has no taste.
The pick of the night is the black bean chicken claypot. It comes out still sizzling and hits the perfect balance of flavours and saltiness. Furthermore the chicken melts in your mouth.
When it comes to ratings, Andrew refuses to rate the trotters, saying his prejudices will get in the way. Penny scribbles 'boo' on the voting card. When pressed he said he would give it 5 for novelty value. I discount this from the final count.Despite a few gripes, nearly all the food is finished. Paddy happily stands out the front and gives it thumbs up.
Ratings
Pork and prawn dumplings in broth 4.6/10
Peking duck 6.3/10
#13 (braised pig's trotters) 7/10
Special (szechaun beef) 6.9/10
Chicken and blackbean claypot 8.1/10
N.B. Bonus points for finding the incongruous Anchorman reference in this post.
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