CHOI SUM
strawberry, cashew, nam prik pao
The first disappointment of the evening. The choy sum was astoundingly good - the platonic ideal of Chinese greens - crisp without tasting raw, and full-flavored. The chili paste was too heavy - oppressive and overly sweet. The strawberry cashew garnish was too delicate - tasty on its own, but haplessly overwhelmed. I didn’t really understand what the goal was here, but the three disparate elements, great on their own, didn’t find any harmony.
PORK BELLY
braised ckombu [sic], fermented peach, ginger
An interesting experience, but ultimately a second major disappointment. The gentle crackling of the oil in the oven led to a mouthwatering fragrance of kombu wafting at me as I pried open the lid like a treasure chest…only to find that the kombu was salty to the point of being bitter and overcooked. The ginger relish was…ok. Peach was not tasteable. The pork belly was perfectly done - it’s hard to describe, but maybe the first time in recent months I would describe such a fatty meat as delicate: each layer was distinct, with the fat pleasantly enveloping on the tongue, not cloying or suffocating. However, in LA, where excellent ramen (and thus pork belly) is omnipresent, it was ultimately boring. Again, the sense of three elements not united. Again, overly sweet.
PEACH
black sesame butterfinger, basil
An interesting dessert overwhelmed by the two-three previously saccharine dishes. I understood the callback to the first dish, but this time, the powerful aroma of black sesame, overwhelmed the delicate peach custard. I found myself wondering if this version of Spot Dessert Bar’s Harvest was really better, and…it really wasn’t. The texture of the custard resembled applesauce, and the vibrancy of a fresh summer peach wasn’t there.
STRAWBERRY
white chocolate, tonka
Tonka was new to me, but I couldn’t appreciate it. An ok finisher.
Overall, a little bit of a disappointment mostly because of my high expectations from how good the other take-out options have been this pandemic season. The QPR wasn’t quite there. The dishes in themselves had the chintz of Orientalism while being still uneven. The most interesting dishes (avocado, ribeye, peach) had some confusing choices. Repeating a motif that was done better by another was annoying. The progression and balance of the courses was a letdown.
As a brief aside, I also wasn’t thrilled about the menu not being posted on the Tock page - perhaps my own illiteracy with the website?
I don’t regret the order, but probably ended up feeling more hesitant about Dialogue and its return to a tasting menu - if it could stay as a high-end take-out place it would definitely be on my monthly list.
It’s okay, though - it’s time for me to start losing the COVID-LBS.