Was there New Year day as well! Posting pics because I can’t recall names.
Some kind of cold bean curd appetizer. I’ve had ones I enjoyed more but this one was still nice and refreshing.
I think this was suan mao? Which google says are garlic stems. Along with some sausage/cured meat. Accidentally dug in before taking a pic. Either way this was great! Super flavorful! Meats were almost too flavorful but the greens were infused with the sauces and super tasty.
Fried rice. The previous dish is great with rice. A very light version. Worked for our purposes but if I were to compare with what I remember of din tai fungs fried rice I’d pick the DTF fried rice for being much more tasty on its own.
Dong po rou (pork belly). Had a couple great pieces? But significant portion of this ended up dry for me.
Chicken bamboo soup. And some other veggie I forget. Great soup! I’d get this one again.
I think the other fish we wanted was out so we got this which I believe is tilapia. Good sauce, fish very light in flavor. It was nice.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. While not everything was a slam dunk this time, there are a few great dishes. So I can easily see it being a YMMV situation. In general though, the cooking seems a bit more refined than typical hole in the wall chinese restaurants which is nice.
Edit: Ugh sorry for sideways pictures. Not sure why they’re coming in like that as they look correct on my phone but are screwed up in here. Sadly can’t see a way to fix unless I go through a lengthy process which I think I’ll pass on for this post.
Dinner with in-laws tonight. Meal did not hit the highs of previous meals. Ingredients still high quality, but execution was uneven…
Black pepper steak - was fine. Have had better renditions but the beef was perfectly cooked and tender. Could’ve used a more pepper.
Oyster / intestine thin noodle soup - flavor was spot on, intestines cleaned well and fresh meat oysters. But whereas the first time was perfect, this time the soup was too watery.
Two chicken soups - the broth felt a bit light. Didn’t have the usual depth of chicken flavor. One of the soups also was undersalted, which is rare of me to say.
Miso black cod - still excellent
Stewed napa - very nicely done. Only thing missing was the stewed fish skin, which some places use and imo, makes the dish
Spicy intestines and tofu - this dish was a letdown. The first time, even though we asked for a lower spice level, it was delicious. This time the flavors were muted. As if cutting out the spiciness also cut out other ingredients.
Boiled goose - still delicious.
What did annoy me is the 1/2 goose is listed at $60. But on the bill, it’s rung up as $80. I let it go, as it’s new years and all, but $20 is a pretty egregious menu pricing mistake… And I suspect it’s been going on awhile although I haven’t paid the last couple times.
My mom used to make napa with dried shrimp. Very Taiwanese af. I wish some of these next gen Taiwanese places in LA and NYC did more homestyle dishes instead of the usual lu rou fan, beef noodle, etc. I love those dishes to death btw. In NYC they all have flies head I love flies head as much as any Taiwanese-American but come on.
Also I must have miss this in the OP but lol at the huge mark up for stir fry greens. Every Chinese restaurant does this because they know every table will order it lol say what you want about Pine and Crane in Silver Lake but at least they don’t do this. I’ve had dragon whiskers and sweet potato leaves at Pine and Crane.
oh damn, the long xue is back in season… i actually love that cold prep. so refreshing and delicious! Have never had it stir fried, do you just do garlic?
Will have to try that. I get the cold prep every time bc its so darn additive… like we order two plates for the four of us bc I’ll put down a plate myself, lol.
Either way this was great! Super flavorful! Meats were almost too flavorful but the greens were infused with the sauces and super tasty.
